We headed towards the dining table and I sat next to Kai. He kept staring at me, waiting for me to say what I was holding in.
I shook my head and mouthed 'not now' to him. He made an 'ok' sign with his hand. I smiled and turned to get a serving of food. I noticed that Erik was staring at us. He looked upset but I was not sure why. I shrugged and grabbed some pasta. I intended to enjoy this meal. Pretty soon, we would not get to have a full meal like this again.
Once dinner was over, Kai and I were about to head out to take a walk in the garden when Erik said "Penny, can you wait? I'd like to talk to you". I shivered. It was this body's reaction to his commanding tone. She really did fear him like a little sister fearing an older brother.
I nodded my head at him and walk towards the living room couch. We sat, and I was feeling a little overwhelmed with his presence.
"About last night, I would like to apologize. It was not your fault, nor moms. After doing a thorough investigation, I found out that you were framed. I do apologize for my behavior last night, and also for this morning. I hope you can forgive me." He was genuine in his apology. I could hear the remorse in his voice. This is my elder brother now, so I should be considerate towards him. I honestly felt confused at those thoughts. I am too connected to this body's emotions. It almost feels like I am the original owner of this body.
"It's okay. I understand" I said. I mean, what else could I say?
"Unfortunately, our god-uncle had bribed staff to add aphrodisiac into my evening coffee. He also managed to send that forged note to you. I have already dealt with the culprits in the estate, however for the meantime it would be best for Kai and yourself to keep a low profile. I won't hide it from either of you. I have irrefutable evidence that leads to god-uncle being the murderer of dad. He found out I was investigating and wanted to divert my attention on something else. I am sorry that you were caught in the crossfire." Those were most words I've heard him say at once.
"I see, I am glad that you were finally able to resolve that matter. Uncle would be so proud to know you caught the culprit." I said as I stood. I was not trying to sound insensitive but family disputes run deep. I wanted to stay out of this as much as possible. Elite families have murky waters to dive in. As the saying goes; Ignorance is bliss. The less you know the longer you survived. Not that it mattered, the world will go to shit in a couple of days, but I wanted to survive those couple of days.
*buzz buzz*
Right then, my phone buzzed. Alerting me of an incoming call.
"Hello, Killian?"
"Ms...Penelope, I have placed the packages inside. Will you be coming home tonight? Should I wait up for you?" Killian said.
I saw Erik turned his face towards me, staring at me as if I've lost my mind. I could tell he was about to lecture me about men and woman keeping a distance. Honestly, I would agree under normal circumstances. But these weren't normal circumstances, were they?
"hmm, not tonight. You don't have to wait up for me. I'll be staying with my family, I'll head over tomorrow. Goodnight." I said.
"Okay, very well. Goodnight Penelope." Man, this just felt weird. I have a man living in my home, one that I barely even know. I inherited brothers and an adopted mother. I was starting to get a headache thinking about how to deal with this upcoming conversation.
Erik's P.O.V.
"Who was that?" I heard myself asking.
"Eh...a friend." Penny said. My little Penny was a beautiful woman. Regardless of our past, I have always seen her as my little sister. I practically raised her. It would be a lie if I said I felt nothing for her. I just did not have any romantic feelings towards her. I never understood people who developed amorous feelings towards their adopted siblings. I mean, although you are not biologically related, you are raised as siblings. I knew a business man who married his adopted sister. The weirdest part was that everyone at the wedding romanticized their relationship. No one seemed to see how wrong that was. He was 7 years older than her too. She was 20 when they married. Why did no one question why he was seducing a child?
"A friend? Staying at your place?" I asked. I could feel the veins bulging. Who was this cow that wanted to eat my grass? Penny was only 22 years old. She was the little princess of our family. After hearing her say that she held no romantic feelings for me, I felt much at ease. I missed my little sister. I wanted our relationship to go back to how it was before.
I remember the night everything changed, she had came down with a fever and when she recuperated, the look in her eyes changed. She started to see me in a different way. She tried to seduce me multiple times, but she never crossed the line. I knew she had a bottom line. When we were having breakfast, I saw it. Her gaze was the same as it was before her fever. I no longer felt that repulsion with her presence. Before, just having her around in the same room would make me uncomfortable. I don't know what happened to her but I was glad to see her back to her old self.
"Mmhmm. He has no place to go, so I offered him my home. I rarely stay there so I did not see a problem with this arrangement. After clearing this misunderstanding...Can I assume that we are good and I can stay here without feeling like you're going to bite my head off?" she asked.
I was stunned. It had been a long time since she talked to me like that. I grinned. I really felt like my little sister was back.
"Of course, but who is this friend?" I said as I reached to ruffle her hair. She swatted my hand away. Yup, the little ingrate was back.
"My boss, Killian Remington. He said he needed some space away from his family and wanted to crash at my place. Anyways, enough about him, lets talk about something else. Something much more important. I need to talk to Kai and Auntie as well." She walked towards the glass doors where Kai was waiting. I was feeling ecstatic inside, my sister was back. She was finally back.