Chapter 741

Do you know when I finally realized something was going on between them?

Leaving the house, Marin had only asked Penelope one thing: did she have a boyfriend or a husband? Penelope honestly answered that she only had an ex- husband. Marin scoffed, saying an ex-husband didn't mean a damn thing, and then dragged her straight to this club.

The club offered plenty of entertainment, but the two of them just stuck to drinking.

Penelope always had a high tolerance for alcohol. Plus, she was just pacing herself to keep Marin company, so she remained completely sober while Marin was already pretty buzzed.

Watching Marin finish one bottle and crack open another, preparing to chug it straight from the neck, Penelope quickly stopped her. She poured half a glass and told her to take it slow.

Marin downed it in one gulp and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Three months ago, on my birthday," Marin brought up the incident, finding the whole thing laughable now. "Ellison gave me a bracelet. A designer one. He said it cost over three thousand dollars."

"It was just a simple chain, nothing particularly special. But it was from him, a token of his affection, so I wore it all the time."

"That was until I visited a client. When her maid brought out the coffee, I noticed she was wearing the exact same bracelet."

"I asked the maid where she got it. She said the lady of the house had bought a diamond necklace from that brand, and they threw the bracelet in as a free gift. The client didn't want it, so she casually tossed it to her maid."

At this point, Marin was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Do you have any idea how humiliated I was? Especially when that maid saw the same bracelet on my wrist. The look she gave me was just pathetic."

"Later, I went back to the office and saw a few female colleagues crowded around Lavinia, staring enviously at the necklace she was wearing. They were whispering about how expensive the brand was, saying it cost over thirty thousand dollars, and asking who bought it for her."

"Lavinia made eye contact with me right then, yet she deliberately told them it was a gift from an older guy she knew."

"I confronted Ellison about it, but he brushed it off, saying it was just a necklace. She had just become a full-time employee, and it was a congratulatory gift. He told me I was overreacting."

Hearing this, Penelope was absolutely furious.

"If I were you, I would have raised hell. I'd make sure that bastard Ellison never dared to cross me again."

Marin smiled bitterly. "Yeah, I thought I would raise hell too. But in that moment, all the fight just drained out of me."

"Fight or no fight, anyone who makes me miserable is going to get it back ten times worse!"

Marin looked at Penelope, a hint of envy in her eyes.

"The man you love must love you just as fiercely. He must treat you better than anyone else in the world."

Only someone who was truly loved could be so fiercely confident, looking as though they had never been broken by life.

Penelope immediately thought of

Theodore. Then, she suddenly realized she had never actually doubted his love for her. Even after they divorced and spent six long years apart, the moment they reunited, she was absolutely certain he still loved her.

That quiet confidence was something Theodore had given her. He always had.

But had she ever given him that same sense of security?

The two women drank until dawn. Penelope dragged a heavily intoxicated Marin out

of the club. They had barely turned down an alley near the entrance when two

towering men blocked their path.

"Which one of you is Penelope?" one of them demanded.

One look at their aggressive stance made it obvious they were looking for a fight. Marin was so drunk she couldn't even stand straight Penelope sat her down gently on the curb, then rolled up her sleeves.

"That would be me. And who the hell are you?" "Someone paid us to teach you a lesson."

Penelope's mind raced, instantly figuring out who was behind this t had to be Ellison. She had stood up for Marin last night and exposed his true colors, so he must be holding a massive grudge.