--
"Yes, love? What's up?" Vernon asked right after he swallowed his food. "I'm having breakfast here with Mackie. She said that you're going to the tenth floor to give pancakes for Dorothea."
"Vernon, where are they?!" Chloe asked without even trying to hide her worry. "I knocked on their door and nobody was inside. Did you actually kick them away last night? Oh god, Vernon, how can you be so cruel?!"
Vernon rolled his eyes. He sipped his herbal tea and replied, "Go to thirteenth floor, Suite room number three and four. I told the staff to move them to the suite rooms with a connecting door, so it's not hard for Dorothea to watch over those boys."
"Wait, so you mean--"
"Yeah, I'm not that evil, love," Vernon said lightly. He stared at Mackie who was eating her pancake happily, blissfully unaware of the big thing they were discussing on the phone right now. "I asked Dorothea last night if she wants to take care of those boys so I can see whether she is a changed woman or not. If you want to visit them, go do it now, but I demand you to return to the penthouse after that. I'm not going to see you miss your breakfast."
"Ah, o--okay, I'll deliver these pancakes to them and rush back to the penthouse!" Chloe said.
"Good, I'll wait for you at the dining table."
Beep.
--
Chloe was so happy that she could explode right now. She was thinking about moving out of the apartment with Mackie and the boys for some time, so Vernon could have his time alone.
But who would've expected that Vernon had a change of heart last night? He even decided to accept the boys, allowing Dorothea to take care of them so he could improve his opinion of her.
It was a win-win situation that Chloe always wanted!
Chloe rushed to the elevator and went to the thirteenth floor. She headed to Suite room number three and four and knocked on the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Dorothea, boys, It's me!"
The door was opened not long after, and Dorothea greeted her with a smile, "Good morning, Chloe."
"Good morning, Aunty!"
"Morning, Aunty!"
"Aunty, I want to eat!"
Chloe felt her heart could explode with joy when she saw the boys seemed to be in a better mood after getting to know Dorothea. It was a relief because she thought making the boys accept Dorothea would take longer.
But it seemed they took Dorothea as the replacement for their Gran, who died last night.
"Morning everyone! I'm here with breakfast!" Chloe said cheerfully. She pulled her wheeled container in as Dorothea gave her way to enter the suite. The boys were so excited about breakfast that they circled around Aunt Chloe and the big food container.
"Breakfast!"
"Whoo! Finally, breakfast, I'm starving!"
"Yay!"
"Yes, boys, we will have pancakes for breakfast, and don't worry about lunch. Grandma Dorothea and I will cook a big lunch for all of us!"
The boys cheered even louder. They jumped on their respective chairs and dug the warm pancake drenched with maple syrup. It had been a while since they had breakfast.
Usually, they'd only have lunch or dinner, and that was all for a day since Gran always told them they didn't have money to buy more food.
Chloe looked at the three boys digging their food and asked Dorothea, "Where's Aaron?"
"He's still busy cleaning the next room. I told him that I will clean it myself, but he insisted because he said it's his brothers' mess," Dorothea said. She looked concerned and leaned forward to whisper in Chloe's ear, "I'm worried about him. He is too calm for his age. This morning, I told them that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Chloe asked me to take care of them all, and Aaron was the one who pacified his brothers so they'd relax their guards against me. He is very mature, but I can see that he has a lot of anxiety in his eyes. Please talk to him, okay?"
Chloe nodded.
She was also worried about Aaron.
That six-year-old boy had experienced a traumatic event nobody should ever experience in their life, so something must've changed inside him.
'Maybe I should book a child psychologist for Aaron,' Chloe thought.
She entered the other room via the connecting door and saw Aaron finished making the big bed all by himself.
He wiped the sweat on his forehead and continued to clean the room that had become a mess since the three boys might be too much to handle.
Chloe saw that Aaron tried to pick up the scattered snack wraps on the floor, and then she joined.
Aaron was surprised when he noticed his Aunt, "Ah, I'm sorry, Aunty. I didn't know that you're here."
"No, it's fine," Chloe said as she put all the snack wraps in the trash bin. "Aaron, you should join your brothers. I made pancakes for breakfast."
"Um, thank you, Aunty, but I will eat after all of them finish their breakfast," Aaron replied. He stood beside his Aunt, like a little soldier ready to be dispatched to do menial tasks.
Chloe pointed at the long couch and said, "Go sit there, Aaron. I want to talk with you."
"Okay, Aunty."
Aaron sat obediently, waiting for the next order from his Aunt. He watched how his Aunt ensured everything was clean before joining him on the long couch.
"Aunty, did I do something wrong?" Aaron asked cautiously. "Why do you want to talk with me?"
Chloe stared at her oldest nephew for a while. Amongst all the boys, Aaron was the calmest. Even though he was younger, he was even more mature than Mackie, and that was concerning.
"Aaron, I'm sorry that you can't join me and Mackie in the same apartment, but you can stay here permanently with your brothers, okay?" Chloe said. "And Grandma Dorothea will take care of you and your brothers, and don't worry about playing with Mackie, you will be able to play with her when she's on in school."
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮