Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 990

Chapter 990: I might die now
“I had a fever, not surgery. So, you don’t have to treat me like I just survived a deadly disease,” Penny remarked as she lay on the bed with Zoren’s assistance. “I’m going to be okay. In fact, I already feel better.”

Zoren faintly huffed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Their pets, Renny and Chunchun, had to stay on the balcony because he didn’t want them tiring Penny out.

“Look at them!” she pointed at the glass door to the balcony where she could see Renny and Chunchun watching them pitifully. “Can you see just how pitiful they are? They can stay here with me!”

“No.”

“Then how about inside the room?”

“No.”

“They’ll stay in the corner! I promise I won’t let them near me!”

Zoren arched his brow and tilted his head to the side. It took her a moment to realize how impossible that was. Renny and Chunchun would always stay next to Penny. If not next to her, on her. Unless Zoren took the spot next to her, the two of them would never leave her alone.

“Renren…” Penny pouted, fluttering her eyes pitifully. “I’m sure if you told them to behave, they will. Please don’t be cruel… I’ll behave too.”

Zoren studied his wife’s face, and even now, it surprised him how much he could imagine it.

“Fine,” he sighed, walking over to the balcony and opening the door. As soon as he did, Renny and Chunchun were ready to join their mother. But alas, Zoren stood in the way.

“Your mother is still recovering. So, don’t come close to her,” he warned. “Stay in the corner. Do you understand?”

Chunchun purred, while Renny let out a short groan. After observing their reaction, Zoren slowly stepped aside and let them in.

“Hehe. They really listen to you,” Penny giggled, watching Renny and Chunchun walk close to the bed, pausing as they looked in Penny’s direction, only to dejectedly move away.

Renny slumped in the corner while Chunchun jumped up on the stand near it. It was there that Chunchun rested, purring as it yawned.

“They have to. Unless, of course, they don’t want you to get better or they want to be grounded,” Zoren returned to the bed, sitting on the edge, his head turned in her direction. “Take your medicine.”

“Okay…” Penny sighed as she reached out for the medicine ready to be taken on the bedside table. With Zoren handing her the glass of water, she downed all of it in one go.

“Do you always take your medicine all at once?” he asked out of pure curiosity.

“Mhm. They’re just vitamins, though. Don’t you do it too?”

“I don’t.” He blinked while Penny slowly furrowed her brows. “I used to until the person giving them to me changed.”

Back then, he simply wanted to take whatever medicine was prescribed and get it done. But after Penny took over his health progress, he picked up the habit of taking them one by one, slowly.

“Oh…” her mouth formed into an O-shape, rocking her head in understanding.

“Now, lay down and rest. I’ll help Mom in the kitchen.”

Penny pursed her lips and let him help her lie down. With the blanket over her chest and him gazing down at her, she watched him slowly stand up from the bed.

“Aren’t you curious about what happened last night?” she asked as he took a few steps away, only to stop when that question flew out of her mouth.

“I am…” he looked back. “… but we can talk about it once you get better.”

“Like I said, I had a fever. It’s not a fatal one.”

“It is fatal…” he trailed off, his eyes gleaming with helplessness. “At least for me, it is.”

For a moment, silence fell between them as they stared at each other. Her brows elevated while Zoren’s mouth curved downward. He walked back and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out. “I was just… terrified and helpless. I didn’t know what to do, despite visiting countless hospitals and clinics and meeting all sorts of medical professionals all my life.”

If not for Allison and the Bennets being present, he wouldn’t have had the confidence to sleep. Nor would his mind have let him take a minute of rest. Better yet, he would’ve selfishly summoned all the doctors in Anteca just to treat a flu.

His eyes softened as he reached for her hand, cradling it gently. “I don’t want you to get sick, Penny. A fever is not fatal for you, but anything bad that happens to you can be fatal to me. I don’t want to lose you, and the mere thought of it scares me more than death.”

It was why his first instinct was to ask who made her cry, because if so, then Zoren would have someone to blame. However, Mark, for some reason, kept his mouth shut. The very first time he disobeyed Zoren and didn’t give him a direct answer.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, squeezing his hand and smiling. “I’m not going anywhere, Renren. Even if you asked me to.”

Another wave of silence fell on their shoulders before she slowly reached for his face. She cupped his face, a bitter smile forming on her lips as she brushed her thumb across his cheek.

Her heart was filled with gratitude and appreciation for this man. Just thinking about what he had done in her first life and even now made her think she wasn’t as unlucky as she thought she was.

“I’ll rest and get better so you won’t worry,” she announced, flashing him a beautiful smile. “This time, I’ll really behave.”

Zoren smiled back in defeat, rocking his head. He stared at her for a moment before pushing himself away from the bed. But just as Zoren reached for the doorknob, he paused when she called again.

“Renren.” Penny kept her eyes on his back before her lips stretched wide again. “I love you.”

Her voice echoed softly in his ears, his eyes slowly dilating, his heart pounding. The question: had she ever told him that she loved him before? crossed his mind.

Her actions already showed that, but hearing those words from her mouth?

Click.

Penny furrowed her brows as she heard the faint click of the door. “Renren, did you just lock the door? But didn’t you just say I should rest?”

Zoren winced as he briefly and painfully shut his eyes. “Sorry,” was all he said. “Instinct.”

And just like that, he opened the door and slammed it closed. He didn’t even look back at her.

“Eh?” Penny cocked her head to the side, her thought bubble filling with question marks. “He didn’t say I love you back, but rather slammed the door shut.”

She rubbed her chin and pondered. “Did he not hear me?”

Little did she know, Zoren was just outside the door. He was back against the door, his palm on his forehead, his slender and long fingers slipping through his hair. When he lifted his head a bit, he revealed his flushed face, which was just as red as the tip of his ears.

Zoren slowly clasped his chest as his heart beat so fast he was almost running out of oxygen. His entire body was even throbbing with excitement, while his mind seemed to reset itself over and over.

“I might… die now.” — he could now… with a smile.

If only Penny knew just what kind of effect those three words she had uttered to him, she would’ve just shut her mouth. After all, right now, Zoren seemed like he would faint.