Chapter 569: She’s going to kill him!

Hugo gazed at the other side of the backseat, tilting his head. His expression was calm as he assessed the neutral look on Zoren’s face.

"Are you that excited to go home?" he asked, prompting Zoren to look back at him.

Zoren blinked innocently, wondering if it was that obvious. Little did he know that anyone looking at him would not think he was giddy to go home. His expression was stoic, but Hugo seemed to see through him.

"Heh." Hugo snickered proudly. "It’s not that obvious, but you’re glowing. Normally, whenever you’re headed somewhere, you always focus on something else. But now, you’re looking out the window—straight ahead, rather."

The corner of Zoren’s lips curled up. "No wonder you’ve reached your rank at such a young age."

"I’m your second brother," Hugo reminded him. "Even if you’re... older."

An awkward silence settled between them as soon as Hugo mentioned that. After a minute, the two of them nodded at each other.

"Let’s not go over there," Hugo suggested, and Zoren nodded in agreement.

"You’re the second brother," Zoren added. "It’s better that way. Age doesn’t matter."

"That’s right." Hugo nodded back. "It’s a good thing First Brother is still older... isn’t he?"

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, hesitant to even mention Zoren’s and Atlas’s birth month.

"I’d like to think he’s older," Zoren said after a beat.

"You’re right. Let’s just assume."

Both men nodded at each other, telling themselves not to talk about age anymore. Not that it actually mattered, but it would’ve been nice if Penny’s husband were around the same age as she was.

"Now that I think about it..." Hugo’s expression darkened. "Did you pursue my sister when she was thirteen?"

"I’m not Ray," Zoren said. "I would never do that."

Hugo squinted suspiciously. "So, you waited?"

"..." Zoren fell silent, sensing the growing darkness around him. Even with a vision problem, he could tell it was getting darker much faster. "No, I did not wait for her... not like that. Please don’t misunderstand."

"Oh?"

"Penny is a good friend of mine. Our friendship is something I treasure with all my life. However, dating her is different," Zoren explained, not wanting this misunderstanding to escalate. "I pursued her as Penelope Bennet, not as Penny... my friend."

"Oh?" Hugo rocked his head, studying Zoren’s expression suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I don’t buy it," he replied almost immediately. "But I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt."

Zoren heaved a faint sigh of relief, smiling. "Thank you."

"Just so you know, Zoren Pierson, even if you’re my sister’s husband, I don’t like Ray," Hugo clarified. "That guy... is just insufferable."

"He is insufferable."

"That guy pursued my sister when she was thirteen, and because of his ignorant actions, my sister became a target for those crazy girls." Hugo shook his head. In his mind, he pictured Penny as a pitiful stuffed princess in distress. "She went through a lot because of him, and that guy even had the audacity to taunt me."

"..." Zoren was rendered speechless, having sort of known that story. However, he didn’t know the part where Penny was targeted as a child. "That happened to her?"

Hugo nodded. "Yes. She almost died because of it."

Zoren listened to Hugo and studied the man’s mood. After a while, he peeled his eyes away and turned to the window.

’I see her every Thursday, and she always comes after school. Never once did she tell me she was having a hard time,’Zoren thought, frowning. ’I had no clue my own cousin was causing her so much suffering.’

As Hugo and Zoren drowned themselves in sympathy for the young Penny, they felt a sense of anger and appreciation for her. They were angry that she had to "go through" what she had endured at the hands of that despicable Ray. At the same time, they appreciated how brave and resilient she was.

They pictured her as a pitiful, vulnerable girl who had endured so much because of a senseless person.

"I should pay him a visit next time," Zoren muttered, making Hugo turn his head toward him.

Hugo nodded. "I’m coming with you."

The two of them exchanged glances, a despicable plan forming in their heads. Unbeknownst to them, Ray, currently sick with fever but still working himself to the bone, was sneezing hard.

With that thought in mind, Zoren and Hugo fell silent. They barely spoke for a while, and before they knew it, they had reached Zoren’s place.

"By the way," Hugo said as they entered the gates of the residence, "Is she cooking breakfast tomorrow?"

Zoren turned to him and shrugged. "I think she plans to do that on the weekends."

"Alright. Think of other plans," said Hugo. "Otherwise, I’m going home temporarily."

"..."

"Good luck on the weekend." Hugo cheered him on pitifully while Zoren just let out a shallow breath.

At the same time, they reached the residence’s porch. Both men stepped out of the car without waiting for anyone to open the doors for them. Although Hugo was used to this because no one ever opened the door for him, Zoren was a little surprised. Zoren, after all, was often welcomed by some guards, even though he would tell them there was no need for it.

"Boss!" one of the guards ran to the car, stopping Zoren and Hugo for a moment.

Zoren furrowed his brows while Hugo casually closed the door. Both of them sensed the guard’s overflowing adrenaline.

"What happened?" Zoren asked, his heart racing as he sensed this was not good news.

The guard pressed his lips together and glanced at Hugo instead. "Sir Hugo, Boss, you have to see this."

"What’s going on?" Hugo inquired, feeling suddenly alert.

"It’s the young madam!" the guard exclaimed. "Please come with me and stop her. She’s going to kill him!"

Hugo and Zoren exchanged glances before they followed the bodyguard without further questions. When they reached the area near the greenhouse, they slowed down. What they saw was Penny seated on a chair, the bodyguards standing around her like statues, and a pit from which they could hear someone crying.