Chapter 590: Zoren, where were you in my first life?

"Penny!"

Penny jolted at the call, almost losing her grip. Before she knew it, a hand gripped her shoulder tightly and pulled her back.

"Oh, my goodness!" Her eyes widened as she looked up at the person who had startled her and almost made her fall. "Husband, what are you doing?"

"That’s what I want to ask you," he responded, his breath jagged. "What do you think you’re doing?"

Penny furrowed her brows. "I want to sit down."

"You’re climbing the railing."

"Sit on the railing," she clarified. "Did you think I was jumping?"

"..."

"..."

Penny and Zoren stared at each other in momentary silence. After a beat, a hushed laugh escaped her.

"Pffft—" she chuckled, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Zoren, on the other hand, released her shoulder and heaved a sigh of relief.

"You’re not jumping?" he asked, and she nodded. "But the railing is dangerous."

"It’s not dangerous, duh?" Penny smacked her lips. "But if you’re worried, then I won’t sit on it."

Penny slowly turned, resting her arms on the railing. "Husband, I’m someone who barely dodged a death sentence," she hummed, inhaling a fresh breath. "So why would I kill myself? For the past few months, I dreaded every second that passed because it meant I was closer to my death."

"I cherish my life. It’s just not obvious." The corner of her mouth hooked up, letting the wind kiss her face and blow through her hair.

Zoren carefully walked beside her, his eyes swirling with curiosity. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because it’s the truth," she said without hesitation, casting him a quick look. "Surprising?"

"It would be a lie to say it’s not."

"Hehe." A chuckle escaped her as she gazed at the vast expanse ahead. "Is that land still yours?"

Zoren glanced ahead and nodded. "It is."

"Why?" she asked out of pure curiosity.

"Renny."

"Oh... Blacky?"

"Mhm."

"Well, that makes sense." Penny nodded while he kept his gaze fixed on her side. "Well, you took in a black panther as a pet, so it’s only natural that you’d give him a good environment."

Zoren slowly rested his arms on the edge of the railing, keeping his eyes on her. Earlier, Penny had left the manor with a strong urge to escape, as if she was being suffocated. But now that she had returned, he couldn’t say she was in a good mood. In any case, she was acting as if nothing had happened.

As if all that digging and burying didn’t happen at all.

Did she forget about it?

"You said you’re blind," she spoke after a while, shifting her gaze to him. "Yet you keep looking at me."

"I’m worried."

"Why are you worried?"

"You’re my wife."

Penny opened her mouth and then closed it. She turned, leaning her side against the railing, facing him squarely.

"Are you..." she paused, watching his brows rise. "... are you real?"

"Huh?"

"I have one question, and that is: is this even real?" Penny habitually smacked her lips, turning once again. This time, she propped her elbows on the railing with her back. "That letter you handed me—did I give it to you?"

"Mhm."

"When?"

"Before you had wine."

"Wine?"

"I mentioned this..."

"Right. That every time I drink and pass out, I wake up again like this?" She cocked her head back, watching him nod. "Why did I drink this time, though?"

"Nathaniel."

Penny pressed her lips together and hummed, rocking her head as she grasped the reason. "How was I when I saw that guy?"

"That grave he was digging—you asked him to dig his own grave."

"Haha!" she laughed. "Man, your wife is crazy."

"Is she?"

"Mhm. She is." Penny smirked, snapping her eyes at him. "Are you scared?"

"No, but I am afraid you would be."

"To you?"

"Mhm."

"Nope."

"And how can you say that?" He tilted his head to the side, smiling as he found her still easy to talk to, even in this state. "Is it because I am sickly and blind?"

"It’s because of your face."

"???"

Penny chuckled at him. "You’re too handsome to scare me. Even if you put me in handcuffs, I wouldn’t mind," she giggled mischievously, leaving Zoren briefly dazed before he laughed.

"What?" he blurted out. "I would put you in what?"

"Hey, I know you want to do that," she returned, making him rock his head as he didn’t respond.

"Not now," he said. "But maybe in the future, once we’ve started exploring deeper areas of that kind."

"Hehe." Penny chuckled, looking up at the dark sky. They shared a brief silence before she broke it again. "So? Do I just... pass out and then wake up again?"

"You don’t pass out. You sleep."

"Well, I don’t think I’d want to sleep."

"You can stay."

Penny raised her brows and looked back at him. Zoren offered her a warm smile.

"I don’t mind," he said. "Stay for now."

"..." She stared at him, blinking, before smiling. She shook her head and lifted her eyes to the sky once again.

For a while, the two of them stayed silent. Despite that, they didn’t feel the need to break it. Penny kept her eyes on the sky while Zoren fixated his gaze on her.

’It would be a lie to say she’s the same,’ he thought. ’They’re like two people, but at the same time, the same as well.’

Since Penny moved in with him, they had many talks about various topics. However, tonight, their exchange was something else. It was strange, but all the questions she threw at him—the menial questions—were things she had never asked him before. Even the things she mentioned in passing were things she had never told him before.

"You said... you didn’t know about the letter." After a while, her quiet yet cool voice pierced through the air. "I didn’t tell you?"

"You said you’d explain it to me."

Penny faced him, assessing the look on his face. Telling him the truth was something she didn’t mind—not because she trusted him fully, but because she didn’t care much. This could be real or just a part of a person’s imagination. Either way, it wasn’t important.

The words that came out of her mouth, however, were something else:

"Zoren, where were you in my first life?"