Chapter 909: Star alignment
Not repeating history or falling for the same tricks as before was a promise Penny had made to herself. She didn’t desire to love or to be loved. That wasn’t part of the plan. What Penny had now — the relationships she had built with trust and love — was never in the plan, but they happened because she opened her heart.
Hence, another promise was born when she realized these people planned to stay in her life for good. These relationships and these people wouldn’t be the reasons she would fall.
That was why, even when Penny was silent, it didn’t mean she wasn’t aware. She knew what was happening — not everything, probably — but she wasn’t as clueless as she had been in her previous life.
Another deep sigh escaped her as she rocked her head before turning back toward the open court. Just as Penny turned, she stopped, catching sight of Slater standing not far from her.
"Third Brother?" she called, surprised and confused at the same time. "Since when have you been here?"
Penny hadn’t even noticed or heard him, when she would’ve normally sensed his presence. Was it because she had been too complacent? She doubted it. The first time Dean approached her in that parking lot and she didn’t notice him, Penny quickly rectified that. But then again, she probably hadn’t noticed Slater because he didn’t carry any malice.
"I followed you here because I thought you needed company!" He frowned, narrowing his eyes at Penny suspiciously. "Penny, what are you up to?"
"What?" Much to her surprise, Slater suddenly pointed a finger at her.
"Penny, tell me the truth!" he yelled, his voice echoing. "What you said about betting everything on this match is a lie, isn’t it?"
For a brief moment, Penny was rendered speechless. "What?" she blurted out in disbelief. "Did you follow me just to ask me that question?"