Chapter 10: All winter, now spring comes.

"Dear, is everything alright?" Charles was leaning against the headboard when he noticed Allison's mood when she joined him. "Were you still upset about what happened during dinner? I already talked to Slater and the other two. They will behave themselves this time."

Allison smiled helplessly at him. "It's not about that."

"Then, what is it?"

"I am not upset, Charles." Allison sighed. "I'm just… I feel bad for Penny. She's so adorable, smart, and very understanding. Although her maturity makes me happy, I also know children like that mature quickly because of circumstances. It's because they had no choice but to grow up and I…"

The corner of her eyes reddened whenever she thought of how Penny lived for the past thirteen years. "... we are so oblivious to her situation all these years."

Charles felt his heart softened as he moved closer to his wife. He understood his wife more than anyone. He also felt sorry for Penny, but they couldn't have known about this if Nina didn't get sick a year ago.

They didn't know Nina wasn't their daughter until she fell seriously ill. She needed a blood transfusion, but for some reason, none of the family members were matched. To be honest, they didn't suspect anything and simply thought it was because Nina's blood type was rare.

The doctors said it wasn't rare and family members should have it as well. Hence, Haines took it upon himself to check. Turns out, Nina was neither Allison nor Charles's daughter. It took them one year to investigate and find their real daughter. Even so, many worries still lingered in the couple's hearts because thirteen years was a long time.

"We'll take it slow," Charles squeezed her hand. "I know we cannot take back those thirteen years, but we can start to fill her with love, care, and everything she deserved."

Allison's eyes softened. "I'm just scared, Charles. What if we screw up again?"

"We didn't screw up, the nurse did." He smiled helplessly. "Though we should've known because we're her parents, I… we will try — do our best."

The couple stared at each other, becoming each other's pillar of support in this moment of uncertainty. Little did they know, they had Penny's blessing to screw things up as many times as they liked. She would be leaving, regardless.

Back in Penny's room, Penny was in distress because she was missing one crucial thing at the moment.

A computer!

How could she forget she didn't have that because her parents believed the internet was poison?! At this moment, only Atlas and Hugo had those devices because of their school.

"Damn it!" Sitting on the bed like a monk, Penny rubbed her chin. "I was excited to go here because they were rich, and had Wi-Fi. But I should've known their Wi-Fi is useless."

Ever since Penny earned her very first dime, she started saving up. Her savings were quite plenty at this age. However, she didn't want to keep cash in her room, considering Slater's pranks and Nina's performance of a lifetime are yet to come.

Those two would constantly sneak into her room, and she was afraid they would stumble upon her little wealth. Thus, she planned to put them in stocks since she couldn't open her own bank account at this age.

"Hmm…" Penny racked her brains for a while. "Right! Uncle Haines will be around for a while. I think he can help me out."

Haines was a part of the family business and was the person handling international affairs. He was often abroad for work and would occasionally visit the family. In her first life, Haines would soon leave the household and would come back in a year.

"Well, Uncle Haines is very charmed by me," she nodded. "I'll just force out a tear and he'll probably lend me his laptop."

With that thought in mind, Penny threw the matters of today for tomorrow.

The next day, the couple took Penny shopping despite the cold weather. They didn't know if Penny liked the clothes they prepared for her, so they wanted to make sure everything in her closet was to her liking. Because of this, Penny missed Haines so she told herself she would ambush him the next day.

The day after that rolled in, and the couple was all over her again. Allison fed her until her jaw almost gave in, and Charles gave her tons and tons of gifts she could use. The couple was unstoppable.

It wasn't like they didn't try to pamper her in her previous life, but Penny suddenly found this time a little over the top. She ended up getting so tired she fell asleep early, and she missed Haines again.

Penny kept telling herself she would ambush Haines, but she often found herself getting ambushed by her parents instead. The glares and frowns from her siblings also compelled her to be chummy with her parents, and before she knew it, winter went by just like that.

Penny cautiously looked around in case her parents were going to ambush her again. The first three days of getting pampered rotten were nice. But all winter? It was horror! Hence, she wanted to sneak out of the house for a while and wait for Haines.

"This is too close to the house," she told herself, thinking she left a note in her room in case someone would come looking for her. "I need to go further away."

After winter, Haines would leave, and Penny knew he would leave the country around this time. She couldn't miss him again.

"Just what time does he come home?" she mumbled as she walked away from the mansion. "I even stay up until midnight, but he won't still be home until then."

Butler Jen told her Haines was coming home, but also left the house very early. After all, Haines was left in charge of the company while Charles was on a break so he could spend time with his daughter. Penny would've waited at home, but after staying in throughout the season, she felt like going out for a change. Also, she wanted to see new scenery and a break from her parents.

"Huh?" Penny stopped as she looked around, brows furrowed. "What in the world?"

Penny blinked, realizing she wandered off farther than she should have. But when she caught the street sign, she smiled.

"Heh. I've lived here for as long as I can remember," she said proudly. "I know my way home."

Even so, Penny didn't want to worry everyone back home. Thus, she planned to return and wait nearby. But just as Penny turned, she heard a faint rustle. Turning her head, she caught the shrub nearby moving.

Meow.

Blinking, she thought, "A kitten?"

Penny approached the shrub, thinking there was a stray kitten underneath it. But when she crawled her way and moved the shrub to the side, she met a young boy tying his shoelaces hidden behind it.

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

The boy slowly turned his head, only to see a round face poking out of the shrub. He blinked, and she blinked, staring at each other as if wondering what kind of entity was the other.