The moment Vincent made his offer, Chloe gritted her teeth. This man still had the audacity to taunt and play games with her when she was so done with him. Obviously, she wouldn't return to Vincent's house because Vincent would use Mackenzie to hold her hostage, telling Mackie to start questioning her Mom until Chloe didn't have the heart to leave.
"You're so funny, Vincent. I thought I'd given you the golden opportunity to fuck your secretary all you want. Hell, you can fuck anyone without feeling guilty— not that you can feel guilt in the first place," Chloe mocked.
"Hmm? I will still fuck my secretary after this whole 'running away' thing you did. I just don't want my daughter to think that she lost her Mom," Vincent replied lightly, seemingly nonchalant to any mockery that Chloe tried to utter.
"She will never lose her mom, but she already lost her dad a long time ago!" Chloe retorted as she realized that Vincent didn't take her seriously. "Fine, I will go to your mother's party, and I will take Mackenzie with me!"
Beep.
—
Chloe clenched her phone and threw it on the bed as she covered her face with her palms. She thought she would quickly separate herself from the Gray family after this, but Vincent roped her in, easily using her daughter as a solid reason.
"Fuck, now I have to play the good wife and happy family with Vincent again," Chloe cursed her own misfortune.
What she disliked most about her mother-in-law was her expectations. She always expected Chloe to behave well because she was a woman, and she dismissed all of her complaints.
If Chloe dared to voice any displeasure about Vincent's treatment or the man himself, Dorothea Gray— Vincent's mother, would scold her and call her out for disrespecting the man of the house.
Chloe took a deep breath to calm down before giving herself a small encouragement, "It's okay, Chloe. This will be the last time you will meet and get involved with the Gray family. All you need to do is to take Mackenzie and put on a fake smile, so she won't notice the divorce too soon."
—
Vincent scoffed when Chloe hung up the call abruptly. He knew that Chloe wouldn't ignore her daughter, so it was easy to rope her back to attend his Mom's birthday party.
"Heh, dumb bitch," Vincent mumbled smugly to himself.
"Daddy, I want this one!" Mackenzie returned with a baby doll that could make crying noises and ask for her milk and pacifier.
Vincent smiled and checked on the toys, "You want this? My little princess wants to take care of a baby now?"
"No, Daddy, that's for Mommy!" Mackenzie explained. "Mommy and I will take care of the baby together!"
"Hmm? Only Mom? Daddy can take care of the baby too, you know," Vincent said as he picked the baby doll from Mackenzie's hand.
"Nah, Daddy can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because Daddy is not a good daddy for this baby, Daddy's never home!" Mackenzie huffed innocently. "This baby wants a better daddy!"
**
Chloe put on her small earrings before getting ready to attend Dorothea's birthday party today. She called for an Uber and then called Vincent as she headed towards the party location, the Gray mansion.
The phone beeped a few times before Vincent picked it up.
—
Vincent felt the phone ring. It had only been a day since he took Mackenzie to the mall. He grinned.
"Yes?" Vincent picked up the call lightly.
"Vincent, where are you right now? I'm heading to your Mom's mansion," Chloe informed as she checked the road to estimate her time of arrival at the mansion.
"Oh, Mackie and I are already at the party. Mackie is with her grandma right now. My Mom keeps on asking about you," Vincent replied. He smirked and lowered his voice for his next sentence, "She said that you're a lazy woman who can't take care of yourself and your family. I mean, she's not wrong."
Beep.
—
Chloe hung up the phone again. She wanted to fight with Vincent over the call but then realized there was no use in it. Since she and Vincent would separate soon, it would be better to cut all the toxicity as soon as possible.
Chloe arrived at the mansion after 30 minutes. She looked at the rows of expensive cars parked around the mansion. It didn't surprise her, though. She knew that the Gray family was old money. They were filthy rich for generations, and Dorothea Gray became the current matriarch after the death of Vaughn Gray— Vincent and Vernon's late father.
"Wow, all these expensive cars, haha…" the uber driver commented nervously as he drove Chloe to the mansion's front porch.
Chloe gave a sigh, "You get used to it after a while. They're nothing but bootlickers."
She stepped out of the car after arriving at the front driveway. The party was lively with chatter. People in expensive suits and dresses talked in groups, about their jobs, lives or who's got the higher income.
Chloe ignored the judging eyes of a few women that realized that Chloe's dress wasn't as expensive as theirs.
"What on earth is she wearing?"
"It looks terrible. So plain."
"Does she think she's better than all of us to show up like this?"
They pointed at her, whispering to one another. Chloe paid them no mind. Chloe didn't take any expensive gowns from her wardrobe because they were all Vincent's gifts. So, she wore an old black dress she had before getting married, good thing it still fit.
She strutted straight to the main hall, and a man suddenly stepped in and blocked her way, "You actually came, huh?"
Her ears burned at the voice. Chloe looked up and saw Vincent smirking at her, "That old dress looks good on you though… Reminds me of that crazy time we had in my car back in college."