Chapter 576: Time to bury yourself.

"That’s not right. That’s impossible. How come they were erased?"

Zoren leaned against the jamb of the door, his eyes on her. He saw her turn to him, and even without seeing the shock plastered on her face, he could feel her panic and fright.

"I—" she halted as she glanced at the mirror again, touching the love marks on top of her chest.

[You have a husband whom you can trust with all of your heart, body, and soul.]

Slowly, Penny turned to look at Zoren, opening and closing her mouth. Instead of fresh and old bruises on her body, it was filled with love marks. She didn’t recall being with anybody yet. Even if she planned to throw herself at Zoren, she hadn’t done that.

But the evidence on her body said otherwise.

"You..." she trailed off, squinting at him. "... did this?"

Zoren glanced at the red spot on top of her right breast and nodded. "I got too excited."

"Impossible!" she intoned. "No, we haven’t done it. If we had, I would’ve known. I haven’t given you my consent."

"Should I record it next time?"

"What?"

Zoren shrugged and sighed, peeling himself from the jamb and sauntering toward her. Stopping in front of her, he touched her jaw with his thumb, his face wrinkled in concern.

"What happened to you, Penelope... Bennet?"

For some reason, Penny’s breath hitched at his question. It wasn’t just the question itself, but how he called her name.

Bennet.

Her only reason for marrying him—aside from wanting to have a taste of such a handsome and delectable man—was that she didn’t want the Bennet name attached to her. She wanted to leave the Bennet family and forget that she was ever a part of it.

Penny took a step back from him, slapping his hand away.

"No," she shook her head. "This is not true. This is ridiculous. Haha!"

Her eyes shook as she gazed up at him, hoping he would say, "It’s a prank!" or something like, "Gotcha!" But Zoren just looked at her with equal concern and uncertainty.

"This is... unacceptable," she breathed out. "Forgive? Reborn? Haha. That can’t just happen, right?"

Zoren lowered his eyes, as he also didn’t know. "Forgiveness... or rebirth... I have no idea."

"Haha." A weak laugh escaped her as she shook her head. "Nope. This isn’t right."

Penny tucked her hair behind her ear and smacked her lips. "I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t believe it," she remarked. "It’s ridiculous. Even if—let’s say it’s the truth, this ridiculous reality is the truth—then what about me?"

"What about what I went through? That shit is not something I’d forget because I remember every second of my life—all of it." She clasped her chest as she ground her teeth. "That is not just an imaginary thing. It’s my truth. It’s something I cannot just erase! Or something that I can just... let go."

"Never mind! I probably lost my mind somewhere along the way." She shrugged and forced a smile at him. She walked over and picked up her shirt, putting it on in one motion. "Where’s he?"

Zoren didn’t answer. So, she walked in front of him, this time with a stern and adamant tone.

"Where is he?" she asked again, emphasizing each word.

Zoren’s expression remained neutral, sensing that she would turn this place upside down if he didn’t tell her where Nathaniel was. Not that he didn’t plan to, because Penny told him Nathaniel might help.

"I’ll take you to him."

"Then, let’s go." Without further ado, Penny walked past him. She stopped when he suddenly held her wrist, making her look back at him. She glanced at her hand briefly before looking up at him.

Zoren slowly turned to face her. "I don’t know what’s happening," he said quietly. "But I’ll always be here for you in any battles."

"..."

---

Meanwhile, in the area of the pit...

"Hah!" Nathaniel slumped on the ground, gazing up at the surface of the pit. "Can you please forgive me? I’m tired! This is six feet already—or is it ten now?!"

His continuous complaints and pleading fell on deaf ears because Mark didn’t entertain him at all. He was only told to make sure this guy would keep digging and wouldn’t run away. Thus, that was what he was doing. However, at some point, Mark also wondered just how deep this guy would dig the entire night. Not that Nathaniel was making any big progress at all.

"Hey." Suddenly, Angel’s voice caressed Mark’s ears. "What’s going on? I came here as soon as I finished dinner because everyone was talking about it."

Mark let out a shallow breath, glancing at his side before gazing at the pit. "That’s what’s happening."

"She caught him?"

"She wouldn’t have if I had not lied to her."

"Tsk tsk." Angel shook his head, glancing at the pit. "Told you. She’s sharp."

"I learned my lesson today."

"So? What’s gonna happen now? I just heard she would be drinking tonight."

"I heard."

"What in the world is going on?"

"Angel." Mark faced Angel squarely before he asked under his breath, "Do you know why she’s so angry at him?"

Angel shook his head. "Apparently, even if I’ve worked with her for a long time, I still get surprised by some of the things she knows and does. Even so, whatever the reason for her anger, I’m sure it’s backed by a deep reason."

"Is that so?"

"My boss is not that shallow," Angel snorted, sensing the doubt in Mark’s voice. "You should stay out of this, you know? If she’s going to drink, I’m sure she’ll remember what you did to her."

"..." Mark pressed his lips together but didn’t budge. "I’ll take the beating."

"What a stubborn fool..." Angel trailed off, catching sight of two figures approaching the area. When Angel and Mark turned their heads, they saw Zoren and then Penny.

Both men intuitively took a step back before they could even think about it. They held their breaths, hoping she wouldn’t notice them.

"There’s him." Zoren paused in his tracks, casting Penny a look.

She only glanced at her husband and then walked closer to the pit. As she did so, she also glanced at Angel and then at Mark. Both men felt their backs stiffen, only to heave a sigh of relief when she didn’t stop and looked away from them.

Soon, Penny found herself standing near the pit. She slowly gazed down, only to see the dirty and exhausted Nathaniel looking up at her.

"Miss Penny!" Nathaniel called in a panic, reaching for the shovel. "I’ll keep digging! See, I’m diligent!"

"That’s enough digging. Time to bury the hatchet. Go, lie down."