Chapter 21
Penelope turned down Steve’s offer to drive her home. Claiming that she needed fresh air, she quickly, left the company and walked down the street on her own.
As she patted the blue diamond ring, which was nestled in her pocket, she felt warmth surging into her heart.
Steve was a wonderful man. It was just that Penelope didn’t have the courage to start a new relationship, much less entrusting her heart to another man.
She was so immersed in her own thoughts that it took her a long time to realize that there had been a second set of footsteps echoing behind her the whole time. It was the same scene as before. Now, Penelope was able to retain her composure. She clutched her phone tightly before turning around to look behind her.
“Steve, is that you? Stop messing around.”
But the next thing she knew, she saw a figure lunging at her. Strong arms soon enveloped her tightly.
For a moment, Penelope was caught off guard. When she smelled the familiar scent, she did her best to break out of the hug.
Finally, she was able to make out the face belonging to the figure. Eric’s features remained the same–it was just that his cheeks were sunken due to severe weight loss, and even his eyes were hollowed. Stubble covered his chin and jawline, making him look more like a stereotypical drug addict roaming the streets of Eucardia.
At the moment, Eric’s eyes were completely bloodshot. He sounded extremely choked up because of how emotional he was. “Penelope, I finally found you! You’re not dead, are you?”
But Penelope just stood there quietly. She quickly cut Eric off before he could finish speaking, ” Who are you?”
Eric’s form swayed to the side dangerously, but he was able to steady himself in time. As he stared at the familiar face before him, he responded in a choked voice, “Stop joking around, Penelope! It’s me, Eric Fulmer!”
A few days ago, Eric happened to see a photo on his friend’s social media feed. The woman in that photo looked exactly like Penelope. Even the curve of her lips resembled Penelope’s when she was asleep.
Eric was extremely confident that he would never mistake Penelope for anyone else because he had spent seven years with her. He hired a forensic doctor to give Penelope’s “corpse” another autopsy, only to find out that the corpse’s cause of death wasn’t the deadly fall. The
scar and the birthmark on the corpse had been falsified as well
Upon finding out the truth, Eric didn’t feel any fury or hate directed at Penelope for lying to him all this time. Instead, he felt nothing but unbridled happiness. To him, the greatest joy in this world was to find out that Penelope was actually alive
Hence, Eric bought a flight ticket to Islanthia on the spot. After that, he referred to the information given to him by a private investigator and kept lurking around the routes that Penelope often took. Finally, he was able to bump into her tonight.
Penelope frowned in response. She stated coldly, “You got the wrong person.”
After that, she spun on her heel and left.
Naturally, Eric wouldn’t let Penelope slip through his fingers again. He had spent far too long looking for her, after all.
Once again, he pulled Penelope into his arms tightly before gushing emotionally, “Penelope, this is all my fault. I’ve hurt you far too deeply because of the mistakes I made. Please go home with me, Penelope. I’m willing to atone for my sins every day for the rest of my life. I’ll do anything it takes to make it up to you…”
But Penelope kept resisting wildly. She slammed an elbow into Eric’s gut harshly and managed to break out when he curled over in pain.
Eric could only watch as Penelope called the police in Eucarnish and told the operator that she had gotten harassed by a stranger. He kept following her around out of fear that he might lose her again if he were to let his guard down.
A few minutes later, both the police and Steve showed up at the same time.
Eric was instantly cuffed by the police officers. To his despair, he saw Steve pulling Penelope
into his arms.
Stove Anderson, you fucking bastard! Give Penelope back to me! Penelope! My Penelope!”
enelope merely shot Eric a cold look. Then, she responded to Steve’s embrace by
wrapping her arms around him tightly.
Just as Eric thought he was about to suffocate from the scene, Penelope looked at him once again. This time, a mocking smile graced her lips.
“This man is my husband. I’ve never been to Cheronia my entire life, Coincidentally, I did see the news featuring your tragedy. Do you know what I was thinking when I first saw the news? I was very relieved, you know. I was so relieved that I wasn’t the victim in the news. Thank goodness I never met you before.”
After that, Penelope turned back without sparing Eric another glance, She found herself
staring into Steve’s eyes lovingly. “This has to be the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me.”
“Penelope, please… I’m begging you… Please go home with me…” Eric could only remain rooted to the spot after hearing Penelope’s cold response. The sight of his beloved woman hugging another man hurt him deeply. He looked as though he had aged 20 years in an instant.
Still, he continued struggling against the police with his back hunched. He even turned around to beg Penelope pathetically, hoping that a miracle would happen and his wish would be granted.
But Penelope never spared him another glance even after he got shoved into the police car. In the end, Eric was deported out of Islanthia by the local police due to his poor mental health.
