Chapter 575: Dear, Penny.

[Penny, it is I, Penny.

I know that this is confusing, and everything you’re about to read is confusing—ridiculous, even. However, I hope you’ll read through it all.

First things first: you’ve died. I did. In prison, on the day of my execution.

How are you alive? I was reborn. Yes, you read that right. It’s crazy and unbelievable, but it’s the truth. I died in there, and I never got any justice. But then, I woke up as a child. I restarted my life; I lived as Penelope Reed for the first twelve years, and Uncle Haines came to the Cortez household weeks before my 13th birthday.

Everything is the same as you remembered it, but I changed a few things. One is the Cortez family. They didn’t neglect me, nor did they bring me suffering. I made sure they wouldn’t do that, nor would I ever experience that horror again.

The second change is the Bennet family. They weren’t as you remembered them. They loved me; they cared for me—even Nina had become a good friend and sister.

Penny, a page is not enough for me to let you know everything. But what I can tell you with certainty is that we’re not alone anymore. You... no, we have a family who loves and cherishes us. You have a husband whom you can trust with all your heart, body, and soul. You have friends who will be there for you through thick and thin, and you have pets who would rather shield you than bite you.

I am now at peace. I am living the life I’ve always dreamed of, the life I deserve. I’ve never forgotten, but I’ve learned how to forgive. I’ve forgiven them...and I’ve forgiven myself. I hope you’ll realize that I... we’re now happy, Penny. Let’s not ruin this.

Let go.]

Penny stared at the letter once more and skimmed through it, snickering at this ridiculous message. Although it was her handwriting, she couldn’t believe she had written this.

"Did you write this?" she asked Zoren.

"No, I didn’t even know what it said."

"It says that I died and that I was reborn. Can you believe it?" Penny chuckled, shaking her head. "Did I write this while I was hallucinating or something? What a ridiculous thing to say."

Zoren was quiet as he studied her figure, confused by what she had just said. Noticing his silence, Penny smirked and walked up to him.

"Here, read it," she said casually, offering the piece of paper to him. "Tell me it’s ridiculous."

"I can’t read that."

"Why not?"

"Because I can’t see."

"..." Penny arched a brow and tilted her head to the side. "You’re blind?"

"I’m not blind, but visually impaired." His eyes fluttered slowly as he raised his brows. "You know that."

Deep lines appeared between her brows as she took a step back, looking at him with confusion. "How would I know that?"

"Penny, I don’t know what’s going on, but..." Zoren placed the wineglass on the table and snapped his eyes to her. "I believe... you’re confused. Whenever you drink and pass out, you wake up as... you, this you."

"No?" Penny laughed at the joke. "I don’t drink... I mean, I do drink, but I’m not a lightweight. I don’t drink until I pass out. As far as I’m concerned, I only passed out before I got into prison. And that’s not from any alcohol — I passed out because I’m tired."

"Should I pull up your records?"

"Huh?"

"You have no records in prison, Penny. You’ve never been there."

Penny chuckled weakly, but the laughter quickly subsided as she stared at the solemn look on his face. "Impossible," she whispered. "That’s not true."

"..." Zoren didn’t respond.

"How is it possible that I didn’t go to prison when I damn well know how it feels to be locked up in that hell?" Her voice carried lightness, as if she was trying to laugh it off. "Look at this. Where do you think I got this huge scar, hmm?"

Penny clasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up, keeping her eyes on Zoren. "I got this because some bitch stabbed me with a sharpened toothbrush. That bitch did it while I was showering for no damn reason."

Zoren snapped his eyes to her exposed skin. Although he couldn’t see well aside from the colors and a few bits of detail, he knew there was no scar there. There was no part of her body he hadn’t touched, so he was certain he would know if there was a scar.

"Right. You can’t see..." Penny glanced down as she was about to put down her shirt, only to notice that the horrible scar from that fight was gone. It wasn’t there. "Huh? That’s weird. Is it on the other side?"

Penny checked the other side of her stomach, but the scar she was talking about wasn’t there either. She knitted her brows, mostly certain there should be a few more scars. After all, every day was a fight in prison, and the only time she would get rest was when she was tossed in the hole for a period of time.

"This is weird," she muttered and tossed the piece of paper back onto the bed. She then ran toward the bathroom and took off her shirt to look at her body.

Standing in front of the mirror with only her bra on, she furrowed her brow. She turned around to check the back of her shoulder, moving closer to the mirror to see the burn she had. It wasn’t there. Her skin was in pristine condition, with some—a ton of love marks all over it. There weren’t any bruises or scars she remembered.

Now that she thought about it, she looked closer in the mirror. She pinched her cheek, turning her face from one side to the other. Even the little scars she had on her face were gone.

"No, that’s not right." Penny took a step back, her eyes on the mirror. "That’s impossible. How come... they were erased?"