"LESLEY INVITED Lance again for another hangout." Penelope closed her eyes and laid beside Joaquin. The room was quiet. Lance's noise ward was effective. "He looks terribly worried. I don't know why."

Joaquin held her arm and shook it gently. "You know why. Stop pretending."


Pen let out a roar of laughter. She doesn't know where did this sudden burst of giddiness came from. Joaquin was infected by her joyous laugh. He grinned. "Stop making fun of him."

"What?" Pen pouted. "He's being ridiculous. Something happened last night, okay? But he won't tell us. He's being distant."

"If it's about his personal life, I wouldn't mind if he won't tell me." Joaquin sighed. "For years I have known him, he never really told me about his past. I know he will never betray me but... the reason as to why he's insisting to support me my whole life... I'd like to know."


"What drove him to come and share this misery with me."

Penelope smacked her lips. She didn't like the way he spoke. "Count me in. Although I'd prefer to call this a blessing rather than misery. Stop thinking that something bad might happen. I became drawn to you because you're a good person. I'm sure Lance has the same thought."


Joaquin closed his eyes. The intense way how he clenched his jaw slightly made Penelope worry about what would he say next.

"There are... problems about work. The company that Lance was handling were having a major shift because of his long absences. It was greatly affected." He blinked slowly. "This matter with your ex alpha is more important. I was able to intercept the call this morning because they called my ID directly. Maybe they could not contact Lance."

"Oh, God." Penelope pushed herself up but Joaquin tightened his arms around her.

"Don't move," he mumbled. "Stay beside me."

Penelope's eyes were unfocused for a second. A slight smile formed at the side of her lips. She cleared her throat. "This is getting out of hand. I shouldn't have assumed that Lance has no other work to do. I'm sorry. We can cancel Lesley's invitation. There will be next time, you know."

"Lesley is already thinking that both Samael and Lance likes her. Wouldn't it confuse her if Lance will decline this chance? I can send a person to check and give direct orders. There's no need to compromise this entail."

Penelope felt her heart swelled like balloon. She said with caution, "Is it really okay to do this?"

"Yes." Joaquin nodded. She thought he looked endearing with his earnest look trying to please her. "Anything for you."

"I just want you to be aware of the situation. Right now, I can finally share my thoughts and problems to someone I can fully trust."

Penelope realized the meaning behind his words. There are things he can never say to Lance without worrying that his father will know about it. Technically, Lance's boss wasn't Joaquin but Adarmus.

No matter how defiant Lance was against Adarmus, it was still his blood that was used when Lance sang the oath of protecting Joaquin.

"You're quiet," Joaquin quipped.

She exhaled slowly. "Just trying to enjoy silence with you. I rarely have this quiet times now with these kids."

"They're loud." He squinted. "But they sound happy too. I guess it makes up for the noise."

"You can come with us, Joaquin."

The man looked away with a sigh. "We'll find the right time to go outside. I can't leave the kids all alone with a possessed old man."

Penelope nodded. "In the future, we will visit my hometown. I was told the breeze felt different in my mom's place. You will love it there."

Joaquin mumbled, "I hope I can see the view, or take a glimpse of your face."

Lifting one hand, he caressed her cheek. "This is unfair. You can see me but I'm not even certain about how you look like."

"Imagination is a powerful thing, babe." Penelope winked. Too bad that the man can't see it. She cleared her throat. "Feel my face. Draw them in your mind and you'll see me."

"I'm sure you're beautiful." Joaquin said, "Lance couldn't say anything bad about you."

"Hah!" She mouthed, "I know his secrets. I'll tell everyone once he talk shit."

"He needs to be tamed." Pulling the cover off his bare stomach, Joaquin sighed with content. "Father spoiled him so much. Sometimes I wonder if am I really his son."

"Maybe he doesn't want you to get used to favor and to a lavish life. Spoiled people tend to change and it's not good all the time."

"My father wants me to be contented to the things he allows me to experience. He doesn't want me to think about 'more'."

Penelope pursed her lips. "Parents has different ways of showing us how they love their kids."

"Just supporting me and my decisions would be fine. Locking me up without asking my opinion about this... I'm not even allowed to see him or talk to him."

She didn't like this sad atmosphere. They shouldn't be reminiscing bad things when there's a more exciting thing to do. "We can't change the past. It's too late to ask him anyway."

"I'm glad you're able to live most of your life the way you want it to be."

"I'm happy that I didn't experience a lot of miserable events. Was there any good memories that you can remember?"

Joaquin pouted slightly. Penelope reached her hand out to pet it. "Tell me."

He squinted. It look as though it was hard for him to recall a certain moment. "When I was a kid, a lot of people used to like me. They give me roses, clothes and even books. It was like... they expect a lot from me in the future. I don't know when did it started to fade. The attention became scorn and the favor soon turns to disgust. Being loved by many was a trap. Once you fell deeply into gratitude, they will surprise you with their fangs and hate."

"I will never hate you." Penelope didn't know why but it felt important to point this matter with great emphasis. "I think I can never hate you."

"That's because you're different," he murmured.

She frowned. "Why?"

Joaquin's eyes shone with glee. "You were born to love me."

In that case, Penelope assumed he can never be wrong.