Chapter 124

"The one on the far left, obviously," she said.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. But if you lose this hand, you can't blame me."

"If I lose, I'm coming back to deal with you."

"Hey! How can you be like that? Now I'm not so sure. Hold on!"

But before she could finish, Theodore had already picked up the leftmost one and discarded it. The second it hit the table, Michael, sitting opposite him, pushed his tiles forward.

"A generous move, Mr. Stapleton. That's the exact one I was waiting for. I win!"

Penelope was speechless.

Theodore let out a short, sharp laugh. "Just you wait. I'll be back in two days."

"How is this my fault?" she protested. "Blame your own lousy skills!"

Theodore picked up the phone and stood. The camera shook for a moment before settling on a view from what looked like a balcony. He sat down in a chair, the breeze ruffling his hair as he smoked, his eyes occasionally flicking toward the screen.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Eleven-thirty. It's gotten so late."

"Tired?"

"Mhm."

"Get a good night's sleep. You'll have plenty to cry about tomorrow."

Her eyelids, which had just started to feel heavy, shot open. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Theodore's eyes narrowed. "Penelope, who was it that swore they would take their medicine on time every single day without fail?"

The medicine.

Penelope shot up from her seat. "Oh, no! I completely forgot!"

She bolted downstairs. It was eleven-thirty. Even if she floored it all the way to Dr. Olson's clinic... it was too late. Realizing there was no way to fix it, she slumped onto the staircase.

"Why didn't you remind me earlier?" she yelled into the phone, her voice thick with frustration. He was teasing her, making her pick out his tiles, all while knowing this.

"I'm not drinking it anymore! I'm done with that disgusting black sludge!"

According to Dr. Olson, missing a single day meant all the previous doses were wasted, and she'd have to start the three-month regimen all over again. She had already endured two weeks of it, each bowl a bitter torture.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? You enjoy watching me suffer!

You're a terrible, awful personet

Tears welled in her eyes. But

Theodore just sat there taking slow, Teisurely drags from his cigarette.

"I'm not marrying you! You're a monster!"

That finally got his attention. He looked at her, a cold, humorless smirk twisting his lips, but said nothing.

Just then, her doorbell rang.

Fuming, she stormed over and yanked the door open. Theodore's driver, Larry, stood on her doorstep holding a bag filled with the prepared herbal medicine.

“Ms. Laurier, you forgot to pick this up from Dr. Olson's tonight,” he said calmly. "Mr. Stapleton asked me to bring it to you."

Penelope stared at the bag, then back at the phone in her hand. "Th-thank you."

She sent Larry off with an awkward smile, then remembered the time. Panicked, she rushed back into the living room, propped the phone up so he could see her, and chugged the entire bag of medicine in one go.

When she finished, she checked the time. Five minutes to midnight. She let out a huge sigh of relief.

A sharp "Hmph!" came from the phone.

Penelope flinched, then quickly put on her most pitiful expression. "That medicine was so bitter, but for you, I drank it all in one gulp."

"Tsk!"

"I swear I'll never forget again."

"Hah!"

Penelope gritted her teeth. Was he just going to sit there and mock her? She shot ta glare at the screen-a quick, secret one. He was the client, after all he held all the cards. But even so, she wasn't going todet this slide.

"You know, I think you're partly to blame for this, too."

...