The Year I Was the Other Woman To Myself novel Chapter 486

Timothy let out a breath and answered the call.

"Julian, calling me this late? What's up?"

Hearing the name, Penelope's hand, holding her fork, froze mid-air.

Julian. Her and Theodore's eldest son.

Shortly after he was born, she had entrusted her brother to deliver the baby to Theodore. Over the years, she had returned to Orenth, hoping to catch a glimpse of him from afar, but the Stapleton family protected him so fiercely that she had never once succeeded.

"Last Sunday, you promised you'd take me to your lab tomorrow. I'm just calling to make sure you haven't forgotten our agreement."

"I... of course I haven't forgotten. It's just that tomorrow..."

"Good. Then you can pick me up from the house tomorrow morning."

"But the lab is going to be really busy..."

"Uncle, that's your problem, not mine. So you figure it out."

With that, the line was about to go dead.

"Hey, wait..." Timothy looked at Penelope and pointed to his phone, silently asking if she wanted to say a few words to the boy.

Penelope hesitated for a moment but ultimately shook her head.

Timothy couldn't quite understand her refusal but didn't press the issue.

"Alright, get some sleep. I'll pick you up in the morning."

"Goodnight, Uncle."

After hanging up, Timothy couldn't hide the note of complaint in his voice. "Even though you and Mr. Stapleton are divorced, that doesn't mean you can't be close to Julian. Staying away and not seeing him all these years... don't you think that's a bit too cruel?"

"I just feel that the distance between Theodore and me is just too great now. He's no longer someone I can reach, and I don't want to try. So it's better this way."

Penelope frowned. Ever since she found out Zebulon was behind Ocean Buildings, she knew this was a setup designed specifically for her. Any normal negotiation would be useless; she had to find a way to break their scheme.

At lunchtime, just as Penelope was about to head out with Wilma and the others, she got a call from a real estate agent.

"Ms. Laurier, about that villa you listed with our agency... are you sure there are no issues with the title?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I took some clients to see the property today, but it's not vacant. There are people living there!"

"What? People are living there?"

"And they claim to be the owners! They yelled at us and threw us out."

Penelope was stunned. "I'm on my way there now."