Chapter 1446: Happy thoughts

"Good fucking luck. You’re on your own!"

Penny’s response was the green light everyone had been waiting for.

And with that, Renny leaped forward to settle scores with his uncle. How dare Hugo bite him? Hadn’t Hugo heard of rabies? What if Renny got it?!

Hugo, on the other hand, stopped thinking entirely—he just fled for his life. The problem was, while Hugo scrambled to escape those beastly fangs, the furniture—and everything else—started toppling and breaking.

"..."

Penny’s anger at her second brother faded with every crash and thud. Her mouth fell open as she watched Hugo dart around the living room while Renny accidentally knocked over everything in his path.

She pressed her lips together, ignoring how the guys at the entrance were cheering for Renny. Normally, she’d have started a betting pool. But how could she, when her second brother and Renny were turning the place upside down—while Atlas, on the couch, was muttering to himself?

"Happy thoughts..." Atlas whispered with his eyes closed, pausing as Hugo suddenly leaped over the couch he was sitting on.

Renny followed suit, jumping clean over Atlas’s head.

Atlas didn’t move. Nor did he care about the chaos unfolding around him.

"Happy thoughts," he murmured again, eyes still closed. "Hugo. Fat Cat. I swear, if you hit me once, you will not like it." Then, he resumed meditating, focusing on fighting off the poison in his system.

As for Slater...

Penny turned to where her third brother sat sulking in the corner of the living room, wrapped in a massive blanket.

"Huhuhu," he sniffled. "I just wanted to have dinner with my sister, and instead, I get—will you shut it?!"

Slater roared at Hugo and Renny. "Can’t you see there’s someone crying here?!" Then, as if resigned to the inevitability of their chaos, he went right back to sobbing.

"Get him, Renny!"

"Don’t let him—damn!"

"Aim for his leg! That’s a juicy leg, Renny!"

Meanwhile, the guys—who had just shoved their captains into the fight—were now cheering Renny on.

Renny abruptly stopped in front of them and they quickly fell in total silence. Then, as soon as it resumed chasing Hugo, their cheers erupted again.

Clack!

CLANG!

THUD!

BAM!

"..."

Penny watched in horror as the destruction spread. Priceless paintings from a master artist fell off the walls. Vases passed down from generations now broken on the floor. The noise followed Hugo and Renny like an ominous drumbeat, and now, crashes sounded from the second floor.

Then, Hugo vaulted off the staircase, sprinting straight for the entrance.

And Renny—aggressive as ever—launched itself straight from the second floor, landing directly in front of Penny.

"Oh..." Penny felt her knees wobble. She clutched her head as she stumbled back. "Oh, god."

How could... a love soup turn their entire home upside down?

Was this supposed to happen?!

Just as she thought nothing else could shock her, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.

She turned, her eyes locking with Zoren’s dark gaze.

"There’s nothing we can do," he exhaled. "I called the chef. Apparently, Grandma came earlier and told him to serve the soup."

And since the chef hadn’t known they’d have visitors, he hadn’t bothered to leave a note.

Penny’s face twitched. Old Mrs. Pierson.

Of course.

There was no one else in the world audacious enough to do that.

"And with this..." Zoren trailed off as the chaos escalated. The screams of people blocking Hugo’s path ended with them either flying or crashing to the floor. He didn’t even need to look—someone had just been flung across the room, crashing into a stand.

Zoren gave his wife a small, knowing smile and nodded toward himself. "There’s nothing we can do about this situation... but you can do something about this."

He tipped his head downward. Penny followed his gaze, straight to his erection.

"..."

Her mouth opened and closed, words failing to leave her lips.

Behind her, Hugo and Renny’s chase mixed with the guards’ yells as they dodged the mayhem—only to join in and help Renny. To her side, Atlas murmured demonic summoning spells, only to dispel them with "happy thoughts."

To her other side, Slater wailed like a pig being slaughtered.

And in front of her, Zoren was suggesting they slip away somewhere private.

The sheer absurdity of it all made her eyes burn with unshed tears.

’Grandma!!!’

---

Meanwhile...

Haines reclined in the driver’s seat of his car, his body burning. His blazer lay across his lap, hiding the growing bulge beneath it. Despite the air conditioning blasting at maximum, his pants felt unbearably tight.

"What kind of soup was that?" he muttered, reaching for his phone.

After leaving Skyline Plaza, Haines had driven to pick up Grace and take her home. It had become routine, so he hadn’t thought much of the strange heat creeping over him.

But now, parked outside the restaurant where Grace was celebrating her birthday, the heat was unbearable.

[To: Grace

I can’t pick you up tonight.]

He hit send without hesitation, tossing his phone aside. His breathing was slow and heavy. He felt sick, but also... not.

One thing was certain—there was no way he could drive in this state.

"I think I need to go to the hospital," he whispered. "Was it the soup?"

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, trying to ease the throbbing. Then he paused. His eyes flickered open.

"...Or was it the cake?"

His expression crumpled. "Penny, did you spike the cake this time?"

If Penny were here, she’d be yelling her innocence. Then again, Haines couldn’t be blamed for suspecting her. This wouldn’t be the first time.

---

While Haines struggled to gather himself, Grace stepped out of the restaurant.

DING!

[From: Haines

I can’t pick you up tonight.]

Her lips curved downward for a moment, but she smiled anyway.

"Well, I did give him time to rest," she murmured. "But he didn’t use it."

Shrugging, she dragged her feet forward, resigned to hailing a cab.

Had she known Haines wouldn’t pick her up, she wouldn’t have chosen a venue so far from home.

But as she walked, a parked car on the side of the road caught her attention.

She turned her head. Her brows furrowed. It was Haines’ car. The license plate confirmed it.

"...Is he trying to surprise me?"

A small smirk tugged at her lips as she approached, stopping just short when she spotted Haines through the windshield.

The car was tinted, and the lighting was dim, but she could see that he seemed to be sleeping.

"...Don’t tell me the reason he bailed is because he’s tired?" she chuckled, shaking her head. "I don’t mind sleeping in the car with him."

With that, Grace opened the passenger door and slid inside. As she got in, she began to speak.

"Like I said, sleeping in the car isn’t the worst place—"

Before she could finish, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm.

She gasped. Her eyes widened.

In the blink of an eye, she was pulled into the driver’s seat—

Right into Haines’ lap.

Her breath hitched as their faces were a palm’s length apart.