Chapter 584: Good thing she kept everyone alive.

Did Penny believe this life? The message she received from herself?

The answer was no. Or rather, not completely.

Penny didn’t believe it for the simple reason that she knew there was something wrong with her head. However, that didn’t mean she didn’t want to make the most of it. She might get hurt once she woke up, but for now, she wanted to enjoy the time when Charles and Allison were alive.

"This one is good," Allison said as she added some fruits to Penny’s table, smiling. "It’s sweet, but not too much."

Penny glanced at her mother and smiled. "Mom, I love you."

"Penny." Allison’s face softened as she leaned in to hold Penny’s shoulder in a mild hug. "I love you too, honey. Why are you so sweet today?"

"Hehe." Penny chuckled, biting her lip. "I’m just... happy." Or rather, she didn’t want any regrets.

"Penny, eat plenty, okay?" Charles enthusiastically encouraged. "There’s plenty more—Butler Jen, there’s more, right?"

Butler Jen, who was standing near the table, smiled and nodded. "Of course. The chefs were already in the kitchen when they heard Miss Penny was home."

"See?" Charles giddily faced his daughter, waving his hand at her. "If you have any other requests, I’m sure they’ll make it in no time."

"Hehe. Thanks, Dad." Penny stared at Charles before she suddenly looked under the table.

Charles intuitively closed his legs, remembering he was only wearing his boxer shorts. When Penny looked up at him again, he grinned.

"I’ll excuse myself first," he said as he pushed himself up. "I’ll come back!"

Slater, who was cupping his face while squinting at his retreating father, hummed a long tune. He then cast Penny a look, eating his chocolates to comfort himself. Not only did his parents shun him, but they were treating him like a ghost.

Even Penny wasn’t looking at him.

"This is not okay," he told himself, earning a glance from his mother and Penny. When they met his eyes, he dropped his hands and looked at Penny. "Penny, how come Mom and Dad got to hear ’I love you’ and not me?! All I got was being called ’creature!’"

Allison chuckled at her third son. "Slater, your sister is being sweet. Don’t tease her."

"I’m not teasing her! She’s the one messing with me!"

"Slater."

"Mom." Slater shook his shoulders, getting increasingly frustrated. "Mom, I love you too, you know?!"

"I love you too, Slater," Allison smiled gently, casting Penny a look. "Don’t worry about your third brother."

Penny pursed her lips as she leaned back in her chair, glancing at Slater. She didn’t have any thoughts about it, but when she glanced at Slater, he took that as her looking at him mischievously.

"Mom, look at her!" Slater pointed at Penny, gasping. "She’s smirking at me!"

"I wasn’t." Penny shook her head, denying it.

"Slater, you’re not a kid anymore to make up stories like that." Allison sighed and looked at Penny. "Just ignore him, Penny."

’That’s easy,’ Penny wanted to say, but she chose to respond with just a smile.

As Penny resumed eating her food, Haines’s voice was heard.

"What’s going on here?" Haines slowly walked inside with his cane, looking at the table.

"Uncle Haines, Penny came home just to mess with me!" Slater harrumphed, looking for an ally. "I’m sure she’s doing this on purpose!"

Penny furrowed her brows as she gazed down at Haines’s leg. "Uncle Haines, what happened to your leg?"

"Huh?" Haines paused and looked at her incredulously. Not just him, but Slater, Allison, and even Butler Jen looked at Penny in confusion.

"Penny?" Haines tilted his head a little to the side. "What do you mean, what happened to my leg?"

Slater snorted. "It’s a bad leg!" he yelled. "Uncle Haines was so lazy when he was young and didn’t take care of his health. So, now, his leg is giving up on him. Penny, are you also messing with Uncle Haines now?"

Penny’s mouth parted, and she glossed her eyes over their faces. She pursed her lips and forced a smile.

"Heh..." she let out a shallow breath, casting Haines a look. "Sorry. I forgot."

"Lie! How can you forget something like that?" Slater scrunched up his nose, only to earn a glare from his mother.

"Slater, that’s enough, okay?" Allison warned gently. "Stop berating your sister. If you keep doing this, Penny might not come back here or see you again."

Slater opened his mouth, ready to retort. However, he ended up zipping his lips as he realized Penny might not hang out with him. As for Haines, he approached the seat while looking at Penny with puzzlement. However, Haines didn’t say anything about it.

’That’s not something she would ever forget,’ Haines thought, keeping his eyes on Penny as they didn’t dwell on her remarks just now. ’Something’s wrong.’

"Haines, you should have some snacks too," Allison said, turning to Haines, and the latter smiled.

"Thank you." Haines received the food with a smile, watching Allison take care of Penny and how Penny was acting as if this was her first time here. Slater, on the other hand, would still complain from time to time.

"I’m back!" Just then, Charles returned to the dining table in pajamas. He cleared his throat and sat in his place, turning to Penny with a wide smile.

Haines tilted his head to the side, glancing at the family. It wasn’t surprising how Charles and Allison took care of Penny happily, nor was Slater’s never-ending act of throwing tantrums. Those were already things that were given.

But Haines had been with Penny for the past twelve years. They went through hell and back together, and Penny trusted him with everything. This was not how Penny acted. Even if she were just acting to irritate Slater, there was something different about her.

’It feels like... she’s not here at all,’ Haines concluded after mulling it over. ’What happened to her?’

While everyone was busy doing their own thing, Atlas’s voice suddenly echoed in the dining room.

"What’s going on here?"

Standing by the entrance, Atlas narrowed his eyes because the dining area was so lively at this hour. He glossed his eyes over everyone’s faces until his gaze fell on Penny. He squinted as he studied her face, only for the skin under his eye to twitch.

’She’s really drunk... good thing she kept everyone alive.’