Chapter 382
Theodore pressed his forehead against hers. “Life is unpredictable. No one can foresee what will happen, and no one can escape it p>
Penelope knew he carried his own deep pain, so she leaned in and kissed him gently.
“When I was eight, that monster Lucien… I watched my mother kill him. The blood splattered on me. It smelled awful. After that, I was on my own for a long time, until she was released from prison. When she told me she was getting remarried, I was terrified. I cried and begged her not to. In my mind, all stepfathers were like Lucien p>
“But my mother had just gotten out of prison, and her health was poor. She was afraid that if she died suddenly, I would be left all alone. So she married Mr. David Anderson p>
“When we first moved into his house, I would always lock my bedroom door, terrified he would come in. If I ran into him in the living room, I would hide under the table. He would pretend we were playing hide-and-seek, playfully give up, and then leave clothes, toys, and snacks he’d bought for me outside my door as a ‘prize p>
After leaving Orenth, both she and her mother had been filled with fear. But slowly, her mother started to smile again, and her own fear began to fade.
“Later, the story of my mother’s crime spread through our small town. The other kids called me a murderer’s daughter and insulted my mom. I couldn’t take it, and I got into a fight, hitting one of the girls so hard she got a bloody nose. She told the teacher, who called both our parents to the school p>
“Mr. Anderson didn’t tell my mother. He took a half-day off from the factory and went himself. I had refused to tell the teacher why we fought, but when I saw him walk in, still in his oil-stained work clothes, I almost broke down. He didn’t even ask me what happened. He just told the teacher that I was a good kid, and the other girl must have started it p>
“The girl’s mother wouldn’t let it go. Mr. Anderson paid the medical bills, but he refused to make me apologize p>
“On the way home from school, he bought me a cotton candy. It was so soft and sweet. I can still remember the taste p>
As Penelope recounted the past, a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. “Mr. Anderson gave me so much love. So ever
biologoat father did even if my
love me
never felt a lack of fatherly love p>
Later, after a neighbor commented on how pretty she was getting and
wrong kind of attention, Mr.
worried that she might attra net
Anderson grew anxious One day while picking her up from school, he saw a flyer for a martial arts studio. After looking into it, he enrolled her.
When she hit her rebellious teenage years, she started talking back to her mother. But Mr. Anderson was always there to patiently listen to her frustrations, her anxieties, and her anger, helping her navigate it all. Her mother even started to complain that she was closer to her father than to her own mom.
She loved Mr. Anderson deeply, which was why his death had shattered her so completely. If Theodore hadn’t been there to handle everything, she couldn’t imagine what a mess she would have been.
Theodore listened quietly as she talked, all through the night until the sun began to rise. She was exhausted, and it was time for him to get ready for work.
“Get some rest. You can go back to work in a couple of days,” he said, kissing her a few more times before getting up.
“Thank you, my love p>
“And don’t you ever say those words again p>
“You’re so bossy p>
After a few more moments of affection, Theodore finally had to leave.
Penelope slept until noon. When she went downstairs, she was startled to see Mrs. Stapleton sitting in the living room.