Even when the event resumed, many guests couldn’t help but glance at the Bennet and Zoren table. The Bennets and Zoren were mostly focused on the event, but occasionally, they would talk to each other, smiling or laughing at whatever was said at their table.
Dean stood still in the same spot where Atlas had left him. His eyes were fixed on a particular table where his uncle and the Bennets were seated.
’Penny...’His jaw tightened, his attention solely on her and a little on Zoren. ’I told her many times to stay out.’
But despite all his warnings, all Penny had done was the opposite.
Earlier, when Dean arrived, all the attention had been on him. But the moment Zoren stepped in, no one even cast him another look. Not that Dean cared much about the lack of attention he was receiving; he never cared whose attention he garnered, for it was all unnecessary and unwelcome. He didn’t even care that others didn’t pay him any mind at this event.
Dean didn’t care about any of that.
All he cared about was...
His hand trembled as he clenched his fist, watching Penny smile at something Zoren had said to her. Penny and Zoren didn’t appear clingy, nor did they look like lovers. But Dean knew his uncle well, and he recognized that the way Zoren was talking to her indicated a man’s interest.
’He’s interested in her.’ And that was very clear. ’And she... she’s indulging him.’
Was she really interested in Zoren?
Dean ran his tongue across his inner cheek, scoffing at the sight unfolding before him. A glint flickered in his eyes; he was not pleased with what he saw or how he felt. It angered him, but what dominated him right now was... jealousy—pure jealousy.
’I approached her because I know he’s important to him,’he thought. ’But I stuck around because... of her. I can’t let him have her.’
Penny was right when she said that everything Dean had told her in the past or done for her came from an insincere heart. She knew he was trying to play with her from the start, and he wouldn’t deny that. She was right.
However, after spending all these years with her and watching her do what she does, Dean found himself falling. His plan to be the good friend she could rely on and trust slowly morphed into something else. He found himself seeking a deeper, more meaningful relationship—one where she wouldn’t just see him as an elder brother or a trusted colleague, but rather as someone she couldn’t live without.
’It was fine before, but now...’His thoughts trailed off as he huffed. ’She’s right again. It was fine before because I knew there was no competition. Even if there were, they weren’t worthy opponents.’
But with Zoren now in the picture, now in her life, he knew the chances of Zoren taking her away from him were sky-high. If Dean didn’t do something, he knew he would end up watching another man whisk away the only woman who made his heart pound like crazy.
Meanwhile, in the same event hall...
"You didn’t tell me about this." Finn cast Nina a look, tilting his head with a slightly dejected expression.
Nina forced out a smile. "I didn’t know either. I mean, I was with Penny earlier, but she didn’t tell me she was coming to the same event."
"She didn’t tell you even when you told her you were coming?" He furrowed his brows, frowning. "Doesn’t she trust you?"
"Finn, it’s not like that, okay?" Nina sighed helplessly, moving her soft gaze to the Bennet table. "Penny probably didn’t tell me because she didn’t plan on coming. Or even if she did, she was too busy."
She paused and cast Finn a look. "Her brain is always too busy processing other information, but I’m still glad she didn’t tell me."
"I don’t know?" she shrugged. "Maybe because if she had, what happened just now would have been less interesting. Penny can be quite scary, you know? I’m surprised that Mr. Ito and Sven were able to leave this event unscathed."
"They didn’t leave unscathed, Nina," Finn corrected in a calm tone. "Nothing happened to them tonight, at least not in what you’ve seen. But after this, Sven Bennet would have been terminated from his position. Asking him to resign was probably the last mercy your First Brother would show him."
"As for the Ito Motors, I don’t think things will be the same for them. Although they have a homeland to support them, their business in Anteca is counting its days. I don’t even need to mention the Millers. They’re done for," he continued. "Even if they try to fix things, there’s nothing else they can do. They might not declare bankruptcy, but tonight has shot them down to the pits of the gutter. There’s no place for them to move up or down. They’ll stay where they are, and that’s the best-case scenario for them."
Nina let out a defeated chuckle as she stared at Finn. "Finn, even if I understand everything you said, I’d be lying if I said I grasped the depths of it all. Even so, that’s their business and not mine."
"Aren’t they your siblings?"
"They are." Nina smiled gracefully, shifting her eyes back to the table where her brothers and Penny were. "But at the end of the day, tonight is their night. They just showed everyone they’re not to be messed with, and I’m glad to stand on the sidelines and watch them all shine together."
Everything Nina said came from the bottom of her heart. If this had been before, she would have been seething with anger for being put aside. But now, she didn’t even feel as though she was being left behind. How could she? Right now, she was watching Penny constantly look around as if searching for someone in the crowd. The moment Penny’s eyes landed on Nina, she grinned and waved like a child. Penny even crooked her hand, raising her brows as if signaling Nina to join them.
Nina only returned the gesture with a smile.
As Nina was busy watching Penny and mouthing her response, Finn kept his gaze fixed on his fiancée. Though his eyes were sharp, the corner of his mouth hooked up subtly, giving the illusion that the slight smile on his face could mean anything.