Chapter 909: Star alignment

Not repeating history or falling for the same tricks as before was a promise Penny had made to herself. She didn’t desire to love or to be loved. That wasn’t part of the plan. What Penny had now — the relationships she had built with trust and love — was never in the plan, but they happened because she opened her heart.

Hence, another promise was born when she realized these people planned to stay in her life for good. These relationships and these people wouldn’t be the reasons she would fall.

That was why, even when Penny was silent, it didn’t mean she wasn’t aware. She knew what was happening — not everything, probably — but she wasn’t as clueless as she had been in her previous life.

Another deep sigh escaped her as she rocked her head before turning back toward the open court. Just as Penny turned, she stopped, catching sight of Slater standing not far from her.

"Third Brother?" she called, surprised and confused at the same time. "Since when have you been here?"

Penny hadn’t even noticed or heard him, when she would’ve normally sensed his presence. Was it because she had been too complacent? She doubted it. The first time Dean approached her in that parking lot and she didn’t notice him, Penny quickly rectified that. But then again, she probably hadn’t noticed Slater because he didn’t carry any malice.

"I followed you here because I thought you needed company!" He frowned, narrowing his eyes at Penny suspiciously. "Penny, what are you up to?"

"What?" Much to her surprise, Slater suddenly pointed a finger at her.

"Penny, tell me the truth!" he yelled, his voice echoing. "What you said about betting everything on this match is a lie, isn’t it?"

For a brief moment, Penny was rendered speechless. "What?" she blurted out in disbelief. "Did you follow me just to ask me that question?"

"It doesn’t make sense to me!" he exclaimed, seemingly very upset. "How can you stake everything on a match that I can’t even call an amateur match? Prime Group is your life — no, Prime Group is you! You wouldn’t just bet it all like that!"

Her brows rose briefly as she listened to Slater. However, the more she did, the more she couldn’t help but laugh at him.

"Wha — what?" He frowned deeply. "Why are you laughing, huh?"

Penny shook her head, walking up to him until she was standing directly in front of him. "Third Brother, Prime Group isn’t me. Prime Group is a company of people who made it into the leading security firm it is today. I can’t take all the credit. I’m simply a small part of it."

"Even so, this isn’t fair! Rather, after saying that, you sound more selfish! If you know Prime Group isn’t yours, how could you put everything on the line?" He responded, still not pleased by his sister’s recklessness. "I understand you trust First and Second Brother, and even your husband. But putting it all on them... is not right."

His frown deepened, huffing in frustration as if he couldn’t wrap his head around this situation at all. However, unlike what Slater was saying, there was a deeper reason for his frustration.

He was upset that his sister was so reckless, willing to place everything on a match that wasn’t even a proper game. But what frustrated him the most was that it felt like Penny would give everything to someone else, leaving nothing for herself.

Penny loved, and when she did, she gave everything, leaving nothing for herself. That was why she ended up in such a place in her previous life. Slater was terrified his sister was walking down that same path again. It frightened him, considering that unlike before, Penny was closer to the Bennets, had a husband she trusted with her life, and friends who supported her.

Her life was already so far removed from her previous one.

Penny’s eyes softened as she studied her third brother’s reaction, knowing that there was another reason Slater wasn’t telling her. But she also knew that her third brother was right about her betting nature.

"Hmm." She smacked her lips and hummed, reconsidering how she would respond to him. "Well, what else can I say?"

"Say that you’re being too reckless!" he coached without a second hesitation. "I don’t buy that you think they’ll win a hundred percent!"

Penny pursed her lips. "I’m not sure that’s true, but I still bet on them."

"Why? Is it because Second Brother, First Brother, and your husband are in it?"

"That’s one factor, but it’s not just because of that," she explained with a smile, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to answer Slater truthfully and sincerely this time. "I did it because... I don’t care if they see any problems with this or not."

"Huh?"

Her smile stretched wider. "It’s a little complicated, but that’s the reason." Penny gracefully hooked her arm around his and turned him around, forcing him to walk with her back to the open court. "Third Brother, just think of my decision as simple as politics."

"I don’t like politics."

"Me neither."

"So, I don’t understand that lame excuse."

"Haha. I’m not surprised," she grinned, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Slater. "But my point here is, Prime Group isn’t something anyone can threaten me with. Politics is about precise and manipulative calculations; it’s not done mindlessly, even if sometimes it looks stupid or doesn’t make sense to you."

Slater’s brows rose, grasping what she meant, though he still looked clueless.

"Third Brother, don’t think too much about it. It’ll give you a headache," she giggled, tugging on his arm as she picked up her pace. "Just think of it as a decision I made with plenty of considerations. I didn’t do it for fun." — or rather, she did it for fun... just a tiny bit.

Slater was still frowning, not pleased with her explanation. However, seeing her so confident, without a trace of complacency, was enough to put his heart at ease.

"Hehe. By the way, Third Brother, why did you trick that guy into joining the team?"

"Huh?"

Penny bumped her side against him. "You don’t have to hide it. I saw you poking Plus One, which led him to become part of the team."

"Ah..." Slater’s mouth opened as he realized why Penny often avoided questions. He smiled at his little sister and said whatever came to his mind. "I don’t like him, that’s all. I feel like he likes Nina, and according to Grandma Pierson’s trusted matchmaker, Nina isn’t ready to marry yet. At least, not with someone who doesn’t match her star alignment!"