The day started great, and with that, it ant there were no Bennet brothers around.
Atlas wasn’t lying when he said he was there for business purposes. Penny had heard about the project that had been on hold since Zoren’s health started declining. But since Atlas was now taking charge, he planned to continue the project.
Atlas took Hugo with him. It was the reason Hugo was there—to guard Atlas in case he needed one. For so reason, Atlas had developed anxiety whenever he would fly abroad, feeling the need for a bodyguard or soone to ensure his safety. Even on a casual business trip, he would take Allen or soone else with him for protection.
Penny could swear her First Brother wasn’t like that in the past. It was a mystery to her when Atlas had gotten into this habit.
As for Slater, Butler Lee told them he left early to explore alone—soul-searching was what he said.
Although, they all had plans to et at lunch.
Therefore, Penny and Zoren could proceed with their morning plans without hindrance. After a healthy breakfast, they prioritized taking Renny and Chunchun for a walk around the castle. It wasn’t part of their itinerary, but with how huge the castle was, it felt like just going around a museum.
After spending over an hour, the couple went out on a scooter to venture around the island. The few hours they had weren’t enough to completely explore the island, but it was enough for Penny to get a sense of the island’s situation.
Although this particular small island was owned by the Pierson Family, they allowed so locals to live on it. So of them worked in the castle, while others worked in the main town. They had their own small community, which made the island not as isolated as it appeared. If anything, except for the areas surrounding the castle, the island was quite crowded and lively.
Penny and Zoren had the chance to et a few people in the community, receiving assistance as they explored. So children even tagged along with them, showing them around. It sohow reminded the couple of how it was many years ago when they played in the playground.
After that, the couple had to bid them goodbye and head to the town to et her brothers.
They had promised to eat lunch together.
But alas...
***
***
***
"HUH?!" Penny gasped in disbelief, standing at the big table where so people were seated around it. She stuttered for a mont, pointing her trembling hand at the people. "Li—Lily?!"
Lily, rocking her ruffled dress, waved at her happily. "Penny~!"
"Nina?!" Penny added in the sa gasp, then shifted her eyes to the people next to Nina’s. "Finn?! Mark?! Ja—Jas?! Ginnie—hey, what is Max doing here?"
All of them waved and smiled, except Mark.
"Miss Penny, why are you surprised that I’m here?" he wondered, but his query was ignored.
Penny’s eyes were wide as she studied the people around the table. Lily, Nina, Finn, Jas, Mark, Max, Ginnie, and Slater were already seated.
"What are you guys doing here?!" she gasped in horror again. "Wait—don’t tell there’s a reunion part 2?!"
She looked around cautiously, horrified that there were so ridiculous banners of her face lying around again. A small part of her was concerned that so of the Penny fan club were just hiding around, waiting to surprise her.
"Oh!" Lily clapped. "How did I not think of that? Penny’s Fanclub Retreat!"
"Lily, I don’t think you should be saying that," Nina laughed awkwardly. "Penny is already worried. If you say that, she’ll be stressed."
Finn tilted his head toward his fiancée and asked, "Does she really not like the fan club’s antics?" All he saw was Nina shaking her head mildly.
"What are you doing here?" Zoren asked while his wife was busy scanning the area for any movents. His eyes were directed at Finn.
"I received an invitation here from the Chairwoman," Finn explained with a smile, his eyes squinting. "She gave two tickets, saying she heard that I was hurt not long ago. So, she kindly sent plane tickets to relax and recover well. I brought my fiancée along, of course."
Nina pursed her lips and added timidly, "I didn’t know you guys were also here until we bumped into Third Brother earlier on the beach."
Penny snapped her attention back to them and nodded. "Well, Finn is part of the shareholder board," she mumbled in understanding. It wasn’t surprising that the Chairwoman would pay attention and be more considerate of him. Besides, Grandma Pierson had probably heard that Finn was Nina’s fiancé, and that Finn was on Zoren’s side.
"But..." Penny trailed off as she turned her eyes to Lily, Ginnie, and Max. "I’m not surprised that Jas is here; he obviously ca here because of Third Brother."
Jas smiled and nodded. "I should’ve flown with him, but I had a prior commitnt. So, he ca first before ."
"Then, what about you three?" Penny asked, pointing at Lily, Ginnie, and Max. "Wait. Max, who is your girlfriend? Is it Lily or Ginnie?"
Max’s face contorted. "Do you see as a womanizer?"
"Penny, let explain!" Lily cleared her throat. "Rember that I’ve been doing trips here and there recently? This place is part of my destination plans because of the beaches, and Ginnie promised she’d co! Coincidentally, she has a two-week break, so I dragged her with ."
"We were also surprised when we saw Nina while we were buying so souvenirs by the beach," Ginnie added.
Penny’s brows wrinkled, but she didn’t question it. She knew Lily had been traveling a lot recently; it was how Penny had received the matching costu she brought on this trip. Lily got it for her while she was abroad.
Then, that left Max.
Everyone slowly set their eyes on Max, curiosity in their eyes. Max, on the other hand, felt a little pressured now that everyone was looking at him.
Slater frowned. "What are you doing here? Are you stalking ?"
Slater’s question was quite far-fetched since he and Max were obviously not friends. They had heard about each other and went to the sa school, but their school lives were too different for them to rember any interactions.
So, in a way, they couldn’t help but glance at Slater and wonder if he was alright.
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