Monica’s voice, tinged with an air of urgency, interrupted Penelope’s musings. “I can’t wait…”
A playful smirk played at the corner of Penelope’s lips as she teased, “You’ve done it quickly?”
The tension in Monica’s voice was audible as she replied, “No. Do you know what I found?”
Penelope leaned in closer to the phone, her curiosity fully engaged. “What is it?” she asked.
Monica’s revelation hung in the air for a moment before she continued breathlessly, “You are married now. Do you know it…”
In that suspended moment, time seemed to stand still for Penelope. Her mind went blank, and her heart raced.
She… was rarely speechless.
****
At night, Warren tried calling Penelope but couldn’t reach her. Her phone was off. He thought maybe she felt unwell and went to bed early, so he didn’t worry.
The next day, he still couldn’t reach her, and he started feeling something was wrong. He contacted their team leader immediately.
“Penelope? She took some time off because she wasn’t feeling well,” the leader told him.
Warren hung up and called his home. Mrs. Brown said Penelope had come back briefly and then returned to school.
“Did she take anything with her?” Warren asked.
“Just a few clothes, nothing much,” Mrs. Brown replied.
Penelope wasn’t at school or home, and her phone was off. She hadn’t called him back.
Warren hung up and turned to his assistant, saying, “Please check the passenger list for the flight to New York last night immediately to see if she was on it.”
“Yes, I will check it now,” the assistant nodded and left.
Warren calmed down and figured that Penelope might have had an issue with her certificate, so she had to return to New York. However, he thought she should inform everyone before leaving.
****
Three people were having a heated argument in a fancy villa on the Upper East Side of New York.
Monica was trying to hold Penelope back, but Penelope was really mad. She glared at the man in front of her, wanting to hit him hard.
Ross saw the anger in her eyes and couldn’t help but say, “I’ve told you many times, but you insisted on not stopping Daisy. I had no choice but to make this decision. I’ll say it clearly now: if Daisy doesn’t break up with my dad, I won’t go through with the divorce.”
Penelope clenched her teeth and struggled to break free from Monica’s grip.
“Monica, let me go!”
“Calm down, Penelope,” Monica said, looking worried as she struggled to hold her.
Ross added more fuel to the fire, saying, “I heard you’re eager to marry your boyfriend. Well, you better hurry up and stop Daisy. Otherwise, if your boyfriend finds out we’re still married, he might not want to marry you.”
“You jerk!” Penelope managed to break free from Monica’s hug and charged at Ross with her fists.
Ross stepped back, saying, “Hey, you really…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Penelope’s fist hit him quickly. His nose hurt, he felt dizzy, and he touched it, realizing he was bleeding.
“You really hit me?” Ross shouted.
Penelope kicked him hard. “You lied to me! You deserve it!”
Monica covered her face and couldn’t bear to watch.
Penelope had asked him before, and he had claimed their marriage was just a joke, that they weren’t married at all. But now the truth was out.
“What the heck!” Penelope shouted in anger.
Daisy Seinfeld was incredibly determined. Her only goal in life was to move up into high society!
She was just one step away from that goal now. Would she give it up? She even left her older sister in the orphanage and joined a wealthy family of strangers. Could she easily change her mind because of Penelope?
It felt like an endless cycle. Daisy wouldn’t give up on her marriage to Ross’s father. Ross wouldn’t agree to divorce Penelope, and Penelope couldn’t obtain a marriage certificate to marry Warren.
And if Warren found out about this foolish situation, would he still want to marry her? That was the most challenging part. Penelope sat down and felt exhausted. Ross crouched in a corner with his hands on his head. He sensed the fists stopping and looked up at her.
Penelope sat down on the floor and felt weary.
Monica walked over to Penelope, gently patting her shoulder. “Penelope, calm down. Let’s go.”
“I’m the one who got hit…” He couldn’t help but say after hearing Monica’s comforting words to Penelope.
Monica glared at him. “You deserve it!”
After leaving Ross’s villa, Monica walked with Penelope through the bustling streets. Suddenly, Penelope sat down in silence.
Amidst the busy crowd, people were coming and going, and Penelope suddenly burst into tears.
Monica stood by her side, offering support despite the curious glances from strangers.
“It’s not the end of the world. There’s always a solution,” Monica comforted her.
Penelope buried her head and sobbed.
“Your boyfriend is understanding. I’m sure he’ll forgive you,” Monica said, patting her shoulder.
With tears on her face, Penelope looked up and said, “You don’t know him. He may not care about other things, but he can be forgiving. But this… I can’t even imagine; he’ll definitely be upset.”
“Even if he’s angry, can he really break up with you?” Monica asked.
“Maybe it’s actually possible…” Penelope felt devastated. Thinking about it made her heart as cold as snow in winter.
“You already have a child… He can’t be that heartless,” Monica said, uncertain about Warren’s personality.
“Oh no… Why am I so unlucky?” Penelope exclaimed. “I used to think I was going through a hard time, believing things would get better in the future. But the result… it’s not… Why?”
Monica felt both sad for her and embarrassed by the situation. “Penelope, please, let’s go. There are many people on the street.”
“I don’t care…” Penelope wiped her tears and continued to cry sorrowfully. She added, “Daisy won’t change her mind for my sake.”
Monica didn’t have any other solutions. It seemed like a tangled situation unless they found a compromise.
But among these three, none of them seemed willing to compromise.
Meanwhile, Warren couldn’t reach Penelope, so he asked his assistant to change his flight to New York. He had to find out what was troubling her and why she hadn’t had the chance to call before leaving their house.