Chapter 3

Eric's tense body relaxed when he heard that. Then, he massaged Penelope's temples and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "Don't worry about it anymore, Poppy. Your hubby's back now, and he'll protect you from all the bad dreams!" He looked at Penelope's sorry state, feeling his heart soften. He then kissed her deeply on the lips and said apologetically, "Penelope, I was wrong to have left you at the jewelry store yesterday. But I'll make it up to you. Let's go buy a few properties tomorrow to cheer you up, alright?" Penelope still said nothing, but Eric assumed that it was a silent yes. He then picked her up and brought her back into the bedroom, pulled the blanket over her, and stayed by her side all night while looking up land and properties for sale. … The next afternoon, Eric personally brushed Penelope's hair, fed her a huge bowl of nourishing stew, and then brought her to Monumental Properties. The manager there brought Eric and Penelope around the display units and showhouses they had. If Eric noticed that Penelope's gaze lingered just a fraction of a second longer on a certain property, he immediately told the manager to book it. It didn't matter that Penelope wasn't even the least bit interested in any of the properties. While finalizing the paperwork, the manager brought both of them to the golf course behind the company. There were a few founders and CEOs there, with many of them having done business with Fulmer Industries before. When they heard about what Eric had just done, they immediately crowded around him to tease him. "You really spare no cash for the woman of your dreams, huh? I had my eyes on a few of those properties, meaning to turn them into a vacation home for me and my wife, but you've already booked them all!" "Hey, Mr. Fulmer, can't you let me have the manor in Hallesouth instead? I'll make sure to give you a handsome discount the next time our companies collaborate again!" Eric just poured a cup of coffee for Penelope and said, "I don't have the final say in things like these. I'll only agree to it if Penelope here agrees to it." Meanwhile, Penelope pretended not to have heard a thing as she pushed back the coffee Eric handed her. "I'm not thirsty." The man who had just spoken earlier, Jack Ziegler, knew then that it was a lost cause. He just sighed heavily and went back to his seat. "Didn't you say that you wanted to play golf? Here, I'll play with you," Eric said with a gentle smile as he carefully held Penelope's hands. She was just about to reject him when they suddenly heard a commotion coming from Jack's spot. A young woman had fallen to the ground with a loud cry, and Jack was grabbing at her while hitting her repeatedly with a golf club. He yelled, "Aren't girl caddies like you just meant to be playthings anyway? How dare you push me away? I'm going to kill you!" Eric turned to look and immediately froze in his spot. Penelope followed his gaze and looked over as well. She immediately saw the same face that had appeared multiple times in her phone text messages, but now, it was in the flesh. Ingrid was wearing a pure white sporty outfit today, complete with a tank top and a short tennis skirt. She was sitting on the ground, looking like a pure, innocent college girl who was weak and helpless. Jack continued yelling degrading things at her, and Ingrid began to sob. She kept looking over at Eric, as if asking him for help. Penelope was just about to look away when she suddenly felt a lightness on her hands—Eric had let go of her. He said anxiously and rapidly, "Penelope, I think my friend just ran into some trouble. Wait for me here." Without waiting for her answer, Eric stormed toward the other golf platform. Eric had always been mindful of his interactions, keeping a respectful distance from other people when necessary. However, throughout this interaction, Eric's eyes never left the injury on Ingrid's leg. He kept looking at the injury anxiously without even giving Penelope another backward glance. When Ingrid left, Eric finally rushed back to Penelope's side. Yet she could still hear from his anxious tone that something was off. "It was just a misunderstanding. I've already offered to give up the manor in Hallesouth to Jack in exchange. Let's just treat it as a charity case…" Penelope was taken aback. Then, she nodded lightly. A split second later, Eric looked down at his phone and carefully angled the screen so that Penelope wouldn't be able to see anything on it. Then, he leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead. "Penelope, something's gone wrong with the paperwork. I'm going to talk to them about it." As soon as he said that, he quickly rushed off without another glance. Penelope watched quietly as he left. It wasn't until he was finally out of her line of sight that she finally unclenched her fist. Her long manicured nails had cut into the flesh of her palms, and blood smeared all over her hand. Still, she didn't seem to feel anything. She could only stare at the new messages popping up on her phone. "Ricky's such a wild animal… He insisted on doing it with me in the restroom, saying that it would be a lot more thrilling in here…" After sitting for a long time, Penelope stood up and headed toward the female restroom. The lighting there was dim. Every stall door in the restroom was wide open, save for the last one in the back. The sounds of wet flesh slapping against wet flesh echoed loudly in the enclosed space. The closer Penelope walked toward the closed stall, the more clearly she could hear them panting against each other. After a particularly loud thump, Penelope's ears bled from the increasingly loud and vigorous wet slapping sounds coming from within. She could even hear the man growling lustfully as he thrust harder and faster. The voice was so familiar that Penelope didn't even need to see him to know who he was. She just clapped her hand over her mouth and forced herself to swallow her sobs.