Chapter 104: I’m okay
[Short Flashback]
Penny sat in a dining chair, staring at the cake before her. The candle burned slowly, wax melting and dripping down its base. The food arranged on the table was left untouched and now had gone cold.
She gulped, breaking the ringing silence in her ears. Her lips curled up a little as she began to sing softly,
"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you... happy birthday... happy..." Her voice faltered as tears streamed down her cheeks. She tried to hold her emotions back and failed miserably.
Penny bit her inner bottom lips and sniffed, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "Why did I expect so much?" she mocked, laughing at herself. "It’s not like this is the first time they missed my birthday."
She tried to recover from the sorrow that was embracing her on this not-so-special day. Penny slapped her cheeks mildly, forcing a smile, and sang herself another birthday song. This time, she made it without breaking out in tears.
"My wish is..." Penny hummed before she closed her eyes. "... that I will be happy."
With a deep breath, she blew out the candle.
Opening her eyes, she watched the smoke rise in the still air. Her smile remained only for a few seconds, and then it faded. Before her mood could plummet further, her phone buzzed on the table.
Penny quickly picked it up the moment she saw Atlas’s name.
"First Brother —"
"Penny, I’m sorry I can’t make it today," was Atlas’s greeting remarks, his voice exhausted and stressed.