Chapter 1712: Quadruplets

"I love you."

Three words. Just three. Yet, they were the words Penny and Zoren had agreed not to say for safety reasons. After all, those three words were the only thing that could overwhelm him. Even if people cursed him, he wouldn’t even flinch.

Yet, right now, he was saying them without anyone hurting him.

Penny’s eyes softened lovingly while the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile. "Would it be a death sentence to say them to you?"

"I don’t think so," he shook his head, offering her a subtle smile. "But don’t say them right now."

"Why?"

"Because I just want you to know my heart," he said, smiling as she reached out to caress his lean cheek. "And that will never change."

Penny nodded in understanding before she carefully retrieved her hand and strode off. As she walked out of the room to get him a glass of water, Zoren followed her figure.

His smile slowly faded as she disappeared from his line of sight.

Zoren bent his knees closer to him, his elbow resting on them. His hands ran through his hair, clasping it as he closed his eyes. He stayed like that until he looked back at the shut door.

"Would you... still love me when I say... I regret nothing?"

All the blood that was spilled, the lives that were lost, and the nonsense of it all.

Would she be fine with all of that?

Deep in his heart, he knew she would be. Penny was like that, after all. Through thick and thin—till death do them part.

That was his wife.

But he couldn’t help but think that Penny truly didn’t know him. Not at all. She had no idea what he was capable of, and what else he was willing to risk in this lifetime. Especially now that he had more reason to risk it all.

---

Meanwhile, when Penny stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she pressed her back against the surface of the door, eyes down.

’He’s different,’ she thought, recalling the look in Zoren’s eyes through it all.

It wasn’t that Zoren had changed or became like the old, drunken Penny. But rather, there was something different in his eyes and aura. Not like that changed everything, but she was a little worried about him.

Shaking her head, Penny pushed herself away from the door and headed downstairs. But before she could even reach the last step, she already saw Hugo leaning against the wall on the landing.

"Second Brother," she called, slowing down until she was close to him. "What are you doing here?"

Hugo flashed her a kind smile. "Nothing. Just idling, and wondering if you and Zoren are fine."

"Finn told you what we’re planning to do, huh?"

"Mhm." He smacked his lips. "And I am also thinking if we should all do the hypnosis thing. Just in case."

Penny chuckled faintly. "I don’t think we need to do that anymore."

"I’m going to get him a glass of water," she added. "Let’s discuss everything once Renren calms down."

With that, Penny took another step toward him and walked past him. But then—

"Are we going to have progress tonight?" he asked, staring at her back.

"Mhm." She hummed, glancing over her shoulder. "Once he’s calm, we can discuss the matter. For now, I’ll let him stabilize first."

"Stabilize? Or tell him to cut down some information to save us the pain?" Hugo peeled himself from the wall and approached her, standing next to her. "Penny, you and Zoren don’t have to carry it all."

Penny slowly lifted her head and met her second brother’s eyes. "I don’t plan that at all."

As those words slipped past her lips, she resumed her steps and walked away.

Meanwhile, Hugo just stared at her figure and let out a shallow breath.

"This is what probably Uncle Haines meant when he said I’m not good at lying," he whispered. "It’s so obvious."

---

Once Penny returned to the room, she handed Zoren a glass of water and went on to check him. His blood pressure, pulse rate, and everything were clear. In fact, they were far better than she expected. Considering the effects of Zoren’s last hypnosis, this was surprising.

Surprising, but not bad news.

Placing everything down on the bedside table, Penny sat on the edge of the bed. She faced him squarely, offering him a subtle smile.

"Are you really okay?" she asked.

His nod was mild, but it was reassuring. "I am fine, Penny." He reached out to her hand, squeezing it gently with a subtle smile. "Don’t worry about me."

"I can’t just not, right?"

"I know, but I am fine," he returned. "And I’ll repeat it as many times as it takes until you’re fine."

Penny huffed faintly, eyes scanning him. "I got scared when you stopped responding to me. I thought something terrible would happen."

Zoren kept smiling, but he didn’t answer. Surprisingly, he could still remember the last time he heard Penny’s voice while he was carefully walking through his memory.

"So?" She cleared her throat. "You said you now know everything. Does that mean... we now know who our enemy is?"

Again, he didn’t answer immediately. He just stared at her.

"Mhm," he hummed. "I know who it is because... I killed her myself."

"Her?" she repeated. "You mean..."

"My mother. The real one."

Lines appeared between Penny’s brows as she stared at him. "So, it’s true that there’s more than one of her, huh?"

"There were four."

"Four?"

Zoren let out a deep breath as he cast his eyes down. "The other one isn’t a sibling."

"Huh?" Penny scrunched up her nose. "Renren, I don’t get it. You said there were four, but one of them isn’t a sibling. You mean..."

She trailed off, her brows rising as she looked back at him. Zoren also looked back at her, nodding.

"Naylani Pierson, the one who raised me in the first life," Zoren clarified. "And the one who I tried to end along with me in this lifetime. She’s not part of the triplets, but she did alter her face under the orders from one of them."