"Finn, do you want to be my assistant?"
"I know who the culprit was."
After a second, Penny and Finn looked at each other in surprise.
"Huh?" They humd in unison.
"You want to work for you?" Finn pointed at himself, while Penny, doing the sa, asked, "Who?"
She scrunched up her nose. "Wait, you first. That sounds more important—who?"
"Why would you want to hire as an assistant when I have my own company?" he countered because, to him, that seed like the more pressing question at the mont.
"Can we decide who answers first?" she proposed.
Finn thought for a second, then nodded.
"You already found out the person responsible for that incident."
"Yes."
"That’s fast."
"Thanks to years of working with your husband," he returned in slight sarcasm. "I knew where to go to for it."
"So, who is the culprit behind the dead bird incident?"
Finn didn’t answer imdiately. He leaned back, shrugged, and looked away as he gathered the courage to tell Penny. After all, he knew her well enough to be certain of one thing—she would kill Cassandra. That was why he ca to Zoren first. Not because Zoren was less cruel, but because it would be more understandable and acceptable. He was the head of the Pierson family, while Penny, as Zoren’s wife, might just be seen as a bully abusing her position.
"It’s soone you know, isn’t it?" Penny guessed, watching his brows rise. The corner of her mouth curled up when he looked back at her in surprise. "Otherwise, you wouldn’t look this conflicted."
Finn smiled wryly. "I’m sorry. I didn’t think I needed to hide it."
"So? Who is it? Your family?" she asked.
"You could say that." Finn rocked his head from back and forth before exhaling sharply. "It’s... Cassandra."
The mont her na left his lips, Penny’s right brow shot up. "Cassandra? Your ex?"
"Mhm." He humd. "The one I was arranged to marry as a kid... and also, the woman I married in my first life."
"That’s... surprising," Penny murmured, intrigue flickering in her eyes. "It seems that na keeps coming up more often lately."
Before she could go full analysis mode—she cast him another glance and furrowed her brows. "Didn’t you say the engagent was arranged by both families?"
"It was."
"Then why do you look like soone just shattered your heart into a million pieces?"
Finn t her eyes and said, "Penny, how do you think it would feel if what you’ve been trying to protect in this second life is sothing you already failed to protect? For instance... your heart. You’ve guarded it in this life, but what if it got broken again?"
Penny opened her mouth, then closed it. "...I hadn’t thought of that."
"It’s upsetting, humiliating, and... ridiculous, all rolled into one," he said slowly and clearly. "I don’t know what happened, but all this ti, I thought breaking off the engagent and freeing her from a loveless marriage would protect her. That it would allow her to live a happier life. But... it seems she’s not happy."
He let out a short, bitter laugh. "I considered a lot of people who might’ve sent that bird. I didn’t even think of her. Yet she did it—and, by the looks of it, without sha. No hesitation. Just pure selfishness."
"It’s karma," Penny remarked with a smirk as he glanced at her. "One thing I’ve learned in this life is that karma always cos back. You betrayed people in the past, and no matter what, karma finds a way."
"..."
"I’m not saying you should try to understand her. In fact, I’ll kill you myself if you let that conniving woman near my sister," she added flatly. "It’s just that... I know betrayal. What it looks like, what it slls like, what it sounds like, and what it feels like. It’s worse than shit." She shrugged. "But like I said, karma is real. Sotis, it teaches us a lesson. Other tis, it’s just the world settling scores."
She paused, smacked her lips, then added, "Or maybe, it’s just the universe’s way of removing the bad people from your life. I like to think it’s the latter."
They stared at each other for a mont before nodding in silent agreent.
Finn slowly looked away, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"I’d like to think it’s the latter... and maybe the second one, too," he admitted. Then, lifting his gaze again, he added, "Now that you ntion it, if this is the world settling scores, then I guess I’m entitled to embrace this new life without sha."
"You should." Penny smiled, looking across the room with a small shrug. Even she was surprised by the words coming out of her own mouth. "Because we deserve it."
A comfortable silence fell over them as they sat on the couch, neither speaking nor moving. They simply stared across the room, quiet but smiling faintly.
After a long pause, Finn finally spoke again.
"I’m glad my feet brought here," he whispered, giving Penny an appreciative smile. "It really does feel like I have a sister."
Penny arched a brow and smirked. "So don’t be surprised that my brothers are obsessed with ."
Finn chuckled, the tension in his shoulders easing. "So... why do you want to hire as your assistant?"
"Would you accept the job if I told you?"
"No, but I’m intrigued."
"Tch." Penny clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. She thought for a second before shrugging. "Because everyone just seems too... formal, too smart, too serious, too soft-spoken, too respectful, too understanding, too innovative—just too much."
"Aren’t those the qualities an assistant should have?" Finn asked, watching Penny frown deeply. "What kind of assistant are you looking for?"
Penny sighed, looking back at him. "I don’t know?" she admitted, sounding genuinely frustrated. "I just don’t want soone like Allen, who’s too afraid of his boss, or like Benjamin, who’s too dramatic."
She rested her elbow on the armrest and tapped her fingers. "I think... soone who is honest, headstrong, determined. Soone who won’t be afraid to tap on the shoulder and remind to pause and think. Also, soone who’ll give lots of snacks to keep motivated at work."
As she finished speaking, she suddenly bit her tongue.
Finn pointed at her. "You just thought of soone, didn’t you?"
"No."
"I think you did. The mont you listed all that."
"No." Penny jumped from her seat in horror, looking at him defensively. "I didn’t! And if you keep saying that, I’m kicking you out."
"..."
She winced, quickly marching back to her desk. Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath.
’Why did I just think of Patricia? Goodness. That gave goosebumps.’
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