Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1183: Dance with the devil

[PIERSON ISLAND]

Since they had been out in the "wild" all night, all the curtains in Zoren and Penny's room were closed. The room had become dark, with only a little light filtering through the small gaps in the sides of the curtains. Zoren lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling motionless.

"Penny," he called quietly, turning his head to where she lay. Just like him, Penny was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Penny hummed. "I want to, but I can't."

"Do you want to talk?"

"..." Penny didn't answer immediately. She cast him a sidelong glance, then rolled onto her side. The injury on her leg ached slightly with the movement. Propping her elbow on the bed, she blinked a few times. "Did something happen?"

Talking until they fell asleep was a habit they had eventually picked up in this marriage. They didn't know when or how it started, but they always chatted before sleeping. In other words, Zoren proposing it shouldn't be suspicious. But somehow, she felt her husband had a lot on his mind. Especially now that everything was over, and it was just the two of them.

"Mhm," Zoren hummed in return, moving until his back rested against the headboard. "Back there, when you were dragged away, Glenn and I had a brief conversation."

Penny blinked, eyes on him. "About what?"

"The money, the island, the business, and life," Zoren shrugged. "The conversation isn't worth remembering, though. It was just words from a man whose views are so twisted, he'd rather twist the truth than admit his mistakes."

"Then why are you bringing up that guy?" she asked, purely out of curiosity. "I know he's the worst kind of human sewage, but... why are you bothered by him?"

took his time before speaking. "Remember that time I told you I

told you not to do that again. It's

reason, I saw myself again - the younger me, when Glenn smashed the

moving closer to him. "Did you see

silent,

her mouth fell open slightly. He didn't

breathed out, reaching out to hold her hand. "Let's

her smile faltering. "Renren, you're getting better after so long. We can't

burned down the

in her throat as surprise and confusion washed

it wasn't her who set the house on fire," Zoren said quietly. "It was me. And with this piece of memory vivid in my mind, I'm starting to get worried. Let's stop the treatment. I don't want to get better just to mentally decline again." Deep down, he knew he was better off this way.

and soul were screaming that this was as far as he could go. Going further might end in disaster, and he didn't want to screw it up. If getting better

Penny," he confessed, his quiet voice somehow echoing. He squeezed her hand, but somehow, it trembled and felt cold. "I'm scared of

her mouth, but the words didn't come out. Or, to be precise, there were no words she could say. All she could do was stare into his dark eyes, which swirled with all sorts of emotions, but uncertainty and confusion were the most

someone by slitting her throat with a blade from a toothbrush." After a moment, the words slipped from her lips before she could think about it. She paused, pursing her lips and moved closer to him. "Before

she continued with a light shrug. "I was already rock bottom, but prison showed me that there's a place beyond rock bottom - much darker, lonelier, and scarier. I became someone I couldn't recognize. I

him, wrapping her arms around his body. She rested her chin on his shoulder while brushing his broad

wronged me. Dwished forit to disappear from my mind, and when it didn't work, Fsimply tried to make my head busy to forget," she whispered. "But after everything, I'm grateful I didn't forget. Remembering what I am capable of taught me to be headstrong so as not to fall for the same traps

myself. But... because of you, the lingering bitterness in my heart that kept me distant from my family disappeared without a trace." "Because of you,

elegantly." Her smile stretched, nodding reassuringly. "We're a team, and tonight, that pretty much proved we really are a good pair if there's anything I

face with the back of his hand before pulling