Chapter 1084: Perception

Taking accountability was just one of the many steps in life. Easier said than done, but people — many people — were living proof it was part of the way of life: happiness.

Nina, for one, would testify to the struggles of that reality.

Nina might not know her first life, but if she did, she would be thankful for all the pain. She would be thankful for everything that had happened because now, she had lived life for a while. It might not have been the fullest, but she was able to not just find herself, but create herself, which was the same thing.

Finn opened his heart and left it vulnerable just because he wanted to live — to experience life, to see the way of it. No meticulous planning or calculations, no backup plans, and no expectations.

Slater chose to stay quiet, keeping the greatest agony of life by bearing untold stories within him. He did so to live, to move forward, and to look his sister in the eye.

Zoren held onto life and eventually found the reason why he should cling to it.

And Penny, despite the crippling memories and the life experiences from both her first and current ones, chose to trust the people around her. She reached out to the hands that reached out to her instead of keeping everyone at arm’s length. Was it a quick journey? No. It was a long journey, and even now, she still struggled with her own self.

Every single one of them still struggles, but they wake up the next day to face the challenges life has for them.

Was it easy?

No, but it was worth it.

Everything wasn’t rainbows and sunshine, but rainbows would always appear after a heavy downpour. And sunshine would always shine and bathe the world with its beauty once the sky cleared up.

That was life.

As the saying goes, it wasn’t meant to be solved, but experienced. Therefore, life goes on.

*****

Patricia stared out the window, staying quiet while thinking about Angel’s lecture.

"Say..." she whispered. Her voice, although timid and coarse after all the yelling, was clear in the silence. "Can I trust... Penny?"

Angel glanced at her briefly. "That depends, but if this helps, I trust her with my life."

"Why?" she looked back at him. "Why do you trust her with your life?"

"Well... aside from being my boss..." Angel trailed off before his mouth hooked into a grin. "I just know she’s going to be there when I need her, because I’d be there for her when she needs me."

"..." Patricia pursed her lips, studying the side of his face. It was a strange answer — a very simple one. But based on the genuine smile on his face, she knew he wasn’t lying.

It was the first time she’d met someone who trusted someone else with their life for such a petty reason.

"What if she doesn’t?" Patricia returned. "What if you need her and she doesn’t come? Like if you were abducted or beaten to a pulp."

"She will."

"I’m asking about the what if."

"There’s no what-ifs, Miss Miller," he said, casting her a sidelong glance. "She’ll come. It might take time, but she will. I know her, so I know she’d turn this world upside down if that means she could save her friends and family and her people."

Angel then set his eyes ahead. "Penny might be a degenerate and a little corrupt, but to think she could be worse, I’m already thankful she’s not going full-blown cray-cray."

"Do you... do you... like her?"

"Yep."

"You’re in love with Penny?"

"What?!" Angel gasped, pulling over abruptly so he could look at her in disgust. "Miss Miller, are you crazy?"

"What?"

"I like Penny because she’s a friend and also the one who signs my paycheck! Why are you suddenly tying it to romance? Goodness! You’re giving me goosebumps!"

Patricia gulped as her shoulders shrank. "I’m just curious since you say a lot of nice things about her."

"She’s a friend and someone I trust, so I have good things to say about her," he grumbled, shivering at just the mere thought of whatever awful idea Patricia had in her mind. He resumed driving. "If you want to hear bad things about her, I have a ton, and a night wouldn’t be enough just to list all the terrible and awful traits she has."

He clicked his tongue. "But that doesn’t change anything. Geez! I feel like I’ll have nightmares later."

"You don’t have to react like that. If you don’t like her, then fine."

"That’s like asking you if you’re in love with your sibling. Isn’t that disgusting?"

"..." Patricia’s face soured, and just like him, she couldn’t imagine it. "It is... disgusting."

"Heh."

Silence fell on their shoulders again before Patricia glanced at him. She opened and closed her mouth, but it took her some time to blurt out something.

"That night... can you tell me with all honesty that you and Penny don’t have anything to do with it?"

"Huh?" He scrunched up his nose. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did you, or did you not concoct that situation?"

Angel waited for the traffic light to turn red before he looked her in the eye and said, "No. Why would we do that? Those guys are legally arrested and waiting for trial. They’re looking at a minimum of ten years just for the abduction alone. There’s still attempted murder and other charges."

Patricia studied his eyes and face, making sure he wasn’t lying to her. Not that she was good at reading faces, but she wanted to look carefully and convince herself.

"Then... if you have nothing to do with it, how come you know what’s going on?" she asked. "How?"

"Didn’t I tell you? Weren’t you listening back then? Penny told me to follow you."

"Why would she ask you to follow me?"

"Because you’re a shitty person."

"What?"

"She knew you’d do something reckless. Miss Miller, if receiving an invitation from someone you don’t know, and this person sends you a lot of money just for messaging you, doesn’t ring the emergency bells in your head, then it does for other people. Penny is the head of a security firm, and what you confessed just screams that someone is already paying for your life," Angel huffed, in a little disbelief that Patricia hadn’t thought of the obvious. But then again, the obvious didn’t seem too obvious to her. "Penny was concerned."

Patricia’s brows rose as her eyes widened a little. "Why would she... doesn’t she hate me?"

"Tch. Penny has no time to hate people," he grumbled. "And if she hates you, you would’ve known. You haven’t seen her angry. I have, and I don’t want her to get angry. It’s like summoning ten demons inside her at once."

Angel glanced at the countdown for the traffic light and added, "I don’t exactly know the reason for all her actions and decisions, but if you want to find out... try to look at things differently. Maybe you’ll get answers when you do. Life is all about perception after all."

"Perception..." Patricia mumbled to herself as she looked away, staring at the side of the road. Her eyes softened a little as the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "Perception, huh?"