Chapter 975: Not alone

Initially, Wild and Jessa thought that Penny was simply trying to avoid dealing with the men in the family. The Bennet family didn’t say so, but in the back of their minds, they couldn’t help but admit Jessa and Wild had a point.

This has been proven many times — far too many times to ignore now.

Penny was the type to throw anyone under the bus to save herself. She was loving, but there was just that part of her. And when she didn’t want to deal with something, she would try to avoid it by any means necessary. In other words, they wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

But seeing her burning up while her husband was carrying her in his arms worried them to the bone. Since Penny was drenched from head to toe, Allison volunteered to take care of her. Zoren, on the other hand, had to shower and change.

As for the rest of the family, they stayed in the living room in utter silence.

"I can’t take this anymore!" Slater was the first to break the silence, jumping from his seat in frustration. "I’ll help Mom. Penny is heavy, so she might need some assistance."

Without waiting for anyone’s response, he rushed up the stairs and went straight to the master bedroom. Charles didn’t say a word and simply followed his son, leaving Haines, his two other sons, Jessa, and even Wild behind.

"Do you still think she’s just trying to avoid dealing with this?" Haines asked, eyes shifting between Wild and Jessa. "Although Penny would occasionally avoid things, I’ve never seen her try to get sick just to avoid something."

Haines grabbed his cane and pushed himself up. "If dating is that important to her, then I don’t mind going on these blind dates and hope to find someone I can get along with."

After saying his piece, Haines walked away, still worried about Penny. It was rare for Penny to get sick, even when she was growing up. This was the second time this year she had fallen ill; it was strange.

---

Meanwhile...

Allison let out a shallow breath, checking the thermometer to measure her daughter’s temperature.

"Her temperature barely went down," she said, shifting her eyes to Zoren, who was standing near the bed. "Can you tell me what happened? How come the two of you are drenched from head to toe?"

Zoren slowly moved his gaze to where his wife was sleeping. "I... don’t know," he shook his head. "I don’t know what happened."

After taking Penny to the car, the two of them had been quiet. Penny rested her head on his shoulder while he tried to dry her off with a bodyguard’s blazer. He initially noticed that her skin felt feverish and told her to rest. Penny only hummed and closed her eyes, listening to his instructions.

However, as they neared the residence, Penny’s temperature continued to rise until she felt hot to the touch. Though she hummed when he tried to wake her, he knew something was wrong.

Now, here they were.

"I see..." Allison sighed, peeling her gaze from him to Penny. "She didn’t get sick much as a child, but this is the second time she’s fallen ill this year. I’m a little worried."

"I’m sorry."

"Huh?"

Zoren lowered his head, his eyes filled with bitterness. "It’s probably my fault. I promised you and the rest of the family that I’d take care of her. But the more I thought about it, I didn’t take care of her. Instead, it’s the other way around. I’m sorry."

"Zoren." Allison smiled in defeat as her eyes softened. "How is it your fault?"

She shook her head mildly and reached for the towel on Penny’s forehead. "You take care of her, and she takes care of you — isn’t that what marriage is like? You’re letting her live the life she wanted with great support. I’m certain she’s grateful for that."

"Even so..."

"Zoren." Allison turned her attention back to him. "Marriage is full of ups and downs; it has its bad days too. But at the end of the day, you two became one when you took your vows. If you blame yourself, you might as well blame her. That’s marriage. That’s the partnership in marriage. There’s no ’I’ or ’you’ anymore, but ’we,’ ’our,’ and ’us.’"

She flashed him a gentle smile, nodding before her gaze settled on Penny. "When I was a child, my mother wasn’t as loving as one would expect. Even my father was a little distant — he was cold. So, whenever I get sick, it was usually my nanny who would take care of me. It’s always been like that, even as I grew up."

"One time, I also fell sick, and when you’re young, you tend to brush it off. Especially if it’s just a fever or a cold. But then my nanny came because she heard I’d been sick," she chuckled as she remembered that time in the past. "Do you know what she told me back then?"

"She said, sometimes, we force ourselves to go beyond our limits. We keep pushing and pushing until our bodies force us to take a breath and rest," she added quietly, smiling at Zoren again. "Sometimes, our bodies protect us from our harmful way of living. If we deprive ourselves of rest, our bodies will force us to need it. You and Penny... and even your brothers-in-law should take a moment to breathe. Otherwise, your bodies will force you to."

Allison cast him another look. "Don’t blame yourself, Zoren. Though I understand your worries, Penny’s going to be fine. When she’s sick, you take care of your wife, and when you are, she takes care of you. Do you understand me?"

Zoren didn’t answer immediately, staring into his mother-in-law’s eyes. "I understand."

"Then if you do, come with me downstairs. Jessa and I brought some food. There’s soup downstairs; you should have some. Your wife’s already sick, so don’t get sick too." Having said that, Allison quickly replaced the towel on Penny’s forehead before she stood up. She then faced Zoren and smiled.

"Let’s go, Zoren."

Zoren gazed at his mother-in-law before his eyes drifted back to Penny. He didn’t feel hungry anymore, nor did he have the appetite to eat. But for her, he would eat.

"Coming," he muttered, following Allison to the entrance. Much to his surprise, when Allison opened the door, Charles and Slater almost fell in as they were pressing their ears against the door.

"What are you..." Allison trailed off, noticing that there were more people outside — everyone. She smiled and chuckled, causing everyone to raise their brows in confusion.

"Allison, why would you open the door without making a sound?" Charles grumbled. "How’s Penny?"

Allison didn’t answer but rather chuckled.

A subtle smile crept up on Zoren’s face as he saw that everyone was just outside.

Why would he be afraid?

He wasn’t alone in all of this anymore.

There were other people who shared his worries and sentiments. There were other people... who wouldn’t let anything bad happen to his wife — to his world, to his love, to his life, to his entire universe. So, it was okay for him to rest and breathe, even for a moment.

He wasn’t alone.