Chloe was relieved that Vernon didn't seem mad, at least not as bad as last night. She didn't want to fight with Vernon, it was mentally exhausting, and it hurt her heart so much whenever she saw him looking so distressed.
So she began to speak gently, "Why don't you go there and kiss your daughter first? I bet Mackie would be happy if you give her a morning kiss and say Merry Christmas to her."
"I will do that later," Vernon replied. He grabbed the hot chocolate cup and sipped it. "She's still busy with her cousins."
"And when will that 'later' happen?" Chloe asked. "You know those boys will be accompanying Chloe for the whole day, right?"
Vernon's body stiffened. He couldn't get mad at Chloe when she was being so gentle like this. So he was forced to reply civilly, "I feel awkward around them. They're not exactly in my family list. My family list consists of you, Mackie, and I."
"Well, you don't need to put them in your family list, just let them enjoy Christmas with Mackie, okay?" Chloe said.
"I did. I allow them to stay with Mackie right now," Vernon said. He glanced at Mackie and the boys, who were busy watching a movie, and they began to relax as they ate the cake. "For your information, I don't hate them. I just don't know what to do around them."
"Chloe, you should know that I'm not exactly the loving type, and I'm not good with kids. I tend to scare them," Vernon admitted. "Mackie is the only little girl I can get close to because she's basically the mini version of me."
'Ah, so he's not hostile to the boys. He's just awkward,' Chloe was so relieved because she thought she'd have to fight Vernon over the boys. She truly didn't want to argue with her beloved man.
'I guess, it's understandable. We can't really change how people act. Vernon is just not good with kids,' Chloe pondered. 'Or maybe he just thought he's not good with kids because he looks very intimidating.'
'Anyway, as long as he is fine with the boys, I guess that's okay.'
Vernon began to eat his cake and then said, "Thank you for not allowing Dorothea to come. I just can't stand her."
Chloe sighed.
She wanted Vernon to know the truth about his mother, whether he liked it or not.
"Well, I've already planned to stop her from coming. After all, I know that you've suffered a lot under her hand when you were young. Your dislike towards her is justified," Chloe said truthfully.
"But she already knows her place. She told the boys that she's not feeling well, and when I visited her room, she told me that she knows you don't like her because of what she did back then, and she doesn't want to ruin your Christmas."
Vernon went silent after that. He didn't know how he should take this news.
Should he be happy that Chloe understood her priority and Dorothea knew her place?
Or should he feel guilty because he stopped an old woman to have a normal Christmas?
Nevertheless, he just couldn't imagine himself in the same room as Dorothea while celebrating something like Christmas. Dorothea literally beat him during Christmas, everything about her was like a nightmare for Vernon.
Chloe noticed the change in Vernon's expression, so she assured, "Don't worry. I'm not forcing you to accept her back into your life. You are my number one, Vernon," she said. "I just want you to know that Dorothea knows her place, so from now on, you won't see her around unless you're the one who called her."
"Hm, thank you, Love," Vernon nodded reluctantly.
Right when Chloe was about to return to the boys, Mackie suddenly walked towards the dining table and greeted her Uncle first. She jumped and hugged her Uncle's arm, "Merry Christmas, Uncle! You are the best Big Bad Wolf in the world!"
Vernon laughed. He picked Mackie up and sat her on his thigh. He kissed her forehead and said, "Merry Christmas, Mackie. You are also the best Little Wolf I have. Don't worry, I have prepared a present for you."
"Really?!" Mackie was surprised. She had never got a proper Christmas present from her Daddy before, so she got excited. "Where is it Uncle? I want to see!"
Vernon smiled, "We will go to your gift at noon."
Mackie tilted her head. She didn't know what that meant. She thought that her gift would be nicely wrapped under the Christmas tree, but apparently not.
Nevertheless, she was excited about it, "Okay, Uncle! I want to see it later!"
Vernon patted her head and glanced at the boys, who were still eating their cakes while watching a TV show. He knew those boys weren't exactly lucky in their lives as well.
Chelsea was a monster, and they lived in poor conditions because Chelsea usually hoarded all the money for herself or gave some to her useless husband.
Besides, Vernon was also partly guilty of those boys. He was the one who ordered someone to carve that ugly scar on Chelsea's face. He liked seeing her in pain, sweet revenge for what she did to Chloe.
But at the same time, his action also indirectly caused Chelsea to go insane and almost murdered those boys.
Thus, swallowing his pride, Vernon added, "You can also take your cousins with us. I also have a gift for them."
"Whos! Uncle is the best! They will be happy!" Mackie hugged her Uncle and kissed his cheek, "This will be the first gift they ever get during Christmas! This will be my first too!"
Mackie then looked at her Mommy, who was sitting right next to Uncle, "Mommy, do we still have a slice of cake in the fridge?"
"We do, dear. I saved it for you. Do you want it now?"
Mackie shook her head, "Um, Aaron told me that Grandma Dorothea can't come because she's not feeling well. Can I bring the cake to her instead? At least she can eat the cake, it will make her feel better!"
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦