"Second Brother? What are you doing here?"
Penny slowly rose from her seat as she watched Hugo march in. Hugo brought out a bouquet from behind his back, making her smile from ear to ear.
"For you," he said. "Congratulations on your first day of operations."
She accepted the flowers with a smile. "Thank you, but I don’t like flowers," she said as she gazed down at the bouquet. "Peonies?"
Did people think she liked peonies just because her na almost sounded the sa?
"I know you don’t like flowers, but have you forgotten what you used to call us?" Hugo teased, raising his brows aningfully. Seeing the confused look on her face, he laughed. "The fan club."
"Oh?" Penny’s mouth fell open. "Right."
"Dad really put his mind and heart into it, rember?"
"Haha, that was so long ago, and it almost slipped my mind," she chuckled before perking up. "Right. Take a seat. Sorry. I just had a lot of things to do, so today’s a little busy."
"It’s alright," Hugo said as he sat down on the couch, snapping his eyes to her. "Penny, did you forget our plans today?"
"Hmm?"
"The bachelor’s party!" Hugo reminded her. "I told everyone you were coming, so they’re gonna expect you."
"Oh..." Her mouth ford an "o" shape as she nodded in understanding. "Right, I agreed to that."
"Ginnie will co because she heard that you were coming," Hugo added in a knowing tone. "Don’t worry. The bachelor’s party is safe—no one ordered a gigantic cake where a stripper will co out of it. I specifically asked them not to do that."
"Second Brother, is this party yours?"
"Huh?"
"From what I heard, it sounds like it’s yours. I an, how co you made all the decisions here?"
Because Hugo ddled with the original date of the bachelor’s party, he had to compensate.
"My friends just rely on a lot, and they told they simply want to experience sothing like this. After all, they’re scared for my life when I’m on duty," he explained confidently with a smile. "I have good friends, Penny. They appreciate what I do for this country."
Why did that entire explanation sound like a delusion?
Penny assessed her second brother before she sighed.
"Why, Penny?" asked Hugo, making her lift her eyes up at him again. "Don’t you want to go anymore?"
"No, it’s not like that," she smiled wryly. "It’s just that... it’s Thursday today."
"Oh."
Penny didn’t need to explain more to Hugo when she ntioned Thursday. After all, Hugo had heard about it that night from her before they even rushed to the Skyline Plaza.
"Are you worried he would be there?" he asked, and Penny shook her head. "If he’s not going to wait in that eting spot, why are you wearing such a face?"
Penny pursed her lips and breathed out sharply. "Because he invited that fake Thursday Girl to his ho."
"..." Hugo looked down for a second, and when he raised his head, he casually said, "I’ll kill him."
"Second Brother!" she pouted, stopping Hugo from getting up from the couch. "Just let him be."
"Penny, I know you’re worried about him, and I understand that you want to know if this Dean guy has anything to do with it. However, this is frustrating," Hugo expressed. "My little sister, why are you letting this unfold the way it does? This is not how I rember you."
Penny pursed her lips and leaned back. "I haven’t changed, Second Brother," she whispered, hugging the bouquet for so reason. "I trust him, and we have a rule to trust each other regardless. Don’t we?"
Or, if she was going to elaborate, unlike everyone else whose treatnt changed because she changed, Zoren was the only person who gave her such importance without any conditions. He trusted her with just her words, held onto their promises, and even treated their mories as sothing more precious than anything in the world.
He valued her not because of her family or what she could do or what she couldn’t do. He valued her just because she was a precious friend. He made her feel special and relevant.
Hearing her say all this, Hugo cald down. "If you trust him, then... I’ll trust him. Although I didn’t like him until now, what he did to commorate Tiana, Mouse, Chunchun, and your shared mories made reconsider."
"Thanks, Second Brother."
"So? Are you going to et him and catch him off guard? Or should I go with you and arrest them?"
"You can’t just arrest people."
"I can." But he would probably have to detain them sowhere else illegally.
"Well." Penny pondered and smacked her lips. "Let’s just go to the bachelor’s party!"
"Great!"
"But I’ll just have to do sothing really quick." Penny carried the bouquet to the desk and picked up her phone, sending a reply to Benjamin.
***
[Skyline Plaza: Zoren.]
[From: Miss Penelope
Mr. Vitt, if you can’t take it anymore, then go out and have a drink. Let your boss enjoy the night with his Thursday Girl. I’ll be out with my second brother, so don’t bother tonight.]
’Miss Penny!!!’ Benjamin ntally wept upon reading Penny’s first reply to him for the day. ’Don’t tell you’ve given up on your husband?!’
Just as Benjamin was about to type his distress response to Penny, he saw Zoren coming down the stairs. Looking up, he quickly rose from his seat.
"Benjamin, what ti will Patricia co?" asked Zoren as soon as he reached the last step.
Benjamin’s face soured before he said, "She was on her way here ten minutes ago, sir. Her estimated ti of arrival is about thirty minutes."
"I see." Zoren nodded before he carefully walked away.
"Sir, where are you going?"
"In the garden," he said without looking back. Then he stopped in his tracks. "Ben."
"Yes, sir?"
"Once Miss Miller cos, you may leave."
"Huh?" Deep lines appeared between Benjamin’s brows, confused. "Sir, why are you—"
"I want so private ti with her," Zoren glanced over his shoulder. "I’d appreciate it if no one disturbed us once she arrived. I don’t want to be disturbed during my ti with her."
Reviews
All reviews (0)