Chapter 241: Two old friends

THURSDAY—

"Good morning!" Penny jogged down the stairs, catching Atlas on the couch while Hugo was coming in from the front door.

Judging by Atlas’s casual attire, he didn’t have any plans for the day. As for Hugo, who was dripping with sweat, she knew he had just finished his morning training.

"Are you leaving?" Atlas asked, his first question. "No jet lag?"

"Well," Penny cleared her throat and sat beside him, "I’m meeting Nina."

Atlas’s brows rose as he nodded. "Why not just invite her here?"

"Nina is a busy woman, not just you, First Brother." She bumped her side against his shoulder. "It’ll be quick."

As soon as she said those words, Penny jumped off the couch and walked away. She flashed Hugo a wide smile as she walked past him. When she reached the door, she looked back and said,

"Tell Third Brother I’m borrowing his car until my motorcycle arrives. I tried waking him up, but he’s not waking up. You might need to call a doctor just in case he never does."

After saying her piece, Penny quickly ran to the parking area and searched for Slater’s car. She wasn’t sure which one it was, so she relied on whichever would light up when she pressed the button. When her eyes landed on a lavish sports car, her face twitched.

"I should’ve known he likes flashy things." A tinge of regret crept into her heart, thinking she should’ve just borrowed a different car.

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, Penny jumped into the sports car and drove off. As she did so, Atlas and Hugo stepped out of the front door. They watched the car drift in reverse before it sped toward the gates.

"I’m scared to be her passenger," Atlas murmured quietly. "She won’t crash that car out of frustration, right?"

"No, First Brother. You’re worrying about the wrong thing," Hugo mumbled, eyes on the car’s rear. "This feels like the chocolates all over again."

Slater’s interests had changed over time. Back then, he would never share his favorite chocolates, saving them for special occasions. Now, as an adult, Slater loved his cars so much that he wouldn’t allow the slightest dent in them.

This was why Hugo never borrowed Slater’s cars.

"I didn’t see anything," Atlas breathed out.

Hugo shook his head. "There’s nothing to see. She’ll deal with him. Right. Mom is in the kitchen. I should tell her daughter left."

******

[FLASHBACK]

Years ago...

Penny sat in front of her laptop, eagerly waiting for others on the line to answer. Some days, she would set a time and date for her cousins and aunt to talk to her. Since they all had different schedules and time zones, setting it up was necessary.

Her smile stretched when the line connected. "Yu... ri...?"

On the other end of the video call wasn’t Yuri, but Nina. Nina smiled awkwardly, looking around a bit.

"Nina?"

"Uh, Penny, sorry, but Yuri and Yugi fell asleep while waiting," Nina said stiffly, sitting down in front of the computer. "I tried waking them up, but they were a bit exhausted from dance practice."

"Oh." Penny’s lips formed an "O" shape.

It was only ten in their time, so Penny thought her cousins would still be awake. But if Yuri and Yugi were too tired, then that was fine. Penny understood.

"Thanks, Nina," she expressed. "You seem tired yourself. Did you just wake up to answer the call?"

"Huh?" Nina blinked, looking at the screen with slight surprise.

It had been a year since Penny left the country for her apprenticeship. Although this was a surprise, Nina hadn’t tried to return to the Bennet Mansion because she was more comfortable with the Cortez Family.

Even so, there hadn’t been any communication between Penny and Nina since then. So hearing Penny talk to her so casually took Nina aback.

"Nina, if you’re still sleepy, I’ll end the call."

Nina snapped out of her trance and panicked. "No, it’s not like that. I’m not sleepy anymore. I’m just... a bit surprised."

"Why?" Penny tilted her head. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No." Nina pursed her lips and sighed faintly. "I thought you were still angry at me."

"You already apologized, though."

"I know, but... I thought I’d make you uncomfortable."

"Ahh... haha!" Penny laughed, cupping her face. "If anyone looks uncomfortable here, it’s you."

Nina laughed weakly. "Penny, don’t tease me."

"But you sound very different, so it makes me want to tease you." Penny giggled mischievously. "I heard you reconciled with our brothers and parents."

"Yes." Nina sighed. "I apologized."

"That’s so nice to hear. Proud of you."

Nina’s brows rose, assessing Penny’s face on the screen. The last time they talked didn’t end on a bad note, but Nina thought that would be the end of their relationship. She didn’t dare think Penny would ever forget everything Nina had done.

Though she wasn’t wrong.

Penny would never forget what Nina had done and tried to do. However, that didn’t mean Penny would turn a blind eye to everything Nina was doing to make amends.

"Yuri always talks about you, and she only has nice things to say," Penny chuckled, letting her know she was aware of what was happening. "And I’m really glad you’re keeping your word."

Nina’s eyes softened as a smile turned up on her face.

"So? How’s your new school?" Penny asked curiously. "I heard you transferred to Yugi and Yuri’s school."

"It’s much better," Nina shared before adding, "I thought it would be easy, but it’s not as easy as others told me. It’s actually almost the same as what to expect in our previous school."

The more Nina talked, the more comfortable she felt, and the more eager she was to share everything. She didn’t even notice they had been talking for over two hours until the call ended.

It was a strange experience for Nina, but since then, Penny kept in touch with her. Eventually, that fateful night when Nina answered her call became the start of a strong friendship with Penny.

*********

[PRESENT TIME]

Nina sat quietly in the corner of a coffee shop, browsing through some designs on her tablet to kill time. When she noticed a person standing beside the table, she slowly looked up and saw a stunning beauty smiling down at her.

"Penny?" Nina slowly rose from her seat, in awe at the sight of her. "Oh, my God! It’s you!"

Nina casually spread her arms and embraced her. Penny hugged her back briefly before they sat across from each other.

For a moment, Nina was still stunned by the woman seated across from her. Although the last time they talked was a month ago, it was only a call. Penny had been busy for the past five years because of her company, and Nina had been equally occupied since that was when she started her career as an interior designer.

"Hey!" Penny clapped in front of her. "Did we meet so you could stare at me?"

Nina snapped out of her trance and blurted out, "Penny, your eyes are so pretty. They look like our brothers’."

"Well, they have beautiful eyes, especially Slater, but he doesn’t use them properly. Can you imagine he mistook someone else for me just because I’m not chubby anymore?"

Nina chuckled. "That’s typical of him."

"But you recognized me."

"I recognized your eyes," Nina clarified, smiling at her.

The two of them smiled at each other, and in their hearts, they couldn’t help but realize they never thought they’d be at this point in their lives.

Time truly changes people’s hearts.

In Penny’s previous life, she would never have imagined meeting Nina in a cafe without fear of what the latter was planning. But now, she was meeting Nina just to catch up with an old friend. No drama, no schemes—just a casual meet-up between two friends... a friendship that started because one was willing to reach out and the other was willing to admit their wrongs.

*****

[Bennet Mansion]

Slater stood in front of the garage and stared blankly at the empty space where his car was supposed to be. His quivering lips opened and closed as his eyes slowly filled with disbelief.

"Who... who took my car?!"

Hugo and Atlas, who were idling in the garden, flinched as they heard Slater throw a huge fit. They even heard some birds fly away from their nest. Even so, they feigned deafness and ignorance.

They didn’t see who took the car.