Chapter 498: A first

[FLASHBACK]

"What kind of evil plans are you thinking about now, hmm?" Grace’s hushed voice came from the lower bunk. "What is it this time? Care to share so I don’t get surprised when you make a move?"

Penny, lying on the top bunk, stared at the ceiling within her reach. Her cracked and swollen lips curled into a smirk as she rested her arm beneath her head. There was a silly thought in her mind, and she knew Grace would laugh.

"Grace, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

Grace snorted and turned her upper body to glance at Penny. "That’s what you’re thinking about? Not how to start another fight with that bitch?"

"She’s too easy for me. No need to plan. Just grab her hair or slam her head against the table while she’s eating. Maybe punch her out of nowhere," Penny replied casually, talking about hurting someone so easily. Well, this had been her daily life, and that person deserved the beating. "So? Have you had a boyfriend?"

"Mhm." Grace leaned back, humming a long tune. "I’ve had... I don’t know, one, two... I lost count."

"You’ve had that many, huh? Wow..!"

"Not to mention the ones I hooked up with for fun."

Penny raised her brows, glancing to the side. "You do that for fun?"

"Haha. Why do you sound so surprised? I don’t have a future ahead of me, so I do what I want. No one cared about me, so why should I care about myself?"

"Well... you’re probably right," Penny replied, unsure if it actually made sense or if she’d been in prison long enough that nonsense started to seem reasonable.

"Why are you thinking about that after that huge fight earlier?" Grace asked out of curiosity. "Don’t tell me you’re getting sentimental? Oh ho. The great Penny is being sentimental. That’s new. I thought all you know is how to cause trouble!"

Penny hummed, chuckling weakly. "For some reason, it just crossed my mind."

The truth was, Penny knew exactly why these thoughts were keeping her awake tonight. One of the inmates had a visitor earlier — the inmate’s fiancé. The woman was already being evaluated for release, and she had shared her plans to turn her life around, get married, and start fresh. This inmate even shared that because of this fiance of hers, she wanted to change. It got Penny thinking: how had she never thought about dating or marriage?

She had never experienced those things, and now she realized just how much she’d neglected to do things for herself. She was always too busy doing things for others. It was comical.

"Have you ever had someone you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with?" Penny asked after a long silence. "That kind of relationship that will make you do better?"

Grace, who had nearly fallen asleep, cracked her eyes open. "No."

"Why not?"

"Penny, do you really think I’m that sentimental? All my exes are a bunch of scumbags." Grace snorted. "I don’t know what you were like outside of prison, but I’m still shocked you’re asking me these things. Wait, hang on... Don’t tell me you’ve never had sex before?"

"I’ve never even had a boyfriend... nor have I dated anyone. I never even thought you could do that with a complete stranger."

"Wow." Grace was so stunned that she sat up, popping her head over the upper bunk. "No kidding?"

Penny turned her head to the side and smiled. "No kidding."

"Holy shit..." Grace gasped, her mouth hanging open. "You were much more of a saint outside, huh? This place really changed you."

"It did." Penny’s eyes drifted back to the dirty, empty ceiling. She didn’t know why she liked staring at it. At first, it was because there was nothing else to look at during the night, but eventually, she found it oddly comforting.

"When I get out... if I get out, I think I’d try dating." She muttered. "Maybe try new things."

Grace grinned. "I know someone you might like."

"I don’t like just anyone."

"But you just said you’d date anyone," Grace frowned. "Why are you so fickle?"

"When I said ’anyone,’ I meant someone... very handsome," Penny added with a grin. "He needs to be handsome, tall, and maybe... quiet."

"Quiet? Why quiet?"

"Because when people talk, they reveal what’s in here." Penny tapped her temple. "And I’m ninety-nine percent sure I wouldn’t like the capacity of their mind. People are usually stupid, and I don’t like stupid. Someone needs to be smart in the relationship—and that won’t be me, for sure."

"Wow..." Grace laughed, enjoying the lighthearted conversation, a refreshing change from their usual heavy topics. "What about the other one percent? What if he’s handsome, tall, and smart?"

"Would he be kind, too?"

"Let’s add that. And rich!" Grace nodded eagerly. "What then?"

"I’d marry him." Penny grinned, and both of them burst into giggles.

Their laughter wasn’t because they found it funny, but because they both knew it was never going to happen. Even if Penny’s dream guy existed, there was no way she’d ever get the chance to date him. Let alone marry him.

After all, Penny was scheduled to be executed in a month, and the chances of that being delayed were slim—very slim. Yet, they chose to laugh it off, because sometimes, in the face of death or losing a dear friend, all you can do is laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Laughing was, after all, the least they could do.

******

[PRESENT TIME]

Marriage and romantic relationships were something Penny had only started considering in her second life. Although they weren’t a priority, she planned to open her heart to the possibility. After all, in her first life, she never experienced love, nor did she believe in it.

But today marked an unexpected milestone in her life.

It wasn’t a wedding or anything of the sort, but today, her "accidental" husband was coming to the Bennet household, along with his family, to make their union official. Despite the existence of their marriage certificate, this was a situation she’d never thought she’d experience—yet here it was, unfolding before her eyes.