Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1193

Chapter 1193: Love and hate
“Foolish Third Brother… why… didn’t you tell me you were sad?”

A hiccup escaped Penny’s gritted teeth as she tightened her hold on Slater’s chest. “Yes, you hurt me. And yes, at one point, I hated you. At one point, I wished I wasn’t your sister — I didn’t want to be your family anymore.”

“Am I still angry? I didn’t know that I still am. I am so angry because I remember every hurtful thing you said and did, and if I can… I want to slap you until I can no longer raise my hand,” she continued through her tears. “It hurts — it still hurts when I remember it.”

Penny looked up at him, barely seeing through her blurry vision. “I didn’t deserve that. I deserved better. And a part of me still wants you — all of you — to beg and regret everything you did to me. After all, I didn’t do anything wrong, aside from being born.”

“What else did I do to deserve such hate? What else did I do to get hurt so much? All my life, I’ve wondered if I would’ve been happier if Uncle Haines hadn’t shown up that time. If Nina hadn’t gotten sick, everyone wouldn’t have known she wasn’t the real daughter. And if you didn’t know… then I wouldn’t be so hurt by the people who I thought saved me from hell.” Her chin quivered as her heart clenched painfully, punching his chest weakly.

“You hated me, you pulled me down, and stomped on my feelings. You hurt me at every turn you could, just because you could.” Each word made her punch his chest just a little harder, but it only made him stagger back slightly. “Even in the end, no one was there to tell me they believed me. If only one person… just one person had told me they believed me, then I probably would’ve fought till the end. But even that, no one listened. Instead, the last thing I remember from my brother is that look of disappointment in his eyes.”

“I hate you. I hated First Brother. I hated Second Brother. I hated all of you for giving me just a glimpse of hope, only to crush it again and again.” This time, her fist settled on his chest as tears stained her cheeks. “But… despite all of that, I still want to live. Just one more time — one last struggle. I want to live without this pain, without this hatred, and without this malice. I want to live where I can genuinely say I am happy.”

Penny pursed her trembling lips and sniffed. “Yes, you don’t deserve my leniency, my forgiveness, or even my love. With what you’ve all done to me, you deserve nothing from me. But… you’re family. Family that I hated, but care about just as much. And if I’m given a chance, I can’t deny that my desire to be loved and accepted by the people I hate and love at the same time lingers.”

“So, even if I am angry and hurt, Mom and Dad… they’re alive, well, and still with us. First Brother looks after me, even if he’s kind of mean about it. Second Brother has always been someone I could trust with anything — no matter what. Nina changed and became someone very close to my heart; she became the sister I never had.” She paused, swallowing the tension in her throat. “Aunt Jessa, Yuri, Yugi — they might play a smaller role in my life, but they’re just as significant to me.”

“My desire to live granted me the chance to meet the most incredible people I never thought existed: Uncle Wild, Grandma Pierson, Butler Hubert, Butler Lee, Angel, and those who trusted me and helped me become the person I am today… and then my husband.”

“You did all of those bad things in our past, but you also did share your chocolates with me. You also studied hard and lost some sleep just so I wouldn’t lose a childish bet. My pets scare you, but you tried to learn and tame them so you could play with me. You did a lot of bad things, including bombarding me with messages, but in its strangest way, I secretly read them when I felt down because they made me feel good about myself. Although your selfie was unnecessarily good-looking and seeing that you don’t have any bad angles is annoying, seeing you living well makes me happy. You also cried with me when I lost Mouse and Tiana, and I remember you picking up the pen and writing your first song as a tribute to them.”

“So…” Penny clasped his chest tighter and shook him, shouting, “… what do you think I would feel when I know my brother tried to take his life, and in return, regained his memories from his first life?! Yes, this made me angry, but how can I stay angry when I know that my brother, who has always been there for me in his weirdest and most annoying way, needed help at one point and no one else was there for him?!”

“If you were really remorseful, then apologize and atone for it for the rest of your life! How could you try to make me lose a family?! How could you attempt to hurt me more?!” Her voice echoed sharply in the air, along with her sobs. Penny shook him aggressively until she felt her strength slip away, eventually hanging her head low until it rested on his chest. “How could you not say that you needed help? Does our first life truly matter now when we already have this one?”

“Tell me.” Mustering her courage, Penny looked up at him fiercely. “Does that part of our lives weigh heavier than the present, to the point that it dictates how we live this life?”

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “If there’s anything I would let go of, it isn’t you or our family. But the pain of a lifetime that I thought I should carry… can we just let that go and stop hurting, so we can live this life like we did before? I forgave you, even if you didn’t deserve it or didn’t ask for it. I forgave myself, so I could move forward. You… can you also forgive yourself, Third Brother?”

“Ho — how?” he stuttered. “How do I forgive myself, Penny? I don’t know how.”

“Live.” She shook her head and shrugged. “Live, and if you think that’s a bit too much, think of it as your punishment. Live for me and make amends, and you can never give up. Even if you have to spend your entire life trying to figure out how to forgive, then do so.”

“Live and prove to me that I didn’t make the wrong choice of forgiving you,” she added. “Live and prove to me that forgiving isn’t something I would regret.”

Tears welled up in their eyes as their sniffles echoed in the air. In the end, Slater felt his knees wobble, and before he knew it, he collapsed once again on his knees. Meanwhile, Penny remained standing, gazing down at him, listening to his cries as “I’m sorry” rang in the air.

Little did Penny and Slater know, that all their shouting and crying weren’t only for their ears to hear. Standing in the distance was Atlas, staring at his little siblings in a trance.