In Penny’s first life, the Bennets—especially her brothers—had always been her constant source of stress and anxiety. In this life, however, they had become a source of happiness. They were the people who often cheered her up, and although they weren’t perfect, their imperfections made their relationships feel complete.
According to Zoren, Hugo didn’t plan to stay for a long time. To be fair, Hugo hadn’t even planned on staying at his house in the first place; it was Zoren’s invitation that led to this arrangement. Initially, it worried her, but seeing that Zoren wanted Hugo to stay made her heart melt.
She said Zoren had found Hugo’s soft spots, but it was actually her soft spot he had found.
With that, she went to work. Fortunately, Zoren and Hugo didn’t insist on driving her. The three of them parted ways outside the gates, with Penny heading to her office while Zoren went to his—Hugo tagged along because the Second Brother had nothing else to do.
Thinking about it, Penny chuckled as she made her way to her office. Her laughter stopped abruptly when she entered her office and spotted a bouquet on the table. She squinted her eyes.
"I’m guessing whoever sent these really wants to ruin my day again," she muttered as she approached the table and picked up one of the bouquets.
Penny scoffed at the note, glaring at the flower before shaking her head. Without even putting her handbag down, she marched to the trash bin and tossed it in.
"I should send him a trashcan so he could throw himself in it," she hissed, walking back to get the other bouquet. She quickly carried it to the trashcan, not interested in reading the note. However, before she could throw it away, she paused.
"He already sent me one," she muttered. "This could be from someone else."
Although she had no idea who else would send her flowers, Penny still checked the card, just to be sure. It read:
[Check the news. You’re welcome.
Deep lines appeared between her brows as she threw the entire bouquet away. She dropped this unnecessary chore that Dean wickedly tossed in her direction and sat at her desk. As she checked the news online, Penny tilted her head to the side.
"There’s nothing new in the business news," she muttered, frowning. "Is he really messing with me?"
Penny scrolled through a few more sections, but nothing significant appeared. If there had been any major news involving her clientele, Penny would’ve heard about it before it reached the media. Still, she continued to check because, right now, she was learning that Anteca was different from her previous base.
"There’s really nothing," she repeated after several minutes. "That psycho..."
Penny trailed off as she habitually scrolled down to the entertainment section. She blinked when she saw a massive headline. She blinked a couple more times, wondering if what she was seeing was real.
The more she read, the more her expression twisted. "Eh?!"
"Eh?!" Slater gasped in disbelief, scrunching up his nose. He had just gotten home to the Bennet Mansion and was walking to the front door with his phone when he saw something utterly ridiculous.
The headline read: [Slater Bennet secretly married. He was spotted with his wife during one of their secret dates!]
Slater initially thought it was just another stunt to tarnish his reputation. However, when he checked the photos, his face contorted uncontrollably.
"Do they think Penny is my secret wife?! Eh?!" he exclaimed, looking at the headline in dismay. "Isn’t that disgusting?!"
Slater loved his sister with all his heart. He wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life with her, making her happy, and buying her whatever she wanted. However, if their relationship was portrayed , it was revolting.
"Mom!!!" Slater yelled, only to realize that Allison was likely to have gone to Mama. His face soured as he glared at his phone. "Whoever wrote this clearly wants trouble."
Just then, Slater’s phone started ringing—it was James. When he declined that call, another came in. Slater kept ending the calls, but much to his dismay, he couldn’t do anything else but decline them.
"What is wrong with these people?!" he fumed, growing more irritated. "You guys will see! I’m gonna catch whoever posted this and humiliate the hell out of him!"
With that thought in mind, Slater stormed inside.
"Oh, Third Young..." Butler Jen trailed off as Slater ran past him like a bolt of lightning. "... Master?"
Slater jogged up the stairs and then stopped, turning his head toward Butler Jen. "Butler Jen, can you please prepare me something to eat? A heavy meal."
A glint flickered across his eyes as he added, "I need to be full because I’m going to war," before continuing up the stairs.
"Oh... okay?" Butler Jen blinked, tilting his head in confusion over what had gotten Slater so riled up.
"Gosh..." Penny clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "What a ridiculous article."
Penny could barely read the article without feeling disgusted. In the narrative, the writer made them sound like a lovely couple. Photos of her and Slater during a recent date were attached—though blurry and unrecognizable, it was still absurd.
"Did Dean release this?" she blurted, then shook her head. "He wouldn’t humiliate himself . Gosh. Whoever wrote this... I’m sure he didn’t know this article would backfire on him."
Not dwelling on this absurdity, Penny was ready to start her day. But just as she was about to close the tab, a notification popped up in the corner of her screen. She knitted her brows and clicked it, redirecting her to Slater’s social media account.
Slater had posted, and the moment Penny saw the picture, her face contorted. It was a photo of Slater playfully head-locking her. The camera was held up so that Penny’s face was covered by her cap. The photo was from months ago, around the time she returned to the Bennet Mansion.
The only woman in my life aside from my mother. I love you <3
Atlas, who was now reading this article: "..."
Everyone who saw the post and their minds were currently loading: "..."
Benjamin, who was currently about to report this to his boss: "!!!!"