Chapter 759
"You heard him. Six months," Dorothea parroted.
"Understood, Ma'am. Then, please excuse me. I will resume my duty to handle the inheritance will," Nigel bowed before he turned around and left the office.
Dorothea and Vernon stared at the door in silence until Dorothea asked, "Are you sure you don't want the inheritance? I can give you everything."
"I don't want it. I have way more than that."
"It's just my way to compensate for all the damage I did, Vernon," Dorothea sighed. "I wronged you so much when you were a child, and I don't know how to make it up for you."
"You can't," Vernon said coldly. "The damage has been done. You can't undo your sin to me."
Dorothea smiled bitterly, "I know. Sorry for bringing it up."
"… I can't forgive you, Dorothea. You were my mother. You were supposed to be my safe space when I was young. Yet, you break me until I can't feel an inch of love from you," Vernon said. "I know that Vaughn abused you just like Vincent abused Chloe, but do you ever see Chloe hitting Mackie with a beer bottle? Did you ever see her locking her daughter in a bathroom for hours, leaving him screaming inside while you passed out after heroin use?"
Again, Dorothea recalled all the painful stuff that happened to her before and all the abuse she had done to Vernon.
She could've entirely shifted the blame to Vaughn, but she knew she was also wrong.
Just because she was abused didn't mean she could abuse a defenseless boy.
"I'm sorry…" Dorothea murmured sadly, knowing there was no way to gain her son's forgiveness.
"… you may never get my love as your son, just like how I never got my mother's love back then," Vernon said. "But if you want my approval, you can start by treating my wife and daughter right. That's why I told you to send all those inheritances to Mackie. I don't need it, and Mackie definitely doesn't need it either, but it's a sign that you're on my side. That's the way for you to get my approval."
Vernon's heart ached when he realized he must've hurt this old lady.
He wasn't heartless, but he still couldn't hold this resentment in his heart. He couldn't forgive her, at least not until the next decade.
Dorothea had a sliver of hope in her heart.
Though Vernon couldn't forgive her now, at least she could get his approval by treating Mackie right.
Which was already a natural thing to do for Dorothea. He didn't need to tell her to do so because Dorothea loved her granddaughter so much.
Vernon tried to busy himself with his documents, but a question hovered in his mind, "How about the boys?" He asked while reading the documents.
He wasn't close to those four boys, but that didn't mean he hated them. He was just a very private man who preferred to be surrounded by his real family, and that small circle only included Chloe, Mackie, and their future children.
He still wanted to roll them all to a good school, the same as Mackie and made sure they didn't feel less loved.
Based on Chloe's report, Dorothea had been taking good care of them, and they clung onto her just like how they clung to Judith before.
They were also active in their school, preschool, and kindergarten.
But Aaron still needed the most care because he was the one who witnessed everything.
"The three younger boys are doing well," Dorothea sighed, "But Aaron still needs to meet the child therapist. He has opened up a lot, but he still has that distance in his eyes. He also had a lot of nightmares regarding that event."
"Alright, I will continue his treatment," Vernon said. He stopped reading momentarily and glanced at Dorothea, "Aaron depends on you, Dorothea. He has a lot of damage because of abuse at such a young age. He's no different than the younger me. I was saved because I had Chloe back then, and I hope you can save him."
"I will try my best," Dorothea said with strong resolve. "I also want to take care of him. Aaron has suffered enough in his life at such a young age."
Vernon stared deep into his mother's eyes and lowered his head. He covered his face with the document and said, "If you have nothing else to say, you can leave now."
Vernon tried to hide his face because he was smiling. He was happy that his mother turned over a new leaf and lived a good and honest life.
Maybe deep down, he still wanted a bit of that motherly love from her.
"Oh, before I leave, I'm here to give you the lunch made by Chloe," Dorothea said. She opened her bag and put the lunchbox on the coffee table. "Chloe said she can't come and give it to you because she's still scared to go to the Gray company. There have been too many bad things happening to her here."
Vernon put the documents to check on the food that Dorothea delivered.
Seeing his hesitation, she sighed and assured him, "Don't worry, I didn't touch it at all or cook it. It was all Chloe's, I swear."
"Hm, you can leave now," Vernon said.
Dorothea said, "Chloe told me you're too tired and stressed out these days. She said you should have a power nap at work and make a lunch full of spices and protein to replenish your energy."
"Vernon, you have a gem in your hand, don't ruin her or break her trust. She is the best woman you can ever have in your life," Dorothea warned. "You'll go insane if she leaves you, just like what happened to Vincent right now."
"Naturally, I know what will happen, so I will treasure her for the rest of my life," Vernon assured. "And you don't need to remind me of something so obvious. You know why I went through hell and back just to make her mine."
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