Chapter 1321: I need that pill

Ignoring Wild and Lily, Penny furrowed her brows as she read the first invitation from the stack. Each envelope had a different color, likely representing different themes. The sheer number of invitations, along with the message Mark had relayed, confused her. However, upon seeing the details inside, she became even more perplexed.

"What is this?" she blurted out, effectively stopping Wild and Lily’s conversation. She turned the invitation around for them to see. "Grace just invited me to her birthday. It’s tomorrow."

"Huh?" Lily furrowed her brows, tilting her head. "Penny, are you sure that’s what it says?"

"Read it yourself." Penny handed her the invitation, which Lily accepted and examined.

"Oh, right, it does say that." Lily rocked her head in thought. "But... wasn’t her birthday already over?"

"I know."

"Maybe it’s a late celebration?" Lily guessed as she returned the invitation. "Since she had to fly out of the country and missed celebrating, maybe she’s making up for it."

"Well, if she’s inviting you girls, you should go," Wild chimed in. "Gracie works hard and rarely celebrates anything. Tonight is your sister’s family meeting, so there’s no conflict. The birthday celebration is tomorrow."

Lily and Penny exchanged glances before nodding. They agreed—Grace worked so hard she practically didn’t acknowledge holidays. Even if there were a storm outside, nothing would stop her from showing up to work.

"You’re right." Penny hummed, putting the invitation aside for safekeeping. She wanted to attend the celebration—it was for a dear friend, after all.

But then, as she checked the next invitation, she paused, her confusion deepening.

"Huh?" Her nose crinkled as she read the details.

"What’s wrong this time?" Wild asked, noticing the utter bewilderment on Penny’s face. "What’s that one for?"

"It’s... another birthday invitation," she mumbled, lifting it for them to see. "The wording is slightly rewritten, the format’s different, and the theme has changed—but it’s also Grace’s birthday party. This one’s for the day after tomorrow."

Lily and Wild stared at Penny blankly.

"There’s no way Gracie would send you two birthday invitations for different dates—OMG! She did!" Lily gasped after reading the second invitation. Penny was right. The only differences were the design, the date, and the listed age of the celebrant.

"What in the world is going on here?" Wild muttered in disbelief. "Penny, hand me a few of those invitations."

"Me too!" Lily volunteered. "I’ll help check them all."

Penny divided the stack between them, and the three began sorting through the invitations, momentarily forgetting their previous conversation.

To their dismay, every single invitation Grace had sent to Penny’s office was for a birthday celebration. Specifically, Grace’s 31st Birthday Celebration... all the way to her 60th.

Although most of the parties had different themes—albeit simple ones that wouldn’t inconvenience the guests—the last invitation had a senior theme. That meant everyone had to act as if they were already in their fifties or sixties, depending on their current age.

"Why would Grace celebrate her 31st to 60th birthday in a single month?" Lily was in complete disbelief, her mind struggling to process the absurdity.

Wild, on the other hand, carried a grim expression. "Penny... what did you do to Gracie?"

"I didn’t do anything to her!"

"Then why does it seem like she just snapped?!" Wild was quick to place blame, knowing full well that Penny had a talent for driving people mad. "I’m sure you asked her to do the impossible again. This time, she must’ve finally cracked under the pressure!"

"I didn’t!" Penny gasped. "Uncle Wild, you know I love Grace! I would never drive her mad."

"Then why do you drive everyone else mad?"

"Well..." Penny opened her mouth, then shut it, shrugging before briefly raising her brows. "Because I don’t love everyone else as much as I love Grace?"

"Tch." Wild clicked his tongue and stared at the invitation in his hand. "Something’s definitely going on. If it’s not you, then something must’ve made her snap."

"Uncle BBQ, you said you know a psychiatrist?" Lily suddenly turned to Wild, her expression serious. "Grace and I should go."

Wild glanced at Lily, his face souring—but he was reconsidering. Penny’s friends did seem like they needed counseling. Looking at Penny, he found her watching him with an innocent expression, her brows raised.

"Why am I even surprised?" he grumbled, shaking his head as he took a bite of his barbecue. "This piglet has always been the odd one out. Like a duckling among swans. Or the red nose on a reindeer."

"Uncle Wild, you’re so harsh on me." Penny pouted. "I didn’t do this, alright? Whatever’s going on, I had nothing to do with it."

---

At the same time...

"Oh, Penny has everything to do with this," Grace remarked, giggling as she sat by the bed where Chairman Bennet lay. "She’s the one who gave me the idea in the first place. And I just thought... why not?"

Chairman Bennet’s eye twitched as he watched Grace casually finalize yet another birthday invitation. She was inviting different groups of people to each event, ensuring that no one had to endure the entire month-long celebration—except for Penny and a select few who had received every single invitation.

"...Young woman," Chairman Bennet said slowly. "Just to clarify—when I mentioned my grandson, Atlas, you did understand that I was talking about him, correct?" His voice was laced with cautious skepticism. "Because as far as I know, Haines isn’t my grandson. He is intense like Atlas, I’ll give him that... but he’s also very old for you."

Grace smiled sweetly, raising one of the invitations in her hand. "That’s exactly why I’m speeding up my age. By the end of next month, I’ll be able to call you big brother. We’ll only be a few years apart then, Chairman."

"Ah." Chairman Bennet exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck as he felt it stiffen.

Without another word, he weakly lifted a hand and waved.

"Call my son," he muttered, defeated. "Tell him I need that pill Stephen’s been begging me to take. I’m done with all of you."