Chapter 489: All at once

The next day...

Penny woke up alone in the ward. Her brows rose as she looked around, blinking innocently.

"Where’s Second Brother?" she wondered, rubbing her leg where a spot stung. "Did he leave to get something to eat?"

Well, Penny was starting to feel a bit hungry herself.

Thinking back to last night, Penny scrunched her nose. Hugo had sneaked in a drink, which they shared while chatting. However, it was a bottle of vodka, so she got very drunk very quickly. Although she didn’t pass out right away, she remembered telling him she was tipsy and was going to sleep.

"Did he drink the rest of it?" she wondered to herself. "If he did, he would’ve been passed out on the couch. I guess he stopped and threw away the evidence last night."

As Penny decided not to dwell on the previous night’s events, the door suddenly slid open, revealing Haines, Charles, and Slater entering the room.

"My princess! You’re awake! It’s early! Are you hungry?" Charles, as lively as ever, rushed to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. "How was last night? Did you sleep well?"

’Thanks to the vodka Second Brother snuck in here,’ was what she wanted to say, but she smiled instead. "I’m feeling much better now, Dad. My hand doesn’t sting anymore — ouch."

Penny flinched as she tried to lift her hand to show him. The stitches felt more sensitive when she moved it.

"Ay, don’t do that! Just rest your hand, Penny." Charles shook his head, gently ruffling her soft hair.

"Your father’s right," Haines chimed in as he sat down in the chair. "Rest your hand. You don’t want your wound to reopen. It’s normal for it to swell a bit."

Penny glanced at her uncle and smiled, nodding in agreement. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that, but it didn’t hurt to be reminded.

Slater, however, sniffed the air. "Why does it smell like alcohol in here?"

Her smile stiffened, and her heart raced nervously. Fortunately, Charles spoke up before she could think of a lame excuse.

"What do you mean, it smells like alcohol?" Charles grumbled at his son. "You’re in a hospital. Don’t expect it to smell like peaches."

"I don’t smell anything," Haines added after sniffing the air. "Hospitals always smell a bit weird."

"Is that so?" Slater rubbed the tip of his nose, still looking confused. "It smells different from yesterday."

’Goodness! Why is his nose so keen on this stuff?!’ Penny mentally harrumphed, watching him foolishly look around in disgust. ’Does he look like the type to harm another human being?’

"Ahem!" Penny cleared her throat loudly to stop Slater from investigating further. She turned to Charles with a bright smile. "Papa, where’s First Brother?"

"He had to make a quick phone call for his morning meeting," Charles shrugged. "He canceled his appointments for today, but some things are too important, so he had to take it."

"Oh..."

"Technology sure has come a long way. If it had been like this back in the day, I’d have had more time at home." Charles sighed deeply, making Penny and Haines chuckle.

Slater simply scrunched up his nose. ’Didn’t he already have plenty of time back then?’ he thought, knowing his father had been around for most things growing up.

"How about Mom?" Penny asked, figuring Zoren had probably left. He was always busy.

"She went to get us some food."

Penny’s brows furrowed. "She went to get us food?" she repeated, and Charles nodded. "Dad, you never let Mom go get food alone."

"Zoren’s with her," Haines said with a smile, watching Penny turn to him. "Allison volunteered to get the food, and Zoren went with her. Your father had no choice but to come with us. She surely wanted to talk with him."

Normally, Charles would never let his wife go get food by herself. If anything, he would tell her to stay with Penny while he fetched the food. It had always been like that, which explained Penny’s initial confusion.

"Oh..." Penny rocked her head slightly. "They went to get food together, huh?"

She wondered what her mother wanted to tell Zoren.

---

Meanwhile, at a cafeteria near the hospital...

Zoren and Allison sat across from each other. Despite the early hours, the place was busy with people dining in or ordering takeout, so they had no choice but to wait for their orders.

"I’m sorry for trapping you like this," Allison broke the silence, offering a wry smile. "I know things have been awkward between you and my boys."

"It’s alright, Madam Bennet. I understand," Zoren responded humbly and politely, which made Allison smile.

"I..." she trailed off, biting her tongue as she tried to find the right words to tell him. This wasn’t a conversation she had been prepared for — at least, not so soon. In the end, she let out a deep exhale.

"Madam Bennet, I’m sorry for being rude to you." Zoren’s sudden apology made her look up in surprise, meeting his sincere, apologetic smile. "I know marrying your daughter without asking for your consent was wrong, and I apologize for that."

"It’s alright," she reassured him. "It wasn’t just your decision, after all. Penny should’ve told us."

Though Penny didn’t even know what she had done herself. Zoren chose to spare Allison the details of Penny’s drunken antics.

"Which is exactly why I’m apologizing," he explained. "It was a mutual decision, but I should’ve informed you. Or at least, insisted. I will correct it."

Her eyes softened as she extended her hands to gently hold his. Her sudden touch made his brows jolt in surprise.

"Zoren," she called softly, watching him glance at their hands before looking back at her. "I won’t deny that finding out about the marriage last hurts me, but I also know I wasn’t the best mother to Penny. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me."

Her smile faltered, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I’m sorry for the way my boys acted, but I hope you understand why they’re so protective of her. Because if you break Penny’s heart, you won’t just break hers — you’ll break six others, all at once."

"So please, be very careful with her heart," Allison said, squeezing his hand. "I trust you with it."

Zoren lowered his head, then locked eyes with her again. "I will, Madam. Though I must disagree — you are a good mother to her. If you weren’t, she wouldn’t have been so reluctant to leave home." He gently squeezed her hand in return.

She doubted that.

"I’d give the world to have a mom like you, Madam Bennet," he added, his words softening her heart even more.

Though she still had some doubts, his sincerity touched her. "Call me ’Mom,’" she corrected gently. "You’ve been teasing your brothers-in-law by calling them ’brother’ — you even tease my husband, yet you don’t call me ’Mom.’"

She patted his hand. "From now on, you can call me ’Mom,’ okay? If you’re not ready yet, do it when you are."

The corner of his lips lifted into a smile, and he nodded. She smiled back. There wasn’t much more that needed to be said — the warm, welcoming atmosphere between them said it all.