Chapter 471
Hearing those words, Theodore froze completely.
He slowly lifted his head to look at Penelope. A flicker of light returned to his dark, hate-filled eyes.
Penelope clutched her stomach, forcing a smile. “Almost two months. It’s twins.”
Theodore’s eyes brightened a little more. “Really?”
Tears streamed down Penelope’s face. “Do you think I would joke about something like this?”
Theodore let out a short, choked laugh before his head fell forward. Amidst the screams and pleas of the man beneath his knife, he finally let go.
Penelope rushed over and threw her arms around him. “I’m so sorry. I understand how you feel right now, but we have to hand him over to the police.”
Officers quickly stormed in. They saw the man was injured, but thankfully not fatally, and breathed a sigh of relief. They arrested the criminal and sent him to the hospital, while also needing Theodore to come to the station.
Penelope was worried and wanted to go with him, but Theodore told her not to.
“I’ll go with him. You just go back to the hotel and wait,” Hamilton said, then left for the station with Theodore.
Penelope watched Theodore walk away, the knot of anxiety in her stomach tightening once more.
“Norton’s death is another devastating blow for Theo. I don’t know how he’s going to get through this,” Michael said, his face etched with concern.
Simon sighed. “It’s been twenty years since Lorraine died, and he still hasn’t let that go. And now this, on top of Mrs. Stapleton’s condition and Mr. Johnson just passing away… and Norton.”
How much strength could one person possibly have to endure all of this without being crushed by it?
Norton’s funeral was a simple affair, attended only by his closest loved ones. They kept it from Mrs. Stapleton—not that it would likely matter, as she truly didn’t seem to care, but they didn’t want to risk upsetting her.
But no amount of apologies could change anything now.
Norton was gone, in the most brutal way imaginable.
“When I first met him, I thought he was a bit naive, but so happy. I figured he must have had a wonderful life, with a family that adored him. Later, when I found out what happened to him, I thought, it’s a good thing he’s so simple-minded. Simple people don’t hold grudges.
they don’t let themselves get dragged down. After he disappeared, I just thought he was throwing a little tantrum, that he’d be back in a few days, grinning and slinging an arm around my shoulder, saying, ‘Bro, you miss me?””
Timothy stared at the photo on the headstone, unable to accept it. He simply couldn’t.
Such a good boy, Norton.
How could fate be so cruel as to take him away?
Penelope patted his shoulder, then walked over to Theodore.
His face remained placid, as if he had accepted this reality faster than anyone else.
“You probably still have a lot you want to say to Norton. Should we leave you for a while?” Penelope asked.
“No need,” he replied.
“Theodore, it’s okay to cry.”
Theodore wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said flatly, “It’s useless.”
In the days that followed, a strange calm settled over their lives.
Mrs. Stapleton’s mental state stabilized considerably, and she even agreed to go to the hospital abroad for treatment.
After the recent events, Steven had clearly been chastened and was diligently assisting his nephew with the smooth transition of power at the company.
Penelope’s morning sickness hit, and it was severe. She threw up everything she ate, even water. But her naturally strong constitution. kept her on her feet, and despite losing a lot of weight, she still had plenty of energy.
Theodore canceled every non-essential meeting and event, coming home early every day to be with her. When she couldn’t eat, hè would take her on a city-wide hunt for any food she might crave. When she threw up he would take her for walks, for fresh air to settle her stomach.