Chapter 113

They were only on the third floor. A fall from that height wasn’t even guaranteed to be fatal.
Penelope pointed upward. “If you’re serious about this, I suggest you jump from the roof. Much more effective.”
As Zebulon stared at her in disbelief, she turned and walked out.
She had only descended a few steps when she heard him chasing after her.
“Penelope, I’m willing to die, but I can’t bear to leave you!”
“Just look at me! Can you really be this cruel?”
“I love you! I won’t break up with you! I won’t divorce you!”
Penelope was a mixture of furious and exasperated. A grown man resorting to crying, threatening, and staging a suicide attempt. It was utterly pathetic.
She reached the ground floor and strode toward the street. As she was crossing, a car suddenly sped toward her. She froze, stunned, but before she could react, someone pushed her hard from behind. With a screech of tires, she turned to see Zebulon lying on the ground, having been struck by the car.
For a moment, she was in shock.
Zebulon had just saved her life, without any regard for his own.
He lay there, his face twisted in pain, but his eyes were fixed on her with worry.
“Penelope… are you okay?”
Penelope took a deep breath, first calling for an ambulance, then kneeling beside him. A quick check showed no visible bleeding; his injuries probably weren’t
severe.
“Hang in there. The ambulance is on its way.”
“Penelope… you… hiss… I’m so glad you’re not hurt!” He gripped her hand tightly. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ
“I’m fine. Worry about yourself,” she said, frowning.
“Penelope… you have to believe me… I love you… I will only ever love you
“Maybe I made mistakes, but my love for you never changed.”
“We can go back to how we were. Please, don’t leave me.”
Zebulon’s pleas were so heartfelt that even passersby were moved. But Penelope just felt numb. She was done with this act. They could keep playing their parts, but she couldn’t.
“Whatever it is, we can talk about it after you’ve recovered.”
Zebulon shook his head weakly. “No, you have to promise me you won’t leave. You have to promise!”
“Zebulon!” Penelope’s voice was sharp. “Do you really think I don’t know about the things you’ve done?”
At her words, Zebulon’s expression froze.
“You
“I don’t want to discuss this right now. Just be quiet.”
Penelope felt a chaotic storm brewing inside her. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Zebulon had wronged her and she was supposed to get her revenge, clean and simple, without a shred of guilt. But now…
Now he had saved her.
His words, “I truly love you,” felt both like a bitter irony and a horrifying truth.
And that truth made her feel sick to her stomach.
…
At the hospital, Zebulon’s injuries were confirmed to be minor, but he had a concussion and needed to be kept for overnight observation.
Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan and Rebecca rushed in, their faces contorting with anger when they saw Penelope sitting in the hallway.
“If it weren’t for you and your constant drama, none of this would have happened!”
“My son was injured saving your life! You are responsible for him!”
“Penelope don’t you ever mention the word divorce’ again. Zebulon loves you so much he was willing to die for you. If you bring it up again, you’ll be the most heartless person alive.”

The three of them went into the hospital room, leaving Penelope alone with her thoughts. Her head was a mess.
A police officer came by to take her statement. She recounted the events as best she could. But after the officer left, a detail surfaced in her memory. There were no traffic lights on that stretch of road so she had carefully looked both ways before crossing The car she now realized, had been parked on the side of the street. It had only started moving, accelerating straight toward her, after she had stepped onto the road.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.