Chapter 1570: Which one: Zoren or Penny?

"If you knew she’s with him, how come you’re fine with it?"

A quiet wind blew past them, Ray’s brows slowly rising in surprise.

"Didn’t you also know?" Ray blurted out, tilting his head to the side. "He already introduced her to the family."

Zoren did — but Dean just hadn’t wanted to believe it.

It took a moment for Ray to remember Dean’s bad habit. For someone considered a genius, Dean had a terrible and stubborn streak of denial. Sometimes, it made people wonder if he was truly smart or just a fool trying to pretend otherwise.

"Hah..." A weak laugh escaped Ray as he rested his hands on the bench, leaning back slightly. "I liked Penny. Honestly, I still do."

His eyes softened, and the corner of his mouth tugged up as he gazed at the starless sky. "She’s not just pretty. She’s fun. She’s direct and decisive. She knows what she wants, and when she doesn’t want something, she makes it clear."

"Even when she rejected me over and over, I just... couldn’t stop. Every rejection only made me want to try harder," he continued quietly, thinking back to the days he had chased after her.

Penny had only attended one year at the Summit School of Excellence, but it felt like she’d been there forever. She made Ray work ten times harder than before, pushing him to find what more he could do. When she graduated earlier than expected, her sudden departure blindsided everyone — no one had even noticed until her name appeared on the graduation list.

The school felt her absence the next year.

Not just Ray. Not just her friends. Everyone.

When Penny was there, life at the school had been different. Sure, there were bad days, but there were so many more good ones — the bets, the challenges, the fan club, the constant curiosity about what she’d do next.

She might not have realized it, but the entire school had missed her like waking from a vivid, beautiful dream and falling back into a dull reality.

Who wouldn’t love someone like that?

Someone who could change an entire place just by existing.

So yes, Ray loved Penny. And yes, he still loved her more than he liked to admit.

"But..." he murmured, a small smile playing on his lips, "I love her, but I also know she’s not the most important thing to me."

Ray shifted his gaze back to Dean, his smile soft but resolute.

"For me, the most important thing is this school. Making sure it isn’t just a playground for the rich and the bullies, but a place of opportunity — for everyone who deserves it, no matter where they come from."

He paused briefly, then added in a low voice, "And second, I want to see my cousin happy. Zoren... he deserves that much. If Penelope Bennett is the only person who can give him the will to live, then I’d rather not love her."

Maybe Ray could never be completely honest about it.

He might have loved Penny, but he also knew he could never love her more than the school. Or more than his broken cousin.

That was why he never fought for her. He couldn’t.

Ray smacked his lips and pushed himself upright. Picking up his briefcase, he looked down at Dean.

"I’d stay and talk more, but then I remember I’m still angry at you," Ray said flatly. "So, I’m going home. Whatever your problem is, I hope you find peace with it."

With that, he started walking away without looking back.

But after a few steps, he stopped, sighing heavily.

Turning his head slightly, he called back, "For me, it was a choice: Penny or Zoren — not even me. And clearly, I chose Zoren."

He paused.

"What about you, Dean?" he added, raising a brow. "Which one would you pick? Zoren or Penny? Don’t dare include yourself — doing so will cost you both. Maybe even yourself. Asking yourself that will make things a lot easier."

This time, Ray didn’t linger. He walked off into the night without another glance.

Dean just sat there, staring at Ray’s retreating figure.

You can only pick one: Zoren or Penny. Don’t dare include yourself because doing so will cost you both. Perhaps, even yourself.

Ray’s words echoed in his mind like a broken record.

It didn’t help.

At least, that’s how Dean felt at first. But his mind made it easy to understand — painfully easy.

Dean cast his eyes downward, pressing his lips into a tight line. Even though the answer was already there, it weighed heavy on his chest. Because this wasn’t just a test to ace. It was a question of what weighed more: his love for Penny, or the deep, secret admiration he held for Zoren.

Truth be told, no one should ever have to make such a choice.

"Why..." he whispered, sadness flickering in his eyes, "...can’t I just choose nothing?"

Yet deep down, he knew why.

He and Ray had seen Zoren struggle. They had watched him, despite his frail body and weak health, fight to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

They had seen how Zoren secretly worked to keep Dean in power within the first branch of the family — to protect him. How Zoren had saved Ray’s family from becoming pawns in the Pierson Family’s bloody conflicts.

Zoren had always been there, quietly, invisibly, like a shield no one acknowledged — and now Dean realized the truth.

Choosing nothing would be the same as abandoning him — and abandoning Zoren had never been part of Dean’s plan.

Not in the past, not in the present, and never in the future.

"Damn you," he whispered, laughing weakly as the corners of his eyes reddened. "Of all people... why did it have to be you?"

Because if it were Zoren, Dean would always step back. Not because he thought he would lose, but because he couldn’t bear to lose him. The only family he considered.

*****

[Short Flashback]

Dean stood in the morgue, staring lifelessly at the body lying on the steel bed.

A white sheet covered it, but even then, his heart clenched painfully. His breathing hitched, suspended somewhere in his chest, as tears slipped down his cheeks — no matter how hard he tried to hold them back.

"Was it worth it?" he choked out, his voice trembling as his vision blurred. "Was she... really worth dying for?"