Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 566

Chapter 566: Dig your own grave
“Here, take this.” Penny casually picked up anything she could find from the small storage room near the greenhouse.

Nathaniel could only catch the items, keeping them in his arms. He didn’t like where this was headed. Gazing down at the tools she tossed at him, he flinched when he felt her spin around to face him.

Penny raised an eyebrow, tipping her head to the side. Her action only deepened the lines between his brows.

He glanced at the ground and then back at her. “Ma’am… what do you want me to do with these?”

“Gardening.” Penny smiled like an angel.

“Oh!” Nathaniel heaved a sigh of relief and enthusiastically pointed at the ground. “Here?”

Penny nodded.

“Alright!” Nathaniel grinned as he looked around, flexing his arms to get started. However, just as he did, he noticed that what she had given him was a huge shovel.

He turned to Penny and laughed nervously. “I’ll get on with it,” he said, lowering his head. He briefly raised his brows and shrugged, telling himself she wanted to change the surroundings. After all, this location was far from the garden but near the greenhouse.

Although he was certain the greenhouse was beautiful and mesmerizing, Penny probably wanted to expand that beauty in this empty land where there was only a small storage house for all the gardening equipment.

“Ma’am, where do you want me to start?” he asked, just to make sure.

Penny jerked her chin. “Where you want. Anywhere is fine.”

“Ah…” Another awkward laugh escaped him, reminding himself to forget about her. If making this place pleasant to the eye was what she wanted, maybe he should do it to the best of his abilities.

Who knows? Helping her create a garden might extend his life!

With that thought in mind, Nathaniel got to work with this newfound purpose. It was obvious Zoren was fond of her. If he wasn’t, Zoren wouldn’t have closed his Thursdays just to wait for her.

This was a gift from the heavens, he thought. She would be his ticket to survival. If he curried enough favor, he was certain he would live a long life! The mere thought of it put a smile on his face. Who wouldn’t be happy if just moments ago he had been counting his numbered days—no, hours? But now, he might live for the next ten years!

Nathaniel happily dug a shallow pit and turned to Penny, his lips stretched from ear to ear. “Madam—I mean, Young Madam, where are the seeds?”

Penny didn’t answer immediately as she glanced at the shallow pit he had dug. Slowly, she lifted her eyes, and they drooped.

“It’s too shallow for the seed,” she uttered slowly and dangerously. “Dig more.”

“Oh…” Nathaniel cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Of course!”

‘Too shallow? I thought she gave me this shovel to make the process faster. Never mind, I’ll dig a bit deeper.’ Nathaniel shook his head and stabbed the ground with the shovel, accidentally digging a lot more than he was supposed to. “Oh, I’m sorry, Young Madam. Hehe. I’ll put the ground back—”

“Too shallow,” Penny spoke even before he could finish.

“Ah?” He blinked repeatedly before smiling again. “Yes, yes, shallow—too shallow! I’ll dig more—I mean, deeper!”

Penny rocked her head. “Keep digging,” she said as she turned around and walked toward the entrance of the greenhouse.

As she walked away, Nathaniel couldn’t help but stare at her back. A shallow breath slipped past his lips, and he flinched when he saw her looking back at him. Thus, he quickly stabbed the ground with the shovel and turned to Penny.

“Hehe! I’ll keep digging! Dig, dig, dig!” he cheered with a grin, watching her resume her steps. Another deep exhale escaped him as he shook his head. “Is she planning to plant a tree? I don’t think seeds would survive if they were planted this deep. Never mind. Women.”

Nathaniel shook his head, thinking Penny just didn’t know anything about gardening. Well, even if it turned out badly, as long as she was happy, Nathaniel knew he would survive. Thus, he kept digging. However, this time he only took little bits of dirt. He didn’t want to dig too much.

Soon, Penny returned, dragging a chair with her.

“Huh?” Nathaniel stopped and furrowed his brows, seeing her place the metal garden chair nearby.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she sat down, resting one leg over the other.

He grinned again. “Nothing, Young Madam. I just thought you were quite strong for carrying that chair.”

“I am strong,” she remarked, tilting her head to the side. “And you’ve got to dig as if your life depended on it.”

“Deeper?”

“Yes.”

Nathaniel gazed at the pit that was already at his ankle level. He rocked his head and turned to her.

“Okay…?” he grinned, and this time he dug very deep. Earlier, he had only been digging a tiny bit because he didn’t want Penny to think he was mocking her. But now, he put all his might into it.

Tossing the dirt to the side, Nathaniel turned his head to see her reaction. She seemed satisfied. Thus, he dug deeper once again, this time with more force and enthusiasm. After five minutes of digging, he was panting.

Nathaniel stabbed the shovel into the ground, turning his head in her direction. “Young Madam, is this enough?”

“No, not enough.” Penny shook her head, glancing at the deepening pit he was creating. “The seed I’m planting is big… very big. So, I need it deeper so the roots can stick underneath.”

“Ahh… are you going to plant a tree?” he chuckled, taking a deep breath. When he looked away, his face soured. ‘This labor is too much! I can’t do it anymore! My arms are going to fall apart!’

But despite his inner dialogue, Nathaniel huffed and forced himself to do this hard labor. This was better than waiting for his death, right? He had been held captive in this place, and since then, there was nothing he had done but wonder if Zoren or his men would come to him with bad news. So, in a way, Nathaniel deluded himself into thinking this was much better than doing nothing at all.

Little did he know, what he was digging for was not for plants… but for himself.