Chapter 1591: That’s your concern?

Yugi pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging his brows as he tried to ease a growing headache. Penny’s assistant had just left after voicing their concerns about the delivery packages. They were worried it might look bad if they kept receiving them—like they were accepting bribes or something shady.

As Penny’s assistants, their concerns were valid. Patricia, too, had every right to be upset. She felt neglected by the mysterious "Father."

"Does Penny even know about this?" he muttered, glancing at the door. "Zoren must’ve told her, right?"

This wasn’t what Yugi had expected when Zoren suddenly connected Penny’s assistants to the dream quadruplets they wanted. If he’d known it would turn into this, he would’ve just kept his mouth shut.

Knock.

His thoughts came to a halt as a soft knock sounded. He looked toward the door. But he didn’t need to wonder who it was—there was only one person who knocked on his door once: Penny.

He was right.

Penny walked into the office, prompting him to sit up straighter.

"Penny," he greeted her, his voice edged with frustration.

Penny flopped onto the couch, slouching with her back pressed deep into the cushions. "Yugi, I just ran into my assistants. Are you offloading your work onto them so you can slack off?"

Normally, Yugi wouldn’t let a comment like that bother him. But today? It made his blood pressure spike.

The nerve of her to say that—especially when it was her husband who had been piling extra work onto everyone. Between the assistants’ concerns and the staff checking all those mystery packages for safety, things were spiraling.

"Penny, do you even know what your husband’s been up to lately?" he asked sharply, watching her blink.

"He loves me," she said flatly. "That’s what he’s been up to."

"Oh my god..." Yugi dragged a hand down his face and stood up, walking over to join her on the couch. "In case you didn’t know, your husband came to see me the other day."

"Oh? Did he tell you how much he loves me?"

He opened his mouth but then stopped himself, breath caught in his throat. It was a miracle he’d grown up with her—otherwise, he’d be dragging her out of his office right now.

"No? Well, I guess he did, just not directly. He told me he wants to work here—as your assistant."

Her mouth formed a surprised "o."

Yugi raised a hand to stop whatever was about to come out of her mouth. "Don’t even think about it, Penny. If Zoren leaves Pierson Corporation and works here, Atlas will burn the both of us alive... and probably the rest of the Pierson Family too. Your eldest brother is this close to becoming a villain, Penny. Don’t be the one that breaks the camel’s back."

Penny frowned. "What’s so wrong with my husband working for me? He’s not just capable—he’s worth a hundred people from Prime Group."

"Exactly why we can’t let that happen. Because if we do, we’re robbing Pierson Corp of someone worth a hundred men. If your brother weren’t involved, maybe. But with him in the picture? Absolutely not."

"Fine," she sighed.

Yugi wasn’t even surprised. He knew that if Zoren had pitched this idea to Penny instead of him, the man would already be working there. Penny would drop everything for Zoren, Renny, and Chunchun. Yugi knew exactly where he stood in her life.

He wasn’t even above her cat—and never would be, even if the cat died.

"Anyway, I might’ve made a mistake," he admitted, brushing the thought aside. "Your husband seems to hate your assistants."

"I know." Penny nodded. "I don’t like Benjamin either. How dare he and First Brother spend more time with my husband than I do?"

Yugi’s face twitched. "You know what? I always thought you two were a great match, but you really are made for each other."

"We’re fated, Yugi. Even before he was conceived, he was destined to marry me."

His headache spiked again.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Penny tilted her head, confused. "I know my husband doesn’t like my assistants. In fact, he’s probably the founder of their hate club. I heard the club’s even growing—especially now that they’ve added William Pierson to the list."

Yugi sighed, too tired to process any of that. "I told him not to hate them... and tricked him into thinking it was a test."

"A test of what?"

"That your four assistants were a trial run. A kind of... warm-up for when the quadruplets arrive."

"..."

"And now, he’s been sending them packages nonstop—birthday presents from their first to their current, Christmas gifts, Easter baskets, Halloween treats, graduation gifts—everything. Penny, can you please tell him to stop? They’re not his kids, and honestly, it’s starting to freak them out."

Penny blinked, face contorting slightly. "No wonder there were so many packages in their office." She patted her chest, visibly relieved.

Yugi raised a brow. "What are you sighing in relief for?"

"I thought all those packages were documents I needed to review," she said. "I’m so glad they’re not."

"That’s your concern?"

"Yugi, I recently realized something very important: my husband is rich. If I put myself up for sale, he could buy me without blinking."

He stared at her, exasperated.

"Sure, marrying rich has its perks, but it also has its downsides," she continued thoughtfully. "Like resisting the urge to sell myself for quick cash. It’s tough, Yugi."

"..." Yugi opened his mouth, then closed it again, utterly speechless. Here he was, stressing over an ethical crisis, and Penny was contemplating selling herself to her own husband.

More than two decades of friendship, and somehow, she still found ways to level up her absurdity.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, once again trying not to dwell on it.

Finally, he looked at her and asked, "Never mind all that. Why are you here, anyway?"

Penny tipped a document on the table with her foot. "I’m temporarily withdrawing our men from Nina."

"What?"

"I need to catch her mother soon," she said. "Nina’s agreed, and I already told Uncle Wild. I just wanted to let you know in case you had suggestions for the plan."