Chapter 399

But things didn’t end there. She’d instructed her people to keep tabs on the Sterling family, and soon enough, news came—
Gabriel had pulled every string he could to keep Penelope out of prison. Not out of concern for her, but simply because he refused to have a member of the Sterling family serve time behind bars.
Even so, cutting ties wasn’t the end. He arranged for Penelope to be sent away to the countryside, with no intention of ever bringing her back.
Gabriel was truly washing his hands of Penelope. Nora simply couldn’t accept it. She had a blazing argument with him, only to be met with a cold threat of divorce. In the end, weighing her options, Nora had no choice but to painfully give up on her daughter.
Penelope had just lost her reputation, her engagement, and the use of her legs. She hadn’t even processed it all when she was disowned by the Sterlings and banished to some rural backwater, with no hope of ever clawing her way back.
How could she possibly accept that? After a hysterical outburst, she broke down sobbing and fainted right there.
But none of it made Gabriel budge.
The night before Penelope was sent away, Anastasia found herself dreaming— once again-of her past life, of dying alone on a cold city street.
She jolted awake, drenched in sweat, and immediately went to find Harrison. The moment she saw his familiar, handsome face, her heart finally settled. She burrowed into his arms.
Harrison had already woken up during her nightmare, trying to rouse her gently. Now, seeing her so shaken, he wrapped her in a tight embrace. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I had a nightmare
She had dreamt that she hadn’t been given a second chance-a world where she died and that was it, with no hope of seeing him again, no chance to make up for all her regrets.
“It’s over now. I’m here. Nightmares aren’t real,” Harrison murmured, softly rubbing her back and pressing a tender kiss to her hair.
Anastasia nuzzled closer, cherishing the warmth of his chest, feeling the steady beat beneath her cheek. The terror slowly faded, replaced by the comforting reality of his presence.
She looked up and met the gentle affection in his eyes, and her heart brimmed with gratitude and wonder.
How had she ever managed to win the love of Harrison Lancaster-a man so distant and unapproachable to the world, yet so gentle with her?
“Babe kiss me?” she whispered, emotion thick in her voice as she shifted in his arms.
Harrison’s eyes darkened, his thumb tracing her cheek. “Not tired anymore?”
She shook her head, gazing at him with adoration.
He rolled her beneath him and kissed her, soft and deep.
The next day, Anastasia took time off work and made a point of going to “see Penelope off.”
Outside the train station.
Anastasia sat in a car, parked a distance away, watching as Penelope was wheeled toward the entrance by two men who clearly weren’t taking no for an
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Penelope’s face was twisted in desperation. She screamed and thrashed, trying to claw her way out of the chair, yelling at the top of her lungs, “I’m not going to the countryside! I’m the Sterling family’s heiress!”
But the bodyguards Gabriel had hired remained stone-faced and unmoved.
Watching Penelope unravel-her mind shattered by one blow after another- Anastasia’s face was unreadable, her eyes cold and detached.
Only when Penelope was wheeled out of sight inside the station did Anastasia avert her gaze and murmur, “Let’s go home.”
Across the way, Penelope, wild-eyed and hoarse from screaming, caught a fleeting glimpse of Anastasia’s silhouette by a car window. She blinked, and the vehicle was gone; she couldn’t even be sure if she’d really seen her.
It didn’t matter. Her hatred for Anastasia only burned hotter. It was all Anastasia’s fault she’d ended up like this!
Penelope was lost, broken, unable to comprehend how her life had collapsed so completely.
Somewhere deep inside, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t how her story was supposed to end.
She was meant to stand at the top, adored by all, with the world at her feet.
Not disgraced, broken, and stripped of everything she once had.