Chapter 407: vines of doubt

The thought of Penny and Zoren together never left Dean’s mind. It played in his head like a broken record. A myriad of questions swirled in his mind, but he reminded himself not to jump to conclusions. After all, Penny had told him — she didn’t like complicated things.

She wouldn’t associate herself with Zoren Pierson without a good reason.

Even so, one question gnawed at him: why were they together?

"Sir?"

Dean snapped back to reality when the driver called him. Lifting his eyes to the rearview mirror, deep lines appeared between his brows. He glanced out the window beside him and realized they had already arrived at the Pierson Corporation Office without him noticing.

’This is surely eating me up, isn’t it?’

Without a word, Dean stepped out of the car. As soon as he did, his driver pulled away, and another car pulled up behind him. Turning his head back, his jaw tightened as he watched his uncle step out of the vehicle.

This time, Zoren greeted him first. "Dean," he called as soon as he spotted his nephew. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Uncle." Dean forced a smile, straightening his posture and raising his chin as Zoren approached him. "You seemed to be in a good mood."

"I am in a good mood." Zoren nodded and pretended to study Dean’s mood. Although he didn’t need to pretend or see for him to know Dean’s mood. "You seem... off. Bad night?"

’How would you know when you can’t even see?’ Dean wanted to snap, but he held back. ’Hah. Pathetic.’

"It’s nothing like that, Uncle." He smiled, his voice kind and gentle. "It’s nothing like that."

Zoren tilted his head. "Your girlfriend didn’t come home last night?"

"What?"

"I just thought it was about her," Zoren replied, his smile not reaching his eyes. "If my woman didn’t come home, I’d be upset too."

After dropping that remark, Zoren patted Dean’s shoulder before walking inside. As his uncle walked away, Dean’s expression hardened. He glared at Zoren’s retreating figure and the entourage that followed him.

"Hah..." Dean scoffed, turning his attention to the street, intending to hail a cab. But before he could, he paused. ’She won’t like it.’

Slowly, Dean clenched his fists. He knew Penny wouldn’t appreciate it if he came to her with questions he wasn’t entitled to ask. Like she said, they weren’t together. So questions about who she was with and why she was with another man were off-limits.

That was who she was, how she was, and how she would always be.

Bitterness surged in Dean’s chest as he clenched his teeth. In the end, he decided to head to work, hoping to keep his mind occupied.

’Nothing’s going on between them,’ he repeated in his head like a mantra. ’Nothing’s going on between them. She wouldn’t sacrifice her peace and sanity over trivial matters.’

---

[PRIME GROUP]

DING!

Penny raised her brows, glancing up from the document she was reviewing to her phone. With her chin propped on her hand and a pen still between her fingers, she tilted her phone to check the notification.

A smile quickly spread across her face when she saw the message.

[From: Mr. Pierson

Drink water.]

The message was short, seemingly insignificant, and hardly one to elicit any reaction. Yet, it was enough to make her smile as she reached for the bottled water beside her.

After taking a few sips, she picked up her phone and replied.

[To: Mr. Pierson

Done.]

DING!

[From: Mr. Pierson

Good.]

"Goodness," she whispered, smiling to herself. "He’s the one who needs to take care of himself."

With that thought, Penny sent him a short reply.

---

"On this page, you’ll see..."

DING!

The presenter in the conference room trailed off as another notification rang through the room. At first, they ignored it. Such interruptions were rare, so everyone was lenient. But the pings kept coming, and people began to notice.

Slowly, everyone in the room turned their heads toward the source of the noise at the far end of the table, where Zoren sat. He held his phone over the table, an earbud in his ear, his eyes focused on the screen.

[Incoming Message from Miss Penelope

Renren, you’re the one who needs to take care of yourself. Don’t forget to drink water and eat lunch! Speaking of lunch, do you want to eat together? I’m free!]

The robotic voice in his earbud read Penny’s message aloud, but Zoren could almost hear her nagging tone. A smile crept onto his face, though it quickly stiffened as he became aware of the stares directed at him. He slowly lifted his gaze. Even in the dimly lit room, despite his blurry vision, he could tell everyone was looking at him in surprise.

He wasn’t wrong.

Everyone was staring at him with slightly open mouths, wide eyes, and bated breaths. Unlike him — who seemed unaware of his own expression — they could clearly see the smile on Zoren Pierson’s face.

Even Dean, seated in the room, furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Sorry," Zoren apologized, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket, still smiling. "Continue."

Even though Zoren gave the go-ahead signal, the presenter hesitated. No one could blame him. They were all curious about who had sent the message. Employees were particularly interested, eager to know who they should curry favor with. Meanwhile, the few members of the Pierson family present in the meeting had different thoughts.

’Was it his wife?’ someone wondered. ’So, he does have a wife, out of nowhere?’

’Or is he messing with us again? There’s nothing believable about this man, except for his illness.’

’It’s Penny, isn’t it?’ Dean thought, though he quickly dismissed it. ’No, it’s probably not her. No one can disturb her when she’s working, and everyone knows that.’

Shaking his head, Dean refocused his attention as the presenter cleared his throat and resumed. Even so, the seed of doubt in his heart continued to grow, its vines wrapping tighter around his chest.