Ch. 256..260: Divorced My Scum Husband, Married His Evil brother Chapter 256-260
Chapter 256
"If that's the case, then it made sense how she tried to hide the identity of the attacker. She must've thought about covering up for her sister, especially looking at how close she is with her nephews."
Diamond remembered how the four boys hugged her tightly like a bunch of koalas hugging their mother. They hid behind Chloe instead of returning to their real mother after the fight.
Diamond knew well that Chloe had such a strong sense of motherhood, which could be why she was trying to hide this.
"Maybe she's not close with her sister, but if something happened to that woman, her sons' life would be in danger," Diamond theorized again.
This time, she was sure that her theory was correct, which only left a dilemma in her head.
"Should I tell Mr Phoenix Gray about this?" Diamond asked herself. She was afraid that her boss would take drastic measures. As he said, he wanted to make the attacker's life a living hell.
"After all, I know how ruthless and mean he could be. He is already a treacherous bastard who wants to take down his own family. Why would he care about someone else's family?"
Diamond hesitated. If she was in Chloe's shoes, she would probably try to hide everything as well, not because she still had a good feeling toward her sister who attacked her but to her nephews whose life would be in peril if something happened to their mom.
But what would happen with her report if she never told her boss about the truth? Should she say a random name just to help her home girl?
No, that was a total jackass move.
"Ah, I don't know what to do!" Diamond groaned out of mental pain. She had never had this much dilemma in her own life.
"Mr. Phoenix Gray will check on my report after lunch, that means I don't have much time to reconsider..."
Diamond bit her lower lip. She checked her watch and realized she only had two hours before lunch started and would be obligated to return to the office.
Diamond considered that she should just drop the whole thing and pretend to be sick for work, so her boss wouldn't ask her, and hopefully, he would forget about the whole thing.
But then, she remembered how her boss remembered everything about Chloe literally.
Diamond was stuck in her dilemma for a while until her phone rang.
She checked the caller, afraid that it might be her boss calling.
But her eyes sparked with hope instantly when she saw the name. She quickly picked up the call;
—
"Homegirl!"
"Ah— you surprised me, Diamond," Chloe's gentle voice was heard from across the phone. "Um, where are you? I'm in the office and nobody is here. Are you alright?"
"Gurl—" Diamond paused for a few seconds, and a flash of an idea came to her mind. "Stay in the office, gurl. I'm on my way right now."
"Okay…"
Beep
—
Diamond drove to her office and up the elevator to the top floor.
Since she couldn't decide what to do and the dilemma started eating her up, she would ask her homegirl instead.
Of course, not in a direct way, as Chloe would probably get defensive after.
But Chloe's answer should be detrimental, as she was the one who experienced it.
Ding!
The elevator stopped at the top floor, and the door slid open.
Diamond saw Chloe sitting on the sofa with a lunch bag. She was still wearing a mask as the wound must've been visible to the naked eyes.
Chloe turned her head towards the elevator and smiled behind the mask, "Good morning, Diamond. Sorry for calling you out of the blue, I'm just worried that you might catch a cold or something, the weather is quite chilly these days—"
"GURL!"
Diamond suddenly rushed to her homegirl and threw her weight on her.
Diamond hugged Chloe so tightly that their boobs started pressing on each other.
Chloe was shocked and also embarrassed at the same time. Because she felt a little ticklish as she had never been so close to a woman.
"D—Diamond, what's wrong?" Chloe asked. She noticed the troubled look that Diamond showed in her eyes. "Did something happen to you today? Can I help?"
"Gurl—" Diamond kept hugging Chloe, refusing to separate herself as she wanted to give her homegirl a big hug.
Because the more she investigated Chloe and her life, the more Diamond wanted to protect her.
'Ah, homegirl, I don't even know how you could stay sane after so long. If I was in your position, I'd probably kill that bastard Vincent and end up in jail.'
Diamond took a deep breath and asked, "Gurl, you've never told me about your family."
"Ah, I thought I told you a lot about my life, Vincent's family was—"
"No, not that scum's family. I mean YOUR family. The family you were born to," Diamond said. "You've never told me a thing about your side except that you appreciate your mother a lot."
Chloe went silent instantly. She never told Diamond about her side of the family because it was a total mess right now.
Well, it was always a total mess ever since she married Vincent, as her mother— Judith, completely sided with Vincent and saw him as the perfect man.
So Chloe was never heard, all the desperate-for-help signs she showed towards her mother and sister were ignored, and she realized that she was nothing but a cash cow since her family would get money from Vincent every month. They all would suck up to him.
She was ashamed to admit it herself, let alone tell it to anyone, even Diamond.
"Um, they— they are good to me…." Chloe said with hesitation.
"Gurl… why don't you tell me the truth?"
"Eh? I—I'm telling you the truth…."
Diamond closed her eyes and rested her head on Chloe's shoulder, "Gurl, you won't be here if that is the truth. You came to Mr. Phoenix Gray because you're desperate for a place to stay and a job. Where is your good family when you need them the most?"
Chapter 257
"Gurl, you won't be here if that is the truth. You came to Mr. Phoenix Gray because you're desperate for a place to stay and a job. Where is your good family when you need them the most?" Diamond asked, and Chloe went silent instantly.
The question was a bullseye that stabbed Chloe in her heart.
Where was her family when she needed them the most?
Well, they didn't know about the truth, or to be more precise— they refused to listen to the truth.
Vincent fed them with money every month, making them unable to think straight, and he would always take his side no matter what.
So, even though Chloe tries to tell them the truth, they would deny it and accuse Chloe of being an ungrateful whore.
Because to Judith and Chelsea, Chloe was just a bridge connecting them to the real treasure, Vincent Gray.
Chloe's heart was aching right now.
'The truth is, I know that I have no worth to my own family, to my mother who raised me. My worth is the man whom I marry,' Chloe thought. 'Even my mom keeps telling me that I should be more obedient and try to be a good wife for that bastard Vincent.'
'But is it wrong for me to keep clinging to my desperation?' Chloe asked herself. 'I just want to feel loved. How am I supposed to live with the realization that even my mother doesn't love me anymore….'
Diamond sensed that Chloe's body started shaking for an unknown reason. She got worried, so she patted Chloe's back and asked, "Gurl, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing…" Chloe replied, but her voice was shaky, and she was obviously on the verge of crying.
Diamond separated herself from Chloe to check on her expression. Her eyes widened when she saw tears falling from the edge of Chloe's eyes.
She quickly wiped the tears and forced a smile, "Sorry, I got a little emotional there…."
"Chloe…" Diamond was concerned. She wanted to inquire more about Chloe and her family, but it seemed that it was something very sensitive to her.
'Yet, even without saying a word, I already have a clear picture of your relationship with your family, Homegirl…' Diamond said in her heart.
If her guess was correct, Chloe still wanted to make amends and try to get close to her family. But they probably had a falling out caused by none other than that bastard Vincent.
'But if your family truly loves you, why wouldn't they accept you in their home? You were literally homeless with your little daughter, even if you had an argument with them, shouldn't they at least let you stay for a while until you get back on your feet?'
Diamond could only say those in her heart because if she attacked Chloe with even more facts than what she could handle, her homegirl would probably have a mental breakdown right now.
Chloe noticed the look of pity coming from Diamond, and she tried to shift the topic again.
She wasn't ready to tell Diamond how much of a loser she was because she couldn't maintain her marriage, nor could she maintain her family.
Just like what Vincent told her back then;
-
'Chloe, you think you can run away from your family? I shoved your stupid mother with so much money. If I stopped sending her money, would she blame me, or you instead?'
-
'He forced me to be a housewife and locked me in, so I can't work anywhere, but he also demeaned me for being a simple housewife because I don't earn money,' Chloe thought. 'Ah, being vulnerable makes me feel so shit….'
"A—Anyway, Diamond, where were you? It's so rare for you to be late today," Chloe asked as she shifted the topic.
Diamond sighed and played along, "I was busy doing Mr. Phoenix Gray's errand, as always."
"I see," Chloe nodded. She was thinking for a few seconds, and a flash of an idea popped into her head. She asked, "Diamond, what do you think would be a suitable job for me?"
"A suitable job?" Diamond frowned as she found that question so out of the blue.
"Yes, I mean— what kind of regular job would fit me, based on your observation?"
"Hm…" Diamond thought of a few jobs in her head for a few seconds. If she could be honest, Chloe was perfect as a housewife.
She was tailored to be one and did a great job as one.
Her daughter was real proof of how much of a great mother Chloe was because that little girl could grow up normal and happy despite having a total asshat of a father.
She was also a good wife. Just look at how she had subtly taken control over Vernon. So, even though they weren't married yet, Diamond could already see that Vernon saw Chloe more like a wife than a sister-in-law.
But that didn't seem to be the answer that Chloe wanted. Her doe eyes were glimmering with hope and determination, and Diamond felt butterflies in her stomach.
'Damn, I'm not even into girls, but Chloe could be an exception,' Diamond thought.
Diamond took a deep breath to calm herself and replied, "Well, I think you can be a cook— maybe even a chef."
"A chef?" Chloe was stunned by the answer.
Never had she ever thought of herself as a good cook. She was just a woman who cooked for her family, and that was all.
"Um, I don't think I'm close to that level, Diamond," Chloe said. "I'm just cooking regular stuff for my family."
"It's not regular stuff, gurl," Diamond clicked her tongue as she was quite irritated by how much Chloe looked down on herself.
"Do you know how much of a picky eater my boss is?" Diamond started recounting her daily headaches before Chloe came into Vernon's life.
Now Diamond was in the mood to complain;
"That bastard, he is such a picky eater that he ordered me to drive for hours just to pick his lunch every. single. day!"
Chapter 258
"That bastard, he is such a picky eater that he ordered me to drive for hours just to pick his lunch every. single. day!" Diamond rolled her eyes to show the amount of bullshit she had to take every day to ensure her boss would stop being a big baby.
"Eh, really?" Chloe was even more surprised. "I know he is a picky eater. But is he really that picky? He never denies any food that I serve...."
"Well, duh!" Diamond retorted. She almost slipped her words and said Vernon was in love with her homegirl. That was the reason why he always ate everything Chloe served.
"I mean-- he always makes such a big fuss every lunch whenever I don't serve him the food from a specific chef and specific restaurant. He can even taste the base seasoning and ingredients, so if something felt off in his tongue, he would spit it out and would be in a terrible mood for a whole day!" Diamond complained without hesitation, just to let out some of her frustration working with that big manchild.
"He would even make his way to basically tell me that he had a terrible lunch. Can you believe that?!"
"Ah, that's--" Chloe remembered that time when Vernon was still a kid. He would sulk, kick some stuff, or even throw something just to make noise because he wanted to make a statement.
Usually, that statement involved Chloe. Either Chloe simply had no time to cook for little Vernon, or she was too busy studying, so she couldn't visit the mansion.
Then the young master would give headaches to all maids and butlers in the mansion.
'I didn't expect him to keep that habit to his adult life,' Chloe thought.
Diamond judged Chloe's expression and asked, "Gurl, don't tell me that he never showed that kind of habit in front of you?"
"He did-- when he was seven to ten years old," Chloe replied. "But he never showed me that kind of habit now, at least as much as I remember."
"Oh, for fuck sake!" Diamond cursed as she felt emotional pain right now.
So it was true, that big manchild tried to act like an adult in front of Chloe, but showed his true self to anyone other than Chloe.
That was so fucking UNFAIR!
Diamond wanted to punch her boss' face if she could. Unfortunately, she was still employed by him, so she could only punch that bastard in the face in her imagination.
DING!
The elevator door slid open right before Chloe and Diamond could chat more.
The situation became a little tense when Vernon walked out of the elevator. He seemed to be in a terrible mood; his aura was gloomy, and the dark bags under his hawk-like eyes showed everything.
Chloe realized that Vernon lacked sleep because he had a wonderful night with a woman. She got a little concerned and said, "Vernon, you look tired. Why don't you sleep more--"
Vernon glared at Chloe, waiting for her to finish her sentence. But Chloe quickly deflated as she got glared at.
She remembered Vernon disliked her peskiness, so she zipped her lips and lowered her head.
Diamond was also uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, so she kept silent until Vernon walked past them.
"Diamond, come to my office. I want to hear the report," Vernon said.
"Yes, Boss."
With that, Vernon entered his office and closed the door.
They were silent for a while until Chloe held Diamond's hand and encouraged her, "You can do it, Diamond. Vernon is just lacking sleep. Just make sure that you won't suddenly make him explode."
"Ahaha... thanks for the encouragement, gurl...." Diamond let out a dry laugh because she knew that her report would probably enrage him even more.
"Alright then, I'm off to the battlefield," Diamond said as she braced herself to face the devil.
**
Vernon sat in his executive seat in a daze. He rubbed his eyes a few times to ward off the drowsiness.
"Fuck, do I need to drink even more coffee? But I already had one before going to work," Vernon murmured.
Truth be told, he felt so exhausted after what happened last night.
True, all he did was sleep, but that dream drained him physically and mentally, making him feel weak for the whole day.
He only had a few hours before he was forced to wake up as he knew he had a meeting at noon.
"Did I scare her?" Vernon asked himself. He knew that his eyes were really intimidating to everyone. When in a bad mood, he would glare at anyone in default without malicious intention.
So when he saw that Chloe looked scared and stopped speaking after one glare, Vernon felt inexplicably guilty.
'I should've treated her more gently, even if I'm in a bad mood,' Vernon thought. 'After all, I don't want to be the source of her trauma.'
'Should I apologize later then? Or maybe I should buy her something as compensation?' Vernon pondered. 'I've never seen her with an expensive dress or at least a bag-- should I buy her a bag then? Hermes? It's always the safest choice.'
His mind wandered off for a while until he heard a knock on the door, and Diamond opened the door without waiting for his answer.
Vernon glared angrily towards Diamond, "Did I allow you to enter? Who are you entering my office without permission just now?"
'Oh, here we go, another pissy day for my boss,' Diamond was trying hard not to roll her eyes out of annoyance.
She kept her professionality and approached the desk.
Vernon clicked his tongue and raised his voice, "Who do you think you are?! You're my secretary, so you better apologize!"
"Sir, I have collected all the data about the one who attacked Chloe. I also have concrete evidence in the form of CCTV footage of the attack," Diamond reported.
Vernon quickly forgot that he had been mad at Diamond a second ago. He leaned in with full interest and asked, "Okay, so who is the bitch that attacked my Chloe?"
Chapter 259
"Sir, I have collected all the data about the one who attacked Chloe. I also have concrete evidence in the form of CCTV footage of the attack," Diamond reported.
"Okay, so who is the bitch that attacked my Chloe?"
…
"My Chloe?" Diamond raised one brow as she found that statement to be quite amusing.
Vernon was surprised by his own statement. He was so excited to know the bitch who hurt Chloe that he accidentally slipped in his word.
"I mixed up words," Vernon tried to dodge. "I was about to call her Chloe and My sister-in-law. But I mixed both and called her My Chloe—"
"Ehh~ Sure, I guess," Diamond said, but with a teasing grin on her face. She giggled happily when she saw her boss panicking.
Vernon's cheeks were slowly painted in red hue as he got embarrassed. He cleared his throat and tried to shift back to the main topic, "I—I'm not paying you to speak about unnecessary stuff, Diamond. Just tell me, who is the culprit behind the attack? I want to ruin that bitch's life just like how she ruined my— I mean, Chloe's cheek."
The light atmosphere disappeared instantly when her boss asked about the attacker's identity.
She could and should tell him the truth.
That the attacker was definitely Chloe's close family member and based on Chloe's reaction, she still wanted to protect her family.
'I mean, that woman has four young children. Of course, it would deter Chloe from reporting the attack,' Diamond thought.
"Diamond? Why are you pursing your lips now? Tell me who the attacker is," Vernon demanded.
Diamond was considering the options. She couldn't lie, of course. Because the moment she showed the CCTV footage, her boss would automatically know that the attacker was someone close to Chloe.
,m So she had to tread this case very carefully, with the four children held at the utmost importance, because Diamond knew that would be Chloe's priority too.
Diamond knew how ruthless Vernon could be, so she asked first as a precaution;
"Sir, may I know what will you truly do once you know about the identity of the attacker?"
Vernon frowned in displeasure. He didn't understand why Diamond seemed to hesitate to name the culprit.
But if he could stay true to himself, then he would…
"I haven't thought about it. But if she's a working woman, I will make sure she gets fired, and has her savings drained until she is left homeless."
"Once she becomes homeless, I will send someone to attack her and ruin her face, ten times worse than what she did to Chloe," Vernon answered without hesitation. "Does that answer your question? Now, name the attacker, so I can execute her quickly."
Diamond sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid I cannot give her name if you want to make her homeless, Sir."
"Why not? You've never bat an eye whenever I was doing this thing to my business rival! Why are you being so soft right now?!" Vernon raised his voice, thinking it would be enough to make Diamond submit.
But Diamond stayed firm on her ground and replied, "Because the woman who attacked Chloe is a mother of four. Yes, she has four young kids, so if you make her homeless, then those kids will—"
"—Do I look like I'd give a shit about a random kid's life?" Vernon interrupted and stated ruthlessly.
Diamond wasn't all that surprised by it, though. Her boss had so many business rivals that he wanted to take him down, and he dealt with them. Those rivals would sell their children and say they had kids to feed, so Vernon shouldn't make them go bankrupt.
But Diamond knew his weakness once she dropped this news.
"Sir, I bet you will care once I told you the attacker's family member."
"Wait—" Vernon had a hunch that he wouldn't like the next sentence uttered by Diamond. "—Don't tell me—"
Diamond nodded solemnly, "Sir, do you know if Chloe has a sister?"
Vernon was caught off guard by that question.
Because he inquired about Big sis Chloe's family long ago, when he was only fourteen years old. From his information, he knew that Chloe was raised by a conservative single mother who had a big sister who was only one year older than her.
They seemed to have a good relationship, but that was ten years ago.
Vernon was never interested in inquiring about Big sis Chloe's side of the family because he thought they were a close-knit simple family, unlike the Gray family, who was very complicated and had a lot of issues.
"So, you're saying that the attacker is… her own sister?"
"Yes, Sir. That is the only plausible explanation," Diamond said.
She took out the flash disk from her purse and booted the computer in Vernon's office.
She stuck the flash disk and opened footage she got from the head of security in that grocery store.
"You can watch it by yourself, Sir. The attacker is a woman with four children," Diamond said.
Vernon put all his attention to the screen and watched the CCTV footage.
He noticed the four little boys who suddenly rushed to Chloe, who was all alone, and they were hugging her legs and waist affectionately.
Obviously, the kids were familiar with Chloe, but their mother stormed in and started yelling at Chloe.
There was no voice in the footage, but Vernon could already see the hostility from the gesture.
The argument continued and ended with the mother of four pushing Chloe to the rack behind her and starting to attack.
Vernon clenched his fist when he saw Chloe struggle to defend herself. Chloe yanked the attacker's hair to stop the attack, making the woman even more furious.
"Stop the video," Vernon gave out a sudden order, and Diamond stopped the video.
She looked at her boss and asked, "Sir, are you sure you don't want to watch more?"
"Watch more? Just watching this movie already makes my blood boil! FUCKING HELL!"
Chapter 260
"Sir, are you sure you don't want to watch more?"
"Watch more? Just watching this movie already makes my blood boil! FUCKING HELL!"
BAM!
CRACK!
Vernon unleashed a part of his rage by punching the desk in front of him.
The punch was so strong that it left a long crack on the desk, making Diamond's heart jump out of fright.
Not because of his rage and strength. She already knew that her boss had great physical strength and a habit of punching and destroying things when he was mad at something or someone.
She was frightened because of the ruined desk;
'Shit, that desk is made of ziricote wood, and I will need to import it from Mexico. It needs at least a month of work too.'
Diamond was distracted for a few seconds as she lamented her fate. But her boss' thundering voice soon brought her back to reality;
"THAT BITCH--!"
"Ssh!" Diamond interrupted and signaled her boss to lower his voice because his loud voice could be heard by Chloe outside.
Vernon gritted his teeth. He wanted to choke that bitch to death because she dared to continue her attack towards Chloe, even though Chloe wasn't even fighting back.
He punched the desk again and made an even bigger crack on the surface, which scared Diamond even more.
"As you can see, Sir. The attacker had four sons, and they are all so close to Chloe, even closer to her than their own mother. So I guessed that she--"
"--She is her sister," Vernon confirmed. "I haven't checked on her side of the family, because I always thought that she is part of the Gray family. But it's obvious from the four boys' affection and familiarity, they must be her nephews."
"So, after you know all this, do you still want to ruin the culprit's life?" Diamond asked. "I mean, I get why Chloe is trying to protect the identity of her attacker, because she doesn't want you to do anything to her sister."
"Ugh, if you want my real answer, I still want to get my revenge on that bitch, seriously," Vernon replied. "But--"
'But you don't want to hurt the woman you love, right? That's why you're hesitating right now,' Diamond completed the sentence in her heart because she knew that her boss would never admit it.
"My job here is done, Sir. I will give you time to think, then I will help you to do your next bidding," Diamond said politely. "I implore you to think before doing, Sir. Because I will never do something that will make her my best friend."
Diamond left Vernon alone, contemplating what he should do next.
Vernon continued staring at the computer screen. He clenched his fist to endure the urge to beat someone right now and then resumed the footage.
After the security guards separated Chloe and that woman, the four boys rushed to hide behind Chloe's back. They looked really scared at their mother, which was unnatural behavior.
Then Chloe tried to persuade the kids to return to their mother before she left, and the footage ended.
The computer screen faded to black, and Vernon could see his own reflection on the screen.
He was glaring at the screen, his carefully combed hair was messy for an unknown reason, and the veins around his forehead were visible.
He was holding a lot of anger right now. Even he was surprised at how well he had on not punching the computer screen.
"Fuuuuck..." Vernon groaned as he held himself, not screaming as he didn't want to scare Chloe outside.
"What should I do now?" Vernon asked himself. "Well-- obviously, I won't let this slide. Even if that woman is Chloe's sister, I still won't let her off without retaliation."
Honestly, he also didn't give a shit about Chloe's nephews. But he knew how much Chloe loved nurturing and guarding kids. She had a strong sense of motherhood.
So if he did something to her nephews, and she happened to find out, then it would only make him even more unfavorable in her eyes.
No, she would definitely hate him for that.
"But, I need to do something or I will be haunted by guilt," Vernon said to himself.
What kind of guilt?
Of course, the guilt of being unable to protect his beloved--
Vernon shook his head immediately, "No, she's not my beloved. I mean, she is under my protection right now. Of course I won't let someone hurt her."
Vernon wanted to teach anyone who dared to hurt Chloe that she had him behind her.
"Then, what should I do?"
Vernon tapped his shoes as he got impatient with his own dilemma.
He then remembered the long scar on Chloe's cheek that would take months until it would return to normal.
"I want that bitch to experience an even worse scar on her face, at least...."
As he murmured that sentence, an idea popped into his head, and he finally found a good way to avenge without hurting the kids.
"Oh, that's right! I can just send someone to attack her while she is out doing something. I want her to have a scar that can't be healed! So she will have that as a reminder for the rest of her life!" Vernon said ruthlessly. Though, this was already the softest he could be.
He used to be even more unforgiving to the business rivals that tried to ruin his life.
"But I also want to know about her side of the family. That part really slipped in my mind."
Thus, after finding the ruthless solution to avenge his Big sis Chloe, Vernon sent a text to Diamond about it;
-
To: Diamond Johnson
I've found the solution. Don't worry. I won't hurt the kids.
But I will make sure she will be scarred for life.
And also,
I want you to start investigating her family. Just ask around, don't let them know that they're being watched, understand?