Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 443

Chapter 443: I want to know more about you
“Hic…” Penny hiccuped as she sniffed hard, wiping her tears.

The movie they were watching was an old film she used to watch while serving time. In prison, the selection of movies was limited, and they weren’t free to choose. Even so, this particular movie somehow resonated with her life.

“Are you okay?” Zoren gazed down at her, confused. ‘Was the movie really that emotional for her?’

Penny pursed her quivering lips as she gazed up at him. “No,” she answered in a shaky voice. “I’m not okay. How could I be okay? I’m a criminal, and even though I’m free now, that will never change.”

Tears continued to form in her eyes, and her nose turned red. She wiped both her eyes and her nose. Her neck stiffened slightly as she tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t.

“This movie… I watched it in prison,” she continued in a quiet, cracked voice. “It’s about someone who has so much love to give… and people take pieces of that heart and break it — mince it.”

But unlike the film where the protagonist slowly learned her lesson, stood on her own, and met people who genuinely cared for her, Penny knew she couldn’t do that. Her life wasn’t a movie where the script could be rewritten, and redemption was possible.

Reality wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine.

“She was able to forgive those who wronged her,” she whispered, staring at the screen as the protagonist’s life in prison gradually improved. Penny’s own experience had been different — every day a battle, and even at night, sleep was dangerous because someone might try to stab her.

“I can’t,” she added under her breath. “I can’t do that.”

Another tear rolled down her cheek as she bit her inner lip until she tasted iron. Behind the fierce and unyielding front, she was bruised and wounded. Prison had been hell, but what hurt more was that the people who should have believed in her didn’t.

It wasn’t really a surprise. Since when did the Bennet family ever care?

Still, a small part of her had hoped that, for once, they’d be on her side.

Prison was proof that nothing would ever make her family accept her or see her as one of their own.

Penny let out an airy, bitter laugh, finding herself silly for shedding tears over people who didn’t care. She wiped her eyes and raised her brows, noticing Zoren still watching her.

“Heh… husband, sorry,” she chuckled, sniffing hard one last time to recompose herself. “Let’s just watch something else. This one’s depressing—”

“I won’t break it.”

She froze, the remote in her hand, and glanced up at him, deep lines forming between her brows.

“I won’t break your heart. Instead, I’ll be careful with it,” Zoren repeated, his voice firmer yet calmer. He reached out, stroking the side of her head gently. A soft, gentle smile crossed his face, his eyes full of affection. “That’s… another marriage vow I couldn’t add five years ago.”

Zoren might not have understood why she saw herself as an ex-convict. But he felt the pain in her voice, the weight of the grief she carried, and the madness she was trying to suppress.

That alone was enough for him to take her home and guard her heart at all costs.

“That… I promise you,” he added with a reassuring nod.

Her brows lifted slightly as the heaviness in her heart eased just a bit. The weight on her shoulders seemed to lighten as she gazed into his eyes, which held countless unspoken promises.

Penny’s lips quivered as fresh tears blurred her vision. “I’m an ex-con,” she said.

“Mhm.” He nodded. “It’s okay.”

“And I fight a lot!” she exclaimed, and he kept nodding. “I even stabbed someone with a stick!”

“Was he alive?”

“It was a she.”

“Was she alive?”

“Yes, thankfully,” she nodded, “but that’s not the point.”

Penny paused and took a deep breath. “I hurt someone, which means I’m capable of doing worse.” Her breath hitched as she pressed her hand to her chest, trying to make him understand what he was getting into. “I could kill someone.”

She hadn’t done that yet, but she knew she was capable. That scared her more than anything. What frightened her the most was how close she felt to total madness. She wasn’t terrified of anyone else because the person she feared most was herself.

But all he said was, “Okay.”

“Did you hear everything I said?” she asked, and he nodded. “That’s okay with you?”

“Mhm.” Zoren nodded again, gently tugging her hand. “Come here.”

Penny puffed her cheeks, crawling toward him like a child until she was sitting on his lap. She studied his handsome, masculine features, while Zoren wrapped his arms around her waist, cocking his head back.

“What else do you want to add?” he asked, his curiosity genuine. “I’m all ears.”

Penny pressed her lips together and hummed, her eyes sliding to the side. “I’ll complain to you unnecessarily and test your patience just to see how far I can go.”

“Okay.”

She looked up at him again, studying his pale but attractive face. “I’ve done a lot of bad things, and I’m sure I’ll do more.”

“Mhm.”

“And you’re not allowed to break your promise either!”

“I’d rather die than break my word.”

“You also need to believe me without questions asked! If I say I didn’t do it, it means I didn’t, okay?”

“Mhm. That’s easy.”

Penny rocked her head, still staring at him. “Husband, you’re also not allowed to die or get sick, okay?”

“Hmm?”

“You can’t die before me!” she emphasized. “You need to get better and better, so you can live a long life! Otherwise, if you’re dying, then forget everything I said. I don’t want to be married to you anymore.”

Her words sounded familiar, reminding him of the young Penny. He chuckled and nodded.

“Fine,” he said, pulling her into his arms until her head rested on his shoulder. “I’ll get better and better so we can live a long life together. We’ll celebrate our first tin anniversary, silver anniversary, and golden anniversary… with our quadruplets.”

Penny furrowed her brows and glanced up. “Quadruplets?” Her heart raced at the thought. “Husband, aren’t you being a little intense? Why are you suddenly volunteering to be the father of my children?”

He chuckled at her question. “I’m your husband. You just called me that.”

“Oh, right.” Penny nodded and relaxed into his embrace. A subtle smile appeared on her face as she thought about family. “Family… what a strange thing to hate and crave at the same time.”

“I know,” he whispered, brushing his hand against her back. “Tell me more about you.”

“Hmm?”

Zoren smiled. “I want to know more about you.” In truth, he also wanted to understand her alter ego, just as much as he desired to know more about his wife.

“Well…” Penny trailed off, pondering. “Do you want to hear about my cellmate?”

“Sure.”

Penny smiled and eagerly began telling her story. Zoren listened attentively throughout the night, never judging the credibility of her words, until she started yawning and eventually fell asleep… in peace.