Chapter 1003: Banned words

"Why are you all so mean to me?!" Hugo complained, unable to take it any longer. "Where’s Slater?! He usually has this role, not me!"

Allison shook her head, giving up on her boys as her attention shifted to Penny and Zoren, who seemed to be enjoying this. "Zoren, how are you feeling, my dear?"

"I’m feeling..." Zoren trailed off, casting a glance at his wife and smiling. "... a lot better than I thought. Better than I’ve ever felt."

"The doctor said you’re recovering, and that yesterday was just your body getting rid of toxins." Penny squeezed his hand, now seated beside him, with her back against the headboard. "The medicine is working, Renren! I’m so happy."

Zoren smiled with satisfaction, watching his wife’s eyes squint into mere slits as she expressed her happiness. Yet, there was a restraint in her voice, as though she was holding herself back from jumping for joy.

It amazed him. It amused him. It filled him.

"By the way, what happened yesterday?" Atlas asked, shifting his attention from Hugo to Zoren. His question caused everyone to pause and look at Zoren. "Before Mom found you. What happened? The doctor said it’s likely something triggered it, or did it just happen naturally?"

Zoren leaned back slightly, scanning the curious faces directed at him. "What happened before Mom found me..." he trailed off, recalling the sequence of events that led to his body feeling like it was burning from the inside out.

[Renren, I love you.]

[I love you.]

[Love you.]

His heart pounded loudly, almost painfully. Zoren’s expression hardened as his body froze in place. Slowly, his dilated eyes shifted to look at Penny.

"Renren?" Penny called worriedly, cupping his face. "What’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Worry quickly filled her eyes as she saw the sudden shift in his expression. Her fingers turned cold with nervousness as they traced his face.

"Zoren?" Allison called, followed by Charles’s inquiry. "Do you feel like throwing up again?"

After a moment, a subtle smile appeared on Zoren’s face. He looked at Penny and quietly said, "I was happy... very happy. I felt so happy I thought I was going to jump off the second floor."

Everyone: "..."

Was he depressed — suicidal?!

Except for Penny, everyone furrowed their brows in confusion. What Zoren had said was contradictory, but what he truly meant was that he had so much energy from happiness that his head was throbbing. Penny, on the other hand, tilted her head to the side.

"Happy?" she repeated under her breath. "What made you happy?"

"You said..." His eyes dropped briefly as his smile stretched wide, revealing all of his teeth. When he locked eyes with her again, the corners of his eyes crinkled. "... you said you love me."

Penny was so confused she let out a short, "Eh?"

Not just her, but everyone in the room.

Charles: "Eh?"

"EH?" Hugo’s face twitched.

Allison and Atlas, on the other hand, merely cocked their heads to the side. Though their reactions were the same, the curiosity in their minds was different.

"It’s the first time you’ve told me that," Zoren explained, cradling his wife’s hand. "So, I was taken aback. I was so overly happy and excited... then I was a little upset because I couldn’t express it. You were still recovering yesterday, and I don’t want to tire you out."

"This brat—" Charles snapped out of his trance when he heard Zoren’s last remarks. Thankfully, Hugo was quick to hug his father’s waist.

Hugo jumped from his spot, skillfully wrapping his arms around Charles’s waist. "Dad, that guy almost died! Did you watch him recover just so you could kill him?!"

"Pfft—" Allison covered her mouth with the back of her hand, but she failed to suppress a burst of laughter. "What an adorable child."

"..." Penny was rendered speechless for a moment. All she could do was stare at the foolish smile on her husband’s face. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

It took her a moment to remember what happened when she verbally expressed her love to him.

Zoren didn’t respond. He didn’t even look back at her—he simply left and slammed the door shut.

"Oh..." Her mouth formed an O shape as realization dawned on her. "So, that’s what happened. Wait! Does that mean after you left, you were outside the bedroom the whole time?"

Zoren nodded. "I couldn’t move because I felt so happy."

"Didn’t he just say he wanted to jump off the second floor because he was so happy?" Hugo mumbled, still clinging to his father, just in case. "Or does he mean he wanted to, but his body was frozen in place? That’s why he couldn’t do it? Wow... he’s intense—what a nut job!"

If Slater had been there, he would have been screaming, "Red flag!" as if it were a national alarm bell.

"Penny, how come you’ve never told your husband you love him?" Charles blurted out in disbelief. "Are you depriving your husband?!"

Now that Charles brought it up, Allison couldn’t help but wonder too. "He did say it’s the first time..."

"And it will be the last," Atlas chimed in seriously, making Penny frown as everyone looked confused.

"First Brother, are you jealous of me and Renren? Why do you always find a way to take him away from me?" Penny complained before looking at Zoren. The moment her eyes landed on him, her lips stretched into a broad smile.

Penny covered Zoren’s ears. "Don’t listen to First Brother and I’m sorry I didn’t know. Sorry that I didn’t notice that I—"

"I’m not separating the two of you," Atlas replied, unfazed by his sister’s complaints. He earned everyone’s attention once again. "You’re forgetting what happened to Zoren yesterday. We all thought he was dying, but as it turns out, he was just overly excited and happy."

He then snapped his cold eyes at the couple. "If you didn’t make him so happy, he wouldn’t have had to go through such a horrible experience. The doctor said it would have been less scary if it happened naturally, without any triggers."

He glanced at them again, his voice stern. "What I’m trying to say is... forget uttering such deadly