Vernon woke up the next morning. He felt weak, even a little groggy. But he had a beautiful dream last night.

He dreamt of his beloved one whispering many sweet things for him, caressing him gently, even kissing him.

Which would be impossible in real life, or so he thought.

He got up and sat on the sofa in a daze for a brief moment. He looked around and realized that he fell asleep on the sofa last night, right after he punched the wall many times.

Vernon checked the wall and saw the cracked wall with blood splattered around it. It looked gruesome, even for Vernon.

"Urgh, what had gotten into me last night?" Vernon felt guilty because he was lashing out at Chloe and her daughter like that.

True, it was Chloe's fault for mocking him. But he wasn't any better. He lashed out like Chloe did a terrible offense.

"And that little brat saw it as well…" Vernon sighed. He might be a terrible person, but he wouldn't scare a little kid with violence… if he could control his emotion.

It was mostly frustration that gaslighted him, a pile of frustration that exploded out of nowhere…

"I have to apologize… I should, but… would I?" Vernon asked himself. He still had pride as a man. How could he apologize to a woman? And this woman was the sister-in-law who begged for shelter and safety. He was basically her boss!

Amidst his dilemma, Vernon looked down and realized that his bloodied hand had been cleaned and bandaged.

He also had a blanket that covered half of his body.

His heart dropped as the realization dawned on him. His heart started beating loudly, afraid that the worst might have happened.

"Did she…"

Now he wondered whether he was dreaming last night or if everything was real.

'No, no, that can't be true. Obviously, that's not true. Imagining her caressing my hair and kissing my forehead… FUCK!'

As Vernon was busy with the dilemma inside his head. The voice of little girls whining was heard from the kitchen.

"Mommy, I don't want to eat here with Uncle Vernon!" Mackie protested, remembering what Uncle Vernon did to her Mommy last night. "Uncle Vernon is mean and evil!"

"Shush, don't say that, Mackie," Chloe reprimanded her daughter as she spoke ill of her employer. "You can wait downstairs, okay? Mommy has already prepared your breakfast. Mommy needs to cook for Uncle Vernon's breakfast and for lunches."

"But…" Mackie whimpered. Mommy had already told her to sit downstairs and eat breakfast alone because she would be busy cooking for Uncle Vernon and preparing their lunchboxes.

But she was worried that Uncle Vernon would hurt her Mommy while cooking, so she didn't want to leave her Mommy alone with Uncle Vernon.

Vernon got up and walked to the kitchen to check on the mother-daughter pair.

Vernon stood there in silence as he watched Mackie, who clenched the hem of Chloe's shirt while she busily cooked a healthy breakfast for him.

"Mackie, don't get too close to the stove. You might get burned!" Chloe scolded, but Mackie insisted on staying close.

"Mackie will protect Mommy!"

Vernon leaned sideways with his arms crossed. He continued watching until Mackie sensed an ominous presence. She turned around and almost jumped out of fright when she saw Uncle Vernon.

Mackie braced herself and covered her Mommy with her small body, "Uncle, don't hurt Mommy!"

Chloe was surprised. She turned off the stove and turned around to see Vernon leaning on the wall with his arms crossed.

He didn't seem to be in a bad mood, but he wasn't in a good mood either.

"Go away, Uncle Vernon!" Mackie yelled at her Uncle.

Vernon stared at Chloe for a while before he looked down at her feisty little niece and said, "Sit on the dining chair, don't disturb your mother. She is busy cooking."

"No! Uncle will hurt Mommy!"

"… I won't," Vernon replied short.

Honestly, he wasn't sure how to handle this situation. It was so awkward, especially with what happened last night.

"I don't believe you!" Mackie insisted. She hugged her Mommy's legs, "Don't hurt Mommy!"



Chloe realized Vernon was speechless and felt really awkward because of his sudden outburst last night. But she tried her best not to make it that way, so Vernon wouldn't feel too embarrassed in front of Mackie.

'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N(ov)elBin',

Chloe patted Mackie's head and said, "Uncle Vernon is not mad anymore. He won't hurt Mommy."

"B—But…"

"Uncle Vernon apologized to Mommy last night, you know," Chloe said.

Mackie looked up to her Mommy, who was smiling. She seemed to have no worry, "Is that true?"

"Yes! Uncle Vernon already said sorry to Mommy, and Mommy forgave him! You don't need to worry, okay?" Chloe tried to convince her daughter and looked at Vernon, "Right, Vernon?"

Vernon's body stiffened, and he nodded reluctantly.

Mackie looked at Uncle Vernon, who quickly dodged her eyes. She pouted and pointed at her Uncle, "Uncle is forgiven! But if Uncle hurts Mommy again, Mackie will tell Daddy!"

"M—Mackie—"

Vernon was insulted once her niece told her that she would tell her Daddy about it. No, he wasn't scared. He was just annoyed because that name was mentioned in his house.

His petty mind screamed for him to refute the little girl, but before he opened his mouth, Chloe had already looked at him with pleading eyes.

Chloe shook her head and mouthed 'please' without letting her voice out.

Vernon took a deep breath. He disliked tolerating anything in his house. In fact, he disliked to be tied or if he had to obey anyone without reason.

But he remembered what happened last night and was ashamed of it. So he conceded and nodded, "I won't do it again. Now sit and don't disturb your Mommy."

Mackie still felt a sense of crisis, so she refused, "No!"

Vernon was already in a complicated mood, he wanted to yell back at Mackie, but he took a deep breath and said, "If you don't sit there, I will bully your Mommy when you're in school."

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