The times she spent with Ross were crazy and silly but unforgettable. But when someone did wrong, there was always a price to pay. Her punishment had come.
“Who’s inside?” He smiled and held her hand. From where he stood, he could only see a slim figure and couldn’t make out her appearance.
“Just a friend,” Penelope replied.
“Let’s go have lunch,” he casually suggested without much thought.
“I need to confess something,” Penelope said, gripping his hand and stopping in her tracks.
Warren raised an eyebrow. “It’s not just about tax evasion, is it? By the way, I did check the information on this car, but I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet.” He patted her head with a smile. “You know, if you have any secrets I don’t know about, that could be problematic.”
Penelope was shocked, and her head was pounding. He might investigate her background. The current situation was either he went through the information, or she told him herself. She was torn.
“You see when I was young, I was quite impulsive… I did some meaningless things,” Penelope confessed, her mouth feeling dry.
Warren questioned, “Meaningless things? Like what?”
“I got married,” she slowly looked up, feeling nervous.
Warren probably didn’t understand what she meant. He furrowed his brow, “Are you saying that marrying me was meaningless?”
“No, I’m dreaming of marrying you now. I want to be your wife,” Penelope quickly clarified, though she realized it might sound confusing.
He understood and asked, “So, were you married to someone else?”
Penelope held his hand tightly, feeling nervous.
“You’re only 21 years old, and the legal age for marriage in the US is 18… Did you get married in these short three years?” He was shocked, and his grip on her hand tightened.
Penelope winced in pain and said, “It was a mistake I made when I was drunk. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Warren nodded, “Okay, then tell me when you got divorced.”
The moment of truth arrived, and Penelope felt incredibly anxious. Her mind was buzzing like a swarm of bees.
“Not yet?” He ventured a guess.
He looked down at her, his tone turning more sarcastic than shocked. “I’ve become the third party, haven’t I?”
He found it more ironic than shocking. He never imagined he’d be in this situation. The woman he deeply cared for treated him this way. Their sweet moments seemed to be just a chapter in her extramarital affair.
Warren had been shrewd for most of his life, but now he felt like such a young woman had deceived him. It was almost laughable. He chuckled and let go of her hand.
“No, you’re not a third party!” Penelope tried to catch up, but she couldn’t even grab a piece of his clothing.
Warren turned his head away, and his words were as cutting as his sharp gaze. Penelope watched his lips move as he said, “I don’t want to see you again. Leave my life immediately.”
At that moment, all of Penelope’s courage drained away.
She thought she was prepared to face the consequences of her past actions, but she hadn’t anticipated that the punishment would be this harsh, almost unbearable.
The car drove off and vanished down the street.
Her body swayed a few times before finally collapsing to the ground.
“Hey!” Daisy, who had been standing at the restaurant’s entrance, hurriedly rushed over.
****
Monica sat by Penelope’s bedside, offering her a tissue as she cried.
Daisy stood near the closet, removed her sunglasses, and wrapped her arms around herself. She said, “There are plenty of other people out there. Just find someone else.”
Penelope glared at her through tears.
“Okay, do whatever you want,” Daisy shrugged.
Monica chimed in, “He’s so rude. How could he just walk away from you like that?”
“Woo…woo…” Penelope continued to cry, unable to form words.
Daisy glanced at Monica, who sneered at her.
“What exactly had happened? Can you wipe your tears and explain?” Daisy rolled her eyes and asked.
Penelope kept crying, burying her head without saying anything.
Ignoring Monica, Daisy turned her attention back to Penelope and questioned, “You went out, talked to him briefly, and now you’re crying while he’s gone? What happened between you two?”
Monica placed the tissue box on Penelope’s bed and stood up. She turned to Daisy, glaring, and said, “Could you please stop talking? You’re really getting on my nerves.”
Daisy snapped back instantly, “Me? Annoying you? How dare you!”
Monica clenched her teeth and replied, “Whatever.” Then she addressed Penelope, “Don’t cry anymore. Warren is gone, and he can’t see your sadness.”
Penelope let out a snort as she continued to cry.
“Well, you need to pull yourself together,” Daisy remarked with a smirk.
Penelope kept crying, and seeing her like this, Daisy left the room.
Monica bent slightly and patted Penelope’s back, saying, “Take it easy. I’ll be here if you need help.”
She then stepped out to give Penelope some space.
Once the door closed, Penelope sat up and cleared her throat. She grabbed the juice next to her and took a sip.
Daisy was upset by Penelope’s tears. She cursed herself for trying to deceive her younger sister.
In her impression, Penelope was always the one with a smile on her face. Even though she appeared gentle, she had a strong heart. She had never shed tears before, but now love had wounded her deeply.
“Ross, that jerk, I’ll deal with him!” Daisy angrily tossed her sunglasses aside and shattered them with her foot, displaying her fury.
“Prada?! How could you destroy such expensive sunglasses?” Monica exclaimed, trembling.
****
The next day, in a different part of town, Daisy smiled as she told Jason that she didn’t want to get married. Jason, on the other hand, was eager to marry her.
She had initially agreed to marry him willingly, but now everything had suddenly changed, and he didn’t know the real reason why.
“Sweetheart, is it the wedding dress you don’t like? We can change it, or we can have more designers create one until it’s perfect for you!” Jason knelt in front of her with great sincerity.
Daisy smiled and shook her head, saying, “It’s not about the wedding dress, Jason.”
“Then what is it? Just tell me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy,” Jason asked anxiously.
“Forget it. Even if you knew, there’s nothing you can do to fix it,” Daisy replied dismissively, about to head upstairs.