Chapter 871: Petty Bennets

"Slater, how’s my wings?" Hugo asked, checking his wings in case the mild collision had damaged them.

Slater, on the other hand, dutifully checked his brother’s wings to make sure they were fine.

"As far as I know, you weren’t walking backward," Atlas remarked in his usual flat tone, staring at his brothers, who seemed overly concerned about their big, blinking wings after Patricia had bumped into Hugo’s chest.

"First Brother, there’s this thing called impact," Hugo lectured in a knowing tone. "I’m afraid the impact might hurt these wings. They’re too pretty."

Atlas, Penny, Ginnie, and even Mark couldn’t help but narrow their eyes at Hugo. No one had questioned Hugo’s preference before, but now they couldn’t help but wonder. Not that it was a problem, but still, it was a bit shocking.

"Weird," Atlas commented, shaking his head. His brothers just ignored him, focusing on the wings, while Atlas turned his attention to the person who had bumped into his brothers. "Patricia Miller."

"What—what?" Patricia raised her chin high, puffing her chest out, showing them she wasn’t afraid. "You Bennets don’t own the way, so don’t act like you do and blame others for bumping into you!"

"I didn’t blame you for bumping into Hugo," Atlas answered flatly. "Are you hearing voices in your head?"

Patricia’s face crumpled, then she smirked. "Whatever. There’s no point in arguing with people like you! Hmp!"

With that, Patricia straightened her back, planning to walk to the side and avoid them. She had come here early to stir trouble for Nina, knowing the Bennets would likely be late—like usual.

Who would have thought they’d actually be on time?

But just as Patricia thought she could leave without further conflict, a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Patricia stopped, looking back at the person who had stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Ginnie asked, tilting her head to the side. "Patricia, the reunion party hasn’t even started, but you’re leaving already."

Patricia clenched her teeth, slapping Ginnie’s hand off her shoulder. "Don’t touch me!" she yelled, facing Ginnie without an ounce of fear. "Touch me again, and I’ll show you why you don’t touch people without permission."

"Haha." Ginnie laughed, glancing at Penny. "Penny, what should I do with her?"

"Hmm. Let me think..." Penny rubbed her chin, pondering what to do with Patricia. To be honest, Penny didn’t want to deal with her anymore. Patricia had humiliated herself so many times that her entire family was suffering because of her actions.

However, it seemed Patricia was more resilient—and had a thicker face—than Penny had thought.

"What are you—what are you all planning now?!" Patricia panicked, glaring at everyone in front of her. "Are you going to bully me again?! If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave! Why don’t you just let me go?!"

"Apologize before you go," Atlas casually remarked. "To Nina."

"What?"

"Patricia, why do you think we’re here?" Ginnie sneered at Patricia, who had bullied her for years simply because Ginnie was poor and had earned her spot at the Summit School of Excellence through good grades.

Ginnie then raised her phone, showing the call log from Yuri. Earlier, Yuri had dialed Penny’s number, but it didn’t go through, so she called Ginnie instead. Ginnie had overheard everything and quickly contacted Penny.

"Nina reflected on her past actions and did her best to change," Atlas said, his eyes focused on Patricia. "However, you kept showing up at her place and sabotaged her during the early days of her career."

"I let it slide because Nina didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. She even begged me to the point where she almost fought me because of you. Yet, despite all of that, it seems venting on her will never stop, as you came here just to remind her of the person she once was."

"Apologize for my wings too," Hugo added with a slight nod. "You almost broke them."

"Do you know Lily put all her effort into making these wings?" Slater backed up, puffing his chest proudly. "Apologize to Nina, to my second brother, and then to me! Even though I won’t forgive you, you should still apologize because it’s the right thing to do!"

"Why are you all so petty?!" Patricia barked at them, glaring daggers at the Bennets. "Why would I apologize to Nina when all I said was the truth!? Moreover, I will not apologize for those eyesore wings because they’re not broken! Not to mention, why would I apologize to you, Slater, when I didn’t even touch you?!"

Slater’s face twisted in dismay, pointing at her. "Seeing your ugly face traumatizes me!"

"What?" Patricia’s complexion paled for a moment, her eyes widening as she stared at Slater. "What did you just say?"

"Gee!" Slater waved his hands dramatically, brushing his hair back a little. As he did, he seemed to glow and sparkle, like he had an automatic shine—like in those commercials.

"Wow..." Ginnie couldn’t help but muse, her lips parting slightly. Even Mark, who had been pretending to be invisible, was in awe, staring at Slater.

"I feel like I’m going to go blind," Ginnie added under her breath. "How could a man be so beautiful?"

To be fair, Mark shared the same sentiment. With Slater around, it was true that he looked more beautiful than Patricia. In fact, everyone around Slater seemed to pale in comparison. Slater was that beautiful.

"You!" Patricia ground her teeth, pointing at the Bennets, unsure who to direct her anger at first. "How dare you?! I hate you all!"

With that, Patricia huffed and ran away with tears in her eyes. Meanwhile, the Bennets, Mark, and Ginnie watched as Patricia fled, still crying.

"Uhm... is that good?" Hugo asked with genuine curiosity. "Are we just going to let her go? She didn’t apologize to Nina... and to me and Slater."

"Let’s let her go," Penny said, her eyes still on Patricia. "She was petty, so I guess giving her the same level of pettiness is just right. No more, no less."

She then gave Ginnie a look. "Is that okay with you, Ginnie?"

"I’ll never forget how she tormented me, but knowing her, this is enough," Ginnie slowly smiled. "That woman wouldn’t back down even if I beat her up, but I’m sure seeing how beautiful Slater is, that’s a critical hit."

Slater smirked while Penny chuckled. As they all let Patricia go, knowing they had hurt her in the same petty way she had hurt others, a quiet calm fell over them.

"Then, let’s get inside!" Ginnie clapped her hands. This time, Penny, Mark, and even Atlas looked reluctant. "Huh? What’s wrong?"

"I forgot I have a meeting..." Atlas trailed off as the door suddenly flew open, taking him off guard.

"Penny~!" The first thing they heard was Lily’s voice. However, what Penny, Mark, and Atlas noticed first wasn’t Lily, but the venue behind her.