Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 799

Chapter 799: Denial

Was it anger Dean felt? Was it dismay? Or was he just utterly terrified?

The more Dean thought about what had happened tonight, the harder it was to pinpoint the exact emotion that was squeezing his chest. All he could do was continue to stare in the direction where Penny had left, even though the cars were no longer in sight.

Penny had only been in Anteca for a few months. It wasn’t even half a year yet, and she had just announced tonight that she was married.

"Impossible," he whispered, his eyes falling as he tried to find any loopholes in this. This could be just a play, and knowing Penny, it wouldn’t surprise him. Perhaps this was just a contract—an agreement Penny and Zoren had made for mutual benefits.

After all, it was too abrupt — too absurd!

Penny wouldn’t fall for someone so easily. She was the type of person who had the biggest trust issues. There was no way she would trust Zoren just like that. There had to be something more—there had to be more to the story, like... being Zoren’s Thursday Girl.

The sudden thought that had almost slipped Dean’s mind was akin to a bucket of ice water pouring down on him. For a moment, his face stiffened, and his entire body froze.

’Don’t tell me...’ his thoughts trailed off, his hand balling into a tight fist. ’... don’t tell me she found out? They found out?’

When? How?

Then it hit him.

Back at the charity event, Zoren had denied knowing Patricia when she introduced herself as Zoren’s Thursday Girl. At the time, Dean hadn’t thought much of it because there was no way Zoren would’ve fallen for that scheme so easily. Even if Zoren did, he was smart enough to catch on.

Dean hadn’t thought much about Penny and Zoren’s relationship either, as it appeared to be mostly business. Moreover, Penny had already given up on her Thursday Guy a long time ago. Dean was always watching Penny, and he knew she had lost all hope of meeting her Thursday Guy again because he might be sick — or dead, who knows?

Was this the reason?

Had they found out that they had known each other for a long time and rekindled their memories, leading to a budding romance as adults?

A myriad of thoughts swirled in his head, all centered around Penny and Zoren’s relationship. No matter how these ideas made sense to him, he wanted to deny them. Instead, he thought of another loophole that could redirect his reality elsewhere.

He couldn’t just accept this.

"Five years..." he whispered, snapping his eyes open slowly. "... that’s right. From what I heard, he’s been married for five years."

There was no way Penny was the real wife if Zoren had been married five years ago. Because five years ago, Dean and Penny were still working on a small project together, while Penny was focusing on her start-up company.

"Belle?" he called. "Why are you still here?" _{freeωebnovēl.c૦m}

Instead of Dean, William had grown bold enough to try to lead the family meeting tonight. Although William ended up embarrassing himself, it was too little to affect his standing in the family. Even so, Belle had seen tonight that Dean’s support wasn’t as strong as it once was. If she’d heard correctly, it was because Dean had shown a lack of interest in the power play—or in participating in the power struggle—resulting in the loss of confidence people once had in him.

"This isn’t like you," Belle whispered, an ominous feeling creeping into her heart. "Slowing down... backing down... or wavering isn’t like you at all."

The corner of his mouth curved down. "Belle, this isn’t your business. You should go home and rest. Be grateful you didn’t have to go through what you expected tonight."

Dean clicked his tongue and turned on his heel, planning to go in another direction to avoid dealing with Belle. But just as he turned, Belle spoke again.

"She’s married, Dean." Her words quickly halted his steps. "If you’re doing all of this... removing yourself from the spotlight of this power play because of her, then do it without asking anything in return."

"Belle." A huff escaped Dean, rolling his eyes before meeting her gaze. "Shut up."

"I’m scared for you—"

"I said shut it," he hissed, the fire in his eyes burning. "You left the family a long time ago, and although I still sympathize with you, that doesn’t mean you can just approach me and tell me all the things I don’t need to hear."

He arched a brow as he swallowed the tension in his throat. "You have no right to act like a big sister now when you already left without any consideration for anyone else. Keep your opinions to yourself and live your life the way you’ve always been without getting on my business." After saying that, Dean resumed his steps, leaving Belle to watch him go.