PAMPERED BY MY THREE BROTHERS: THE RETURN OF THE NEGLECTED HEIRESS
Chapter 1701: His declaration of war

Chapter 1701: His declaration of war

Zoren had mentioned it to Penny once about his unpleasant experience with the hypnosis. After all, some time ago, Zoren was not pleased that he was not part of his wife’s life.

For him, that was unacceptable.

But instead of recovering his memories, what he got were fragments of his past. The past that was erased from his mind for a reason. Fragments that, for once, gave him something to fear about.

Him.

Zoren, himself.

It wasn’t what he did in those fragments of memories, but rather, it was the feeling he felt in them. The lack of empathy, the amusement of one’s downfall, and just emotions he narrowly avoided nurturing in this timeline.

It scared him enough to make him question many things. If not for Penny, he probably wouldn’t have recovered from it and gotten consumed by it.

But tonight, he had to face his biggest fear... which was Zoren Pierson — the old Zoren Pierson.

---

The beat of the metronome echoed in the room as Zoren lay on the bed while Penny sat in the chair. Its tick felt like a pull in a trance, followed by Penny’s occasional voice that was telling him to relax. To keep his breathing steady and to follow her voice.

She was patient, letting him take his time. She glanced at the pulse monitor clipped on his finger just to be sure.

Tock... tock... tock...

Penny drew a deep breath as she finally spoke again, almost breathlessly. "Can you see it?"

Zoren didn’t answer, his eyes calmly shut. Although his brows knitted briefly before they relaxed again.

"Yes," he whispered.

"What do you see, Renren?"

"..." Zoren tilted his head a bit, his chest moving in and out slowly but steadily. "A screen — television. I’m watching it."

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line. "What are you watching?"

Again, he didn’t answer immediately. Penny studied his reaction, making sure there weren’t any anomalies. This was her first time doing this, and she wasn’t sure if she was actually doing it correctly. Hence, she not only needed to be careful, but also, she was ready to pull him out once he started showing signs of instability.

"What are you watching, Renren?" she asked again, her voice careful.

"..." Zoren kept his mouth pressed into a thin line before he whispered, "You."

"I am... watching you," he added under his breath. "I... didn’t do it. I’m innocent — it’s not me."

Penny’s breathing hitched as her eyes slowly widened, staring at him. Zoren had gone quiet, but everything he said just now wasn’t his words, but hers. The words she kept repeating, shouting till her throat bled, just so one person would listen and hear her cry.

[I didn’t do it.]

[I’m innocent.]

[It’s not me.]

Those were her cries.

’He’s watching me...?’ she wondered, looking at Zoren with both curiosity and wariness.

Penny’s case in their first life was huge enough to get broadcast through mainstream media. So, she could easily piece this information together.

He had seen her through the broadcast and heard her cries when she thought no one else did. He listened. He believed.

"What else, Renren?" she asked as she tried to set this information aside for now. "What else is in there?"

Zoren didn’t answer fast, but he eventually did. "Mark. He’s telling me about something."

"What is it?"

"..." His brows knitted as if he were trying to listen to whatever Mark was telling her in this memory. "I don’t know."

"... but," his sudden addition and pause made her brows rise a bit.

"But?" she asked.

"I told him something," he murmured. "Told him... to watch the news — the television — you."

Discomfort slowly appeared on his face as his chest moved in and out heavily.

"Renren?" she called, checking the pulse monitor.

Penny panicked upon seeing how his heart was quickly rising abnormally. She set aside the note on her lap and moved over to him. She placed a hand on the mattress right beside him, bending over her to wake him up.

But then, Zoren spoke.

"I want to know the information about that woman," was what he said, his voice the same, but oddly enough, his tone was colder, harsher, and more distant. There wasn’t a trace of gentleness in his voice, but just detachment.

It wasn’t as flat or as monotonous as Atlas’, but it was definitely distinct in something else.

"Penelope... Bennet," he whispered. "I... for some reason... believe her."

Penny’s face hovered over his, his breathing stopping as surprise slowly crept up on her face. Her eyes studied Zoren, his last remarks lingering in her ears like a cold whisper in the night. His tone still carried the same detachment — a tone he never used on her ever.

But somehow, regardless of the coldness and aloofness in his voice, hearing him say such words brought mixed emotions in her heart. The irony. He didn’t say it with such warmth or gentleness as how he would talk to her, but somehow, it sent her this relief, which she never thought she needed.

It wasn’t like Penny didn’t know Zoren somehow got himself involved in her case. And it wasn’t like she didn’t know he believed her despite being strangers.

But those words just now... sounded like the version of Zoren Pierson in their previous life, giving the exact orders he did to Mark.

The orders she didn’t know she would ever know or hear in this lifetime or the next.

’So... that’s how you said it, huh?’ she thought, her eyes softening as her heart started to warm up.

Meanwhile, the pulse monitor slowly stabilized as his breathing returned to normal.

Penny glanced at his finger and the device clipped on his index, seeing the number go down. A shallow breath slipped past her lips, carefully pushing herself away, and she sat back down on the chair.

After a moment, she recomposed herself and fluttered her eyelashes at her husband.

"Renren?" she called. "Are you still there?"

Zoren took time to answer. "Yes."

"Where are you now?"

"Sitting," he whispered. "In the study."

"What can you see?"

"... you."

Penny continued to ask Zoren and push through this.

What she didn’t know was that his words, "I believe her," weren’t just a declaration of approval or that he heard. She still didn’t know yet, but those words... would have been Zoren’s declaration of war.

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