42: Chapter 42

Chapter 42

"G—Good afternoon, Miss Diamond…."2

Diamond smiled and kneeled in front of Mackie. She knew she was tall and could be intimidating to little kids, especially shy ones like Mackie.

"Good morning, Princess. My name is Diamond Johnson. You can call me Aunt Diamond instead. What is your name again?"

Mackenzie paled instantly when she heard the word 'Aunt.' She quickly hid behind Chloe's legs again and buried her face in her thigh. 

Diamond frowned. That wasn't a normal reaction coming from a child.

"Mommy, I'm scared!"

"I—it's okay, you can just call her Miss Diamond. She is not your Aunt, right Miss Diamond?" Chloe stared at Diamond with pleading eyes, and Diamond got even more confused.

But she finally gave in, "I'm sorry, Little Princes. I'm not your aunt. You can call me Miss Diamond instead, okay?"

"Um…" Mackenzie nodded weakly. "M—My name is Mackenzie Rose Gray. Miss Diamond can call me Mackie…."

"Okay, Mackie, nice to meet you," Diamond smiled again, hoping that Mackie would relax. 

Chloe breathed out relief. Diamond stood up and asked Chloe in a low voice, "What's wrong with your daughter, Chloe?"

"There is something bad happening between her and the Gray Family. I will tell you later," Chloe replied with the same low voice, as she didn't want Mackie to get even more scared. 

Diamond glanced down at Mackie, who seemed really scared when she heard the word aunt, and she sympathized with Chloe and her daughter.

'Mr. Phoenix Gray and his entire family are seriously fucked up in the head. I'm so glad I have nothing to do with him personally,' Diamond thought. 

Diamond put her shopping basket in Chloe's shopping cart and grabbed the handle, "I will push the cart. You should pick your daughter up."

"Ah, thank you so much, Diamond!" Chloe picked up Mackie and carried her while they were grocery shopping together. 

Diamond told her about every brand Vernon liked or disliked, and Chloe tried to remember everything because it was just her luck to encounter Diamond today. She couldn't rely on her every time.

Diamond also told Chloe that Vernon refused to eat many vegetables and absolutely refused to eat fish. 

"Fish? That's weird…." Chloe mumbled.

"Yep, he hates fish the most. Though, I don't think it's because of the fishy smell. Because he still eats caviar or any fish eggs just fine," Diamond explained. She saw Chloe was thinking about something and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about something in the past," Chloe shook her head.

They continued grocery shopping until the cart was full of stuff and spent more than two hours inside. 

Chloe left with a shopping cart full of groceries. Diamond accompanied her to her Bentley. After putting everything in the car trunk, Chloe turned around to face Diamond, "Diamond, do you still have time tonight?"

"If you mean by free is that I have no date tonight, then the answer is yes. I'm just planning to cook something and watch Orange Is the New Black in my apartment," Diamond replied thoroughly. 

"Then how about we have dinner in a restaurant nearby? It'll be on me," Chloe offered. This was the last she could do to show his gratitude to Diamond. 

Diamond smiled thin and nodded, "Sure, it's been a while since the last time I ate out."

**

Chloe, Mackie, and Diamond drove to The Brown Hut and entered without reservation. Good thing Daryl, the owner, already knew Chloe, so he provided a seat in a good spot with a street view from the glass pane. 

"Chloe! Where have you been?" Daryl said as he shook her hand. He looked at Mackie and patted her head, "And you too, Mackie."

"Good evening, Mr. Daryl!" Mackie greeted happily as he gave the little girl a little hug. 

Daryl opened his arms for Chloe, but she indirectly refused by quickly sitting on the seat, turning Daryl down. 

Daryl looked lost, but he regained his composure quickly and put the menu on the table, "You guys should see the menu first. I will return in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Daryl!" Mackie said. 

"Thank you, Daryl," Chloe said with a thin smile. 

Daryl seemed hesitant as he glanced at Chloe for a moment before walking away. Not once did he say something to Diamond. All of his attention was on Chloe only, which was strangely intimate. 

Diamond observed everything and asked Chloe, "Who's that guy?"

"Ah, he is Daryl, the owner of this restaurant. We've known each other since Mackie was only four. Since this is Mackie's favorite restaurant."

"I see…" Diamond hummed for a moment, leaned toward Chloe, and whispered, "Do you not realize that he has his eyes on you the whole time?"

"I know," Chloe replied without hesitation. Her eyes were still on the menu as if getting fancied by the owner of the restaurant that you were a regular wasn't concerning enough. 

"He's been like that for years, actually. So I took his flirting as a compliment but refused to have any physical contact other than a handshake," Chloe said in a low voice to prevent Mackie from listening. She clearly gave boundaries between her and that man. 

"For years? Even when you're still married to Vincent?"

"Mhm, we never come here together, so he never knows," Chloe whispered. "But I've never done more than just a handshake with Daryl because I was married to Vincent."

"Then you're trying to divorce him now, right?"

"I tried, but it's difficult. The Gray Family has too much power…." Chloe sighed as she continued whispering in Diamond's ear. "I don't know what that guy wants, really. Clearly, if we are divorced, he can fuck with whoever he wants. Yet, he still wants me to be his legal wife for whatever reason."

Diamond knew nothing about Vincent Gray other than the news about him through social media.

But there was one thing to be sure about him;

People saw Vincent Gray as a mature family man. Because he was never caught cheating. Either Chloe was lying about him, or Vincent Gray's PR team was amazing at their job. 

'I think the second one is more plausible, knowing his little brother, Vernon Phoenix Gray is also a big playboy who fucks around.'

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