Unlike Hugo and Atlas, Penny had to admit that Slater wasn’t the big brother type one would expect. He was dramatic, gullible, and often acted like the youngest of the Bennet siblings. He wasn’t the person who would give Penny good advice; instead, he was the big brother who would fight with her over chocolates or a minor scratch on his car.
But despite all of that, Slater had the biggest heart among them. He might be arrogant, vain, and annoying, but sotis, he could touch her heart like no one else.
"Haha." Slater laughed, watching her tear up and wipe her eyes. "Penny, those tears are from guilt, aren’t they? Tsk tsk tsk. Bad sister."
Penny dramatically wiped her eyes with the side of her finger, casting her third brother a look. "You fool! Why are you tiring yourself out for ?! Who said I might need you in the middle of the night when I’m always asleep?!"
Slater flinched as she yelled, lecturing him for being foolish.
"If you can’t co ho next ti, just don’t force it! What would you do if you got sick?! Who would take care of you?! Also, look at this schedule! Even Brother Atlas would burn this calendar if his assistant handed him sothing like this!" She continued hysterically. "If I need your help, I will ride my motorbike wherever you are! It doesn’t matter if you’re at the end of the world! I will co to you and rant until your brain is fried!"
Penny went on and on out of frustration and guilt. She had been taking him for granted, sotis even tricking him and ignoring him on purpose. Knowing that he had been coming ho despite such an insane schedule just for her brought out all these emotions in her heart.
Even this morning, she had been angry at him and kept throwing threats his way.
"But I want to," was all Slater replied, blinking innocently. "Dad once told that giving your free ti to soone and making ti for them despite your busy schedule are two different things. I want to make ti for you."
Penny pouted, looking at her brother somberly. Slater smiled in satisfaction, winking at her charmingly.
"I like making ti for you," he said. "So, even if you ignore , it’s fine. It’s not like I’m asking for anything in return."
"Third Brother..." She pressed her quivering lips together, almost feeling like a little child about to bawl her eyes out.
Surely, Slater was the only person who could make her angry to that extent, but he was also soone who could make her cry a river.
"But you should unblock !" he added, clicking his tongue this ti. "Do you know how many ssages I wanted to send? Look!"
Slater suddenly pulled out his phone, showing her their ssage log, which looked like a feed. There wasn’t even a single reply from her. Seeing the ssages on the screen, which required a lot of scrolling to see the top, made her face contort.
"Oh!" he scoffed, catching the reluctance in her eyes. He pointed a finger at her, incredulous at how quickly her reaction changed. "Penny, you’re so fickle! You just said you wouldn’t block anymore! Why are you giving that look as if you want to keep on your block list?"
Because that was exactly what Penny had in mind.
"Third Brother, did I really say I wouldn’t block you?" she replied nervously. "I think you’re hearing things."
"Hah! Penny! What the hell? You liar... what are you even crying for?!"
"Fine, fine!" Penny sighed as she reluctantly took out her phone. "I’ll unblock you now, okay? Just stop bombarding with your nonsense."
"Penny, everything I sent you carries aning," he argued matter-of-factly. "Unblock now!"
"Here, I’m already doing it," she sighed, unblocking him with a heavy heart.
Slater’s actions might have moved her to tears, but just the thought of the coming days scared her. Even so, this was the least she could do for him. After all, she truly felt guilty and bad for how she had been treating him.
"Done!" she announced, and to prove it, she showed him her screen.
Seeing this, Slater smiled in satisfaction. "Good, good!"
Just as those words rolled off his tongue, Penny’s phone started pinging. All the ssages Slater had sent her over the previous days ca flooding in. There were so many that her phone lagged. Penny had to put it in silent mode for her sanity.
"Penny, you should read everything I sent you," Slater muttered, watching her put her phone on silent mode. "I’m sure it’ll brighten your day and make you less grumpy."
"I’m not grumpy."
Slater shrugged. "If you say so, but everything I sent you is positive. You should be thankful you have as your brother. First Brother won’t even send you any ssages for days, and I doubt Second Brother even knows how to use a smartphone."
"Yes, yes... I will do that," she conceded, knowing she wouldn’t bother reading his ssages in the future. Not that Penny was completely ignoring his ssages; most of the ti, she would skim through them.
"If you’re going to do that, do it now."
Her face contorted. "Now?"
"Yes. Now."
"Third Brother, is this how you treat your assistant? Are you a tyrant? Is that why your assistant is sick?"
Slater frowned. "My assistant is sick because he has been through a lot of personal problems. You said you feel bad for ."
"Third Brother, tell the truth." Penny faced him squarely. "Are you coming ho just to tug at my conscience?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Penny studied his face and sighed, shaking her head. "Nah, you’re too simple to think like that." She leaned back and snapped her eyes up at him.
"Fine, fine, I will check your ssages now so we’re even," she said, knowing she didn’t have anything to do on the way anyway.
Slater smiled in satisfaction. "You should eat too. Wait, let heat it for you."
Without further ado, Slater jumped out of his seat and picked up the packed lunch in front of her. He then quickly went to the back of the van, heating her food in the microwave.
Watching him, Penny shook her head and sighed. She then shifted her focus to her phone. Thankfully, the ssages stopped coming after a while. Not that Penny planned to read every line he had sent—just enough to grasp the gist of his ssages.
But as Penny kept scrolling, lines appeared between her brows.
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