The Year I Was the Other Woman To Myself novel Chapter 801

"Mom, Dad must be playing a video game and forgot to pick us up," Hubert said, leaning forward from the backseat.

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "What game?"

"A shooting game. I've seen him playing it a lot lately."

"Really?"

Since they got married, she had never seen him play a single game on his phone or computer, let alone become so obsessed that he would ignore his ringtone and forget to pick up the kids.

"Dad is completely addicted," Julian chimed in.

If Julian was saying it too, then it had to be true. But Penelope found it incredibly surprising—she never pegged Theodore as the type to get addicted to video games.

Turning onto the main avenue leading to their house, the three of them were chatting when Penelope noticed a teenager standing not too far ahead. He was pale, his hair and clothes were a disheveled mess, and his gaze was locked onto their car. He stood there, tensed, looking like he was ready to bolt into the street.

Penelope quickly slowed down, ready to slam on the brakes just in case. And just as her car approached, the teenager perfectly timed his move and lunged right in front of the vehicle.

With a sharp screech, Penelope slammed on the brakes. The bumper barely clipped the teenager before the car jerked to a complete halt.

The teenager stumbled and fell to the ground, while Penelope sat in the driver's seat, gasping for air.

Thank God she had noticed he looked unstable, otherwise this would have ended in a horrific tragedy. After taking a moment to catch her breath, her shock rapidly morphed into fury. She threw the car door open and stormed out.

The teenager was still sitting on the asphalt in front of the car, staring blankly ahead.

Just as Penelope opened her mouth to yell at him, a petite woman came sprinting over in an absolute panic.

"Lucas, are you okay? Don't scare me like that!"

The woman dropped to her knees beside him, frantically checking him over. When she realized he wasn't hurt, she let out a massive sigh of relief before angrily smacking his shoulder.

"Why do you always do this? What exactly are you so unhappy about? Why do you keep torturing me like this!"

The woman screamed in sheer frustration, tears streaming down her face.

Penelope was utterly speechless. There was absolutely no reasoning with this woman.

Seeing Penelope go quiet, the woman added one last thing. "You can call the cops if you want. But I'll tell you right now, my brother has severe psychiatric issues."

At that, Penelope's hands were completely tied.

Even if the woman was in the wrong, the police wouldn't actually do anything to the teenager, especially with a documented mental illness.

Perhaps the woman was used to dealing with situations exactly like this. She moved with practiced ease, fully confident that Penelope had no leverage, and dragged her brother away.

Sitting back in the driver's seat, Penelope could only chalk it up to pure bad luck.

Once they got home, Penelope sent the two boys to do their homework while she went looking for Theodore. She searched the entire house but couldn't find him anywhere. She tried calling his phone again, but it still went straight to voicemail.

He must have stepped out to take care of something, she guessed.