One of the letters Penny received from her in-laws was an invitation for lunch. Initially, she planned to ignore it. However, she changed her mind when she rembered who had sent it.
Ashley Pierson.
Ashley Pierson was the only person in the kitchen during the family gathering who didn’t show the slightest interest in joining the Pierson family festivities. She was also the one who wasn’t well-liked among the newer mbers of the family, yet, at the sa ti, she was the second-in-command whenever Mildred wasn’t around.
She intrigued Penny, but when Penny asked Zoren about her, he simply shrugged. Zoren said she was just another mber of the Pierson family. Not that Zoren didn’t know his relatives, but he barely focused on those who weren’t part of the power play or could offer significant support to the primary branches of the family.
So Penny agreed. Ashley was harmless.
’I agreed to et her... not them,’ Penny thought, frowning deeply and narrowing her eyes at the people sitting at the wide round table in the mansion’s garden.
"Hehe, Penny, did you like the gift I sent you?" asked a young woman sitting closer to Penny. "That gift was a family heirloom passed down for generations. It’s said to bring good luck and fortune."
Penny turned to the young woman, a mber of her group from the kitchen during the family gathering. ’What’s her na again?’ Penny wondered, narrowing her eyes as she recalled the long list of nas from the Pierson Family registry.
’There’s a few people who married into the Pierson Family around the sa ti she got into the family,’ she thought with a deep sigh. ’I should just ask, but I feel like she would start bawling her eyes once I did.’
"How about my gift?" a man chid in, rubbing his hands together as he moved closer. "My wife and I spent an entire day choosing a gift we thought you might like. We even made a quick trip abroad to get this painting."
He nodded at Penny, beaming. "We bought it at an auction, and the mont we saw it, we knew you’d love it."
Penny shifted her gaze to the man. ’This... is the guy who lied to his mother about having fun at the gathering, right?’
Looking at the man, Penny tilted her head slightly. "You seem well," she remarked—he didn’t look as distressed as he had appeared that night at the Pierson family gathering.
"Penny, I apologize for how I acted, and to show you our sincerity, I’m sending you a valuable present that I hope you’ll like," another man spoke, smiling gently. "I also sent so other things."
Penny turned her gaze to the other man, her face twitching. ’The depressed guy doesn’t look depressed now. He looks relaxed and polite.’
For a while, Penny kept her lips tightly sealed, scanning the people around the table. They were all from her small kitchen team, the ones she didn’t expect to see today. It wasn’t like Ashley had arranged this; she seed a little surprised too when the people started arriving. That’s why Ashley had stepped away to prepare more refreshnts and snacks.
’I guess, even if they’re distant relatives, they shouldn’t be underestimated,’ Penny thought, letting out a shallow breath before smiling.
"Heh, thanks for the gifts, but I haven’t checked all of them yet," she replied kindly, though the truth was that she hadn’t checked any of them. "I really appreciate it."
The three of them smiled in satisfaction, sighing in relief at her response.
"Anyway, I’m surprised you knew I was here," Penny said. "Ashley seed a little surprised too!"
"Ahh..." the three of them laughed awkwardly, recalling what had happened before they could even join Penny.
They hadn’t arrived at the sa ti, but they did with a few minutes between their arrivals. All three had clung to Ashley’s legs, begging and crying to be allowed to et with Penny. As they squashed down the mory, they let out a shallow laugh.
"We heard that you’d be eting with Ashley," the young woman explained. "So, we ca here hoping we could chat with you."
"That’s right," the man who had lied to his mother nodded vigorously. "We’re just glad that Ashley is kind enough to let us in."
The depressed guy nodded calmly. "And we also thank you for letting us join you for lunch." ’I might be saved.’
Penny pressed her lips together, her eyes scanning their faces. She leaned back, about to speak, when she noticed Ashley approaching the table with a trolley tray.
"Oh," Penny blurted out, rising from her seat. "Wait, let help you."
Just as Penny took a step forward, she flinched when the three suddenly jumped out of their seats and dashed toward Ashley. Even Ashley jolted when the three surrounded her, taking hold of the trolley tray to stop her.
"Sister Ashley, how about I help you with this?" the young woman bead. "You shouldn’t have bothered. Let help you."
Without waiting for Ashley’s response, the young woman grabbed the trolley tray and pushed it forward. The other two n glared at each other, seemingly competing to serve the refreshnts and snacks. In the end, the three of them had to share the spotlight, pushing it together with graceful smiles on their faces.
Ashley stood frozen in place, watching them in disbelief. She knew these three wouldn’t be acting this way unless they had a reason. As her gaze shifted toward the table, a helpless smile appeared on her face when her eyes t Penny’s.
"I’m sorry," she mouthed to Penny, who gave her a slight nod in return.
As for Penny, she shot a quick glance at the three and shrugged nonchalantly. ’I don’t need them, nor do I dislike them, but I suppose keeping them around isn’t all that bad.’
With that, Ashley joined the table, where the three quietly argued over who would serve Penny. Although Penny felt secondhand embarrassnt, she couldn’t bla them. After all, they were doing this for her, the matriarch of the Pierson family. Even if she stopped them, they wouldn’t listen. Thus, she simply let them do whatever they wanted.
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