Kapitel 25: She Wasn't His Wife
Penelope frowned. She hadn't realized that Roman hadn't wanted to be a hospital director.
He had complained about once or twice since she came to this world but she thought that was normal job-related headaches. Even her parents, who loved teaching, had complained about specific students or creating exams in the past.
When this entry was written, he had been nearly done with his bachelor's. Percy said he got it in public health. If he didn't like it, why hadn't he switched majors sooner?
It wasn't like his parents could force him to take over their hospital. Though she supposed they may have threatened to disinherit him. Rich people problems were beyond her since she hadn't depended on her parents financially since graduating high school.
Belatedly, Penelope realized she didn't know enough about Roman to pretend in this relationship. She had been so focused on her other self and the relationship between the two of them that she had hardly given his past much thought.
What made that man tick? All she really knew about him was that he loved his wife, had a solid sense of humor, and what his job was. Not much to go off of.
She returned to her excavation of the journals. Other Penelope ended up making a move on Roman after her high school graduation, taking a gamble and saying he didn't have to wait for her anymore because she was so sure of his reasoning.
She must have known him very well because it paid off and they ended up getting together after kissing for the first time. The entries that followed were gushing about how nice/different it was being Roman's girlfriend mixed in with random events happening in her life.
He was mentioned in nearly every entry from there on out even if it was only in passing as she made her way through college. Penelope read all the way through to the end of her freshman year of college before she heard the garage door and had to scramble to put everything away.
"Penny?" Roman called up the stairs. "Are you up there?"
She cursed. Not fast enough. But she casually hollered back "Yeah! Be down in a sec."
Making sure the box of journals was shut, Penelope headed down the stairs so fast that she tripped on the last few.
Roman laughed as he caught her. "Careful! Did you miss me or something?"
Her head was against his chest and she could feel how well-muscled it was through his shirt. That wasn't good for her own heart, which hammered in her ears from the shock of falling. It really wasn't fair that he was this attractive when she was trying to keep her distance.
"I think it's time for more pain meds," Penelope said evasively. "I'm feeling a little woozy."
His laughter immediately changed to concern. "You haven't been overdoing it again, have you? What have you been doing today? Were you able to take a nap?"
She didn't even get the chance to answer one of those questions before Roman scooped her up out of nowhere and princess-carried her to the couch. She squeaked in protest but he paid her no mind and went to get her medicine and some water after setting her down.
Penelope's face flamed. Never in her entire life had she been carried like that. By anyone.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "I was reading."
He handed her the glass of water and pill with a frown. "Reading what? You never read."
Just because it wasn't her favorite thing to do didn't mean she was illiterate! She had always preferred hanging out with other people to reading for fun but there were still books she liked. Not that she'd had any time to read the past several years because it was so low on her list of priorities.
Penelope scowled at him, feeling defensive. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I do too read. My parents are professors and my brother is a genius, you know. I'm not stupid."
Roman's eyes widened. "Whoa, how does not reading very often suddenly equal being stupid?"
"It's the way you said it. Just…just leave me alone," she said wearily.
She really hadn't intended to pick a fight but she was so mentally and emotionally worn out from both his expectations and Percy's. Diving deeply into the life she might have lived if her mother had been a tiny bit lucky when she was a child hadn't helped.
Penelope's life back home was hard, okay? Knowing that her father's death could have been avoided even with a terminal diagnosis had been quite a blow.
This Penelope's life was perfect. It wasn't fair at all. She didn't belong here—nothing in this world belonged to her—but she had to try and pretend like it was and not get attached to anyone in case she miraculously got sent back.
Everything was giving her whiplash. All she wanted was to go to sleep and wake up before any of this ever happened.
Her life hadn't been satisfying but, as a pretty optimistic person, she hadn't completely hated it either. Knowing how good things could be, how was she supposed to deal with going back now?
"Okay," Roman said quietly. "Sorry for upsetting you. Let me know if you need anything or if you want to talk."
Talk? That was the last thing she wanted to do. He wouldn't understand.
Penelope felt a stab of guilt as he went upstairs despite her frustration. None of this was his fault. He was a victim in this situation too and she was taking it out on him. But she was in pain from something that happened to someone else's body and had to adapt to another world. That would be enough to upset anybody.
She wished that things could be different. She wished that whatever strange dimensional shift occurred had shifted back before she had to put on an act. Or even better, that she had never come here at all.
She wasn't his wife. And she never would be.
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Mcllorycat
Mcllorycat Hello, my lovelies! I've entered the latest writing contest and if my submission wins a prize I'll do a mass release on this story. So if you were planning to drop your power stones here this week please put them to use there instead! The story is called I Fell For My Nemesis :)
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