Chapter 524: She was his wife

[Skyline Plaza: Zoren’s Place]

Penny and Zoren hugged each other under the sheet. Her leg rested over him, and her arm hugged him like a bear. She was almost treating him as a pillow, but he just chuckled.

"How was the call with your dad?" he asked, his voice a little coarse.

Penny hummed with her lips closed. "It went well. I kind of miss him."

"Should we go there for breakfast tomorrow?" he suggested. "Our plans for that have been postponed so many times."

"And whose fault is that?" she pouted. "You keep giving me hickeys. Goodness. How am I supposed to wear something nice if my priority is to cover my body?"

"I’ll be careful." He smiled, moving his face closer until the tips of their noses touched. "I mean, I’ll try."

"Renren, what is that supposed to mean?" she quickly placed a hand on his chest, drawing her head back from him. However, she couldn’t move any further because his arm was resting over her waist to still her.

He chuckled. "I’m joking."

"Geez!"

"Still on your period?"

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line. "Mhm." Hearing her hum made him sigh a bit.

The entire heaven knew just how much he had been restraining himself. Ever since they came home to his place, all they had done was cuddle and do everything else together. Not that he was complaining, but he was greedy.

"Hehe." Penny giggled mischievously, and in one swift move, she pushed his shoulder abruptly. She caught him off guard, and he immediately fell on his back. Before he knew it, she was already straddling him.

For a moment, his eyes widened a little, gazing at the face hovering over him. She caught her lips moving, revealing her pearly teeth. She planted her hands on his chest, bending over playfully.

"Renren, today’s a good day, don’t you think?" she playfully remarked. "I mean, not only did we clear up the mystery behind the marriage, but it’s good that we did it! Hehe! I thought someone else put our names on a marriage certificate together for whatever sick reason they had."

Although she couldn’t completely say her reason wasn’t also sick. Who would marry a stranger—a dying man at that—just because she wanted to change her surname? But she didn’t dwell on it. Everything fell into its rightful place, anyway.

"Didn’t you say you still have your period?" he asked, genuinely curious. But after a second, he squinted as he slowly placed his hands on her hips. "You were lying?"

"Hehe."

"So that means..." Taking her off guard this time, Zoren flipped her over until he was hovering on top of her. A short squeal escaped her mouth, but it was followed by a giggle as his face closed in. He brushed the tip of his nose against her cheek, grinning.

"I’ll be careful..." he whispered as his lips leaned in to claim hers. "... next time."

Before she could react, he sealed her lips with his. Hence, all that was heard was her protesting moan.

---

[FLASHBACK]

"I’m sorry, sir." Mark stood beside the desk in Zoren’s office, hanging his head low. "We’re late. We tried, but the petition for reopening her case kept being delayed."

Mark’s face was grim, his hands balled into tight fists. He ground his teeth until his jaw almost locked. Although this case was something Zoren shouldn’t have paid attention to, they were already too deep in it now. Zoren’s life was already in danger before he meddled with this case, but now, the dangers lurking around his boss had doubled—tripled, even.

All for a woman Zoren watched on the news.

"The motion was approved," he whispered again, knowing this wouldn’t even matter now. "But she was already... executed. Her execution was moved. I’m so sorry."

Zoren didn’t speak from the beginning until now. His eyes remained on the pen, which he was playing with in his hand.

"Where’s her body?" he asked after the prolonged silence.

Mark sighed. "No one has claimed it yet."

But then again, who would claim her body? Atlas Bennet was still in a coma, after almost dying. If not for Zoren, he would’ve been dead for good. Hence, they were hiding him.

"And the third brother?"

"We’re still looking for him." Mark breathed out. "But Slater Bennet just disappeared without a trace. Sir, even if we find him... I’m afraid we won’t find him alive."

"He’s alive," Zoren said with certainty. "Keep looking."

"Sir." Mark lifted his eyes to Zoren. "I know I shouldn’t say this, but the fight is already over. Miss Bennet is dead."

"She is dead," Zoren repeated, his eyelids drooping. The pen he kept playing with his fingers slowed until it stopped. "Take me to her."

"Sir."

"I’ve meddled with her business, and somehow, I don’t regret it." Zoren slowly gazed up at Mark. "I’ll claim her body. Since I’m not a family member, register our marriage. I want it done once I reach the morgue."

---

Standing beside the steel bed where a person’s cadaver was lying, Zoren slowly pinched the white cloth covering her. He moved the cloth aside, his reaction unfazed at the sight of her cold body. Penny didn’t look like how he remembered her in that news.

His fingertips carefully reached out to her cheek until they were touching her cold skin.

"Would you call me crazy if I introduced myself as your husband?" he whispered with genuine wonder in his voice. "I had no choice. I don’t think you’d like to stay in their fridge longer."

This was the first time they were meeting, despite him helping with her case without her knowledge. However, he believed they weren’t that much different. She was not breathing, and his every breath only brought him pain. Her eyes underneath those shut lids didn’t carry any life, and neither did his.

"The fight is not yet over." His voice was low and quiet, but also clear and certain. "I’ll get you your justice... Penelope... Pierson."

Zoren nodded at her reassuringly. If his people heard him say this, they would just cry because of how stubborn he was. Benjamin hadn’t even heard about Zoren’s marriage with a dead woman, but once he did, he would flip. Zoren didn’t have any reason to meddle with her case, but he still did. Now that she was his wife, he had a reason.

She was his wife.

After saying his piece, he turned around to leave. But just as he took a step, he slowly looked back, only to see a tear roll down the corner of her temple. A subtle smile turned up on his face, treating that tear as the only reply he would ever get from his wife.