When Zoren left, Charles and her brothers rushed outside to check on her. Charles stood in front of her, holding her arm, looking her up and down.
"You’re fine?" asked Charles, making sure there wasn’t a single scratch on her.
Atlas walked over to Penny and studied her with scrutinizing eyes. He didn’t say anything, but she could feel how he was observing her, as if she was under a microscope.
"Penny, Penny! How was it?!" While his father and brothers were checking up on her, Slater quickly went to her side. "Did you kiss — ack!"
Slater rubbed his ear when Hugo flicked it lightly.
"Penny, did you have fun today?" asked Hugo, smiling kindly as if he wasn’t just as worried as the other mbers of his family. "Chunchun seed to have missed you."
Hugo lifted the cat in his arms slightly, making Penny’s eyes fall on her beloved cat. The corners of her lips curled up, and she nodded at him.
"It was fun," she said as she faced her father. "Zoren is a gentleman, and he really looked after today."
Charles, Atlas, Slater, and Hugo slowly lifted their gaze to her face. A mix of emotions swirled in their eyes as they tried to see any negativity on Penny’s face. But alas, there was none. All they could see in her eyes was satisfaction.
"Oh, Penny~!" Just then, Allison arrived at the scene with Haines. She quickly shoved her husband to the side, taking Charles’s spot in front of Penny. "How was the date, my dear?"
Her cheeks turned pinkish as she giggled. "It was fun. We went to an amusent park."
"An amusent park?" Allison gasped in surprise before her face softened. "Aww. Isn’t that sweet? Do you want to talk about it?"
Allison quickly held her daughter’s arm and carefully led Penny inside without stopping talking. Penny happily shared her experience.
anwhile, Charles and the boys slowly looked at Penny and Allison walking back in. Allison didn’t even invite them in, as if their existence was of no importance.
"Honey?" Charles sighed, clasping his chest dramatically. "I think I’m being neglected now that I’m not as handso as I was before."
He then peeked up at his sons, expecting them to cheer him up. Sadly, when he looked up, all he saw was his sons wordlessly following their mother and sister inside.
"Haha." Haines couldn’t help but laugh at him, making Charles scrunch up his nose. "Charles, I’m still surprised you had so much hope from your sons. They wouldn’t even complint you when they were young. In fact, Atlas only knows how to criticize every inch of you."
"This is why I wanted to have a daughter," Charles expressed his heartache. "But now, even my daughter is ignoring ."
"Because you are so dramatic," said Haines, earning another glare from Charles.
"Haines, don’t bla for being ruthless!" Charles huffed. "But you won’t understand because when you had the chance, you chose not to listen to . Now, you’re old and grumpy."
"I am old, but not grumpy."
"Ugh!" Charles grumpily stord his way back in while Haines laughed.
But before Charles could get away, Haines called, "Charles."
"What now, old man?" Charles looked back at him, displeased.
"I told her," said Haines softly with a smile. "Better be prepared once she cos to you with her questions. Your daughter... will squeeze every bit of information she can get once she deems it is the right ti."
The grumpiness on Charles’s face slowly faded as he looked at Haines solemnly. "I know," he nodded. "Her office will be done soon. She’ll have plenty of ti for that once her company settles in."
"Are you prepared?"
"No." Charles shook his head. "I’m scared... for my life and hers."
\*\*\*
Inside the mansion, the family, except Charles and Haines, gathered in the living room.
"What? A boat ride and the ride is a frog?" Slater repeated, imagining the concept of the ride Penny was talking about. "A log design would fit that better, wouldn’t it?"
"Hehe. There’s also this horror room where there’s a gigantic mouse that chases after you!" Penny happily shared. "Also, they have cotton candy. They can make everything out of it. It’s amazing!"
"Then, one more, there’s this one..."
"And then another one..."
"Oh! There’s also this ride, like a bumper car. But instead of cars, the designs were different. There’s a cat design, a dog..."
Penny couldn’t stop sharing everything she experienced at the amusent park. Her mother was asking about her date, but Penny was sharing an entirely wholeso story as if she had just gone on a field trip. Even so, Allison and her brothers could only listen to her.
Slater wasn’t even disturbing her anymore, watching how excited she looked. It had been a while since they had seen her this excited. After all, Penny often conducted herself properly because of her standing and so she wouldn’t get underestimated in the business world.
"A cat... a mouse... a frog..." Hugo muttered when Penny finished, ruffling Chunchun’s fur in his arms. "That sounds..."
Hugo didn’t dare continue what he was about to say, knowing bringing up this topic carelessly would ruin his sister’s day. Everyone looked at Hugo with wide eyes before they shifted their gaze to Penny. They watched as the creases on the side of her mouth slowly faded.
’Oh, no...’ they all thought. Even Butler Jen sighed as he frowned a little.
Penny’s lips remained partially open as she furrowed her brows, recalling everything at the amusent park. Now that Hugo ntioned it, the the park was full of frogs, cats, and even mice. She hadn’t focused on them much until now.
"Penny, I’m sorry," Hugo expressed apologetically. "I didn’t an to bring them up."
She shifted her eyes to him and sighed faintly. "It’s okay, Second Brother," she said as Penny quickly picked up the children’s book and the paper bag full of chocolates. "Actually, I think I need to wash up first. I already ate, so I might not co down for dinner."
Having said that, Penny rose from her seat and smiled at everyone. She didn’t linger and quickly went up the stairs, leaving everyone to glare daggers at Hugo.
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