Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 468

Chapter 468: I’m sorry, Penny.

Just this morning, Penny told herself that, as much as possible, she didn’t want to compare her past to her present life. She had changed, and so had everyone else. However, tonight, she couldn’t help it.

A simple dinner with her siblings was all she had ever wanted before, especially since they each had their own lives and paths to follow.

After what felt like a lifetime, not only did she get that simple dinner, but one that made her realize just how quickly time flies.

Once she and Atlas finished their meal, he suggested they take a walk. Behind the building, there was a garden where people could stroll and enjoy the ambiance. With her arm loosely hooked around his, Penny chuckled to herself.

"Penny, do you trust me?" Atlas’s voice suddenly pierced the silence between them, causing her to look up at him.

Her brows knitted slightly as their eyes met. "Of course, why wouldn’t I?"

"Nothing." He averted his gaze, looking ahead. "Just asking."

Penny tilted her head slightly, studying his profile. She knew her brother well, and she knew Atlas wouldn’t ask a question like that without reason.

’Am I still too distant to them?’ she wondered, looking away, lost in thought. ’But compared to before, I’ve opened up to them more.’

Although not completely, Penny was trying to follow Grace’s advice. It was a continuous process, one she was willing to take patiently. Unless Atlas’s patience had run thin, which was very unlikely. Unlike her other brothers, he was the least emotional and more logical.

’Be it then or now,’ she whispered in her mind, glancing again at his side profile. ’This feels like...’

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line, lowering her gaze. Atlas’s question wasn’t the same as Hugo’s the other day, but it still reminded her of it.

"Do you trust me?" sounded a lot like "Do you hate me?"

Two different questions, but they carried the same weight.

’Maybe, before,’ she admitted to herself. ’I hated you all so much that I didn’t even want to be part of the family anymore.’

She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from thinking about the past. It wasn’t necessary anymore. But it seemed that the more she tried to push away thoughts of the pitiful Penelope Bennet, the more her mind insisted on recalling them.

Atlas raised his brows, casting her a sidelong glance. _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

Penny paused again, her frown softening into a slight smile. "But then, I woke up," she said. "And I realized it was all just a dream. It wasn’t real. It was all nothing but a nightmare — a terrible one. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I don’t hate you, First Brother," she continued reassuringly. "If there’s one person I trust, it’s you. I’ll always wake up from that terrible dream just so I won’t hate you, no matter what."

Atlas stared down at her face quietly, watching how her eyes shimmered with mixed emotions, her lips forming a reassuring smile. He had asked because Charles had mentioned that Penny already knew about his secret. But what he received in return was something completely unexpected.

She hadn’t said it outright, but he sensed that she wasn’t just talking about a simple dream. After all, when she was drunk, Atlas could tell that she truly hated him deep down. He never fully understood the reason behind her behavior when intoxicated, assuming it was simply drunkenness.

But if the drunken Penny lived in that dream she spoke of, it explained why she would humiliate him like that. If that theory was correct, Atlas now understood why his sister’s eyes carried so much pain, hatred, and disappointment.

She might not have been in her right mind back then, but the look in her eyes had been real. Those... weren’t just dreams.

The corner of his mouth tugged into a smile. Slowly, he moved her hand from his arm and gently pulled her into his embrace. The softness and gentleness of his action still caught her off guard, and her brows lifted in surprise.

"I’m sorry, Penny," he whispered. "I would’ve hated myself too in that dream."