Chapter 581

Benson was Sherry’s cousin. Although they were cousins, his parents had passed away when he was very young, so he was raised by the Austin family, making him as close as a brother to her.
Penelope remembered Benson’s talk of probabilities—one in hundreds of billions. Now it seemed like that was an understatement. This had to be one in trillions.
On a rainy day, she took a wrong turn, and while trying to turn around, she crashed into the reclusive Benson, who just happened to be leaving at that exact moment.
Then she mistook him for a murderer and a psychopath, ended up at the police station, and finally learned he was the cousin of her ex-husband’s girlfriend-the very cousin who had apparently set them up.
This kind of fate…
It was beyond words.
Fortunately, with the misunderstanding cleared up, they were both free to leave the station.
“Ms. Laurier, it’s hard to get a cab at this hour. Why don’t I give you a ride?” Sherry offered kindly.
Penelope wanted to say no, but Kristin was already asleep in her arms. Besides, deliberately keeping her distance would only make it seem like she cared more than she did.
“Thank you.”
In the car, she expected it to be awkward, but the atmosphere was just plain bizarre.
As soon as Benson got in the car, he started writing furiously, muttering to himself the whole time.
“Admit it, you never loved him. He was just a means for you to slap a ‘normal’ label on yourself in this conventional world. You gave birth to him, but you despised him, even hated him. You’ve been torturing him for over a decade
He wasn’t just muttering; he was performing, complete with emotional delivery and animated gestures when he got to an exciting part.
Is this man sane?
Sherry glanced back at Penelope with a small smile. “My cousin really immerses himself when he’s writing. This time is actually not so bad, it’s just a murderer.”
“Just a murderer? What was he before?”
“One time… the protagonist of his script was a eunuch
Penelope pictured it for a moment. It was both bizarre and comical, and she had to suppress a laugh.
“Your cousin isn’t married and doesn’t have a girlfriend, does he?”
“Uh, no.”
“I can’t imagine any sane woman marrying him.”
As they were talking, Benson suddenly let out a wail.
“No! I love my son! I love him! You can’t deny what I’ve done for him! Who are you to
judge? You don’t understand anything!”
Benson’s voice had changed to that of an older woman, and the imitation was surprisingly convincing.
Benson grew more and more
agitated, Switching between sinister
laughter and loud sobs. Penelope
watched, stunned and covered
Kristin’s ears so she wouldnt be scared.
het
Just as they were approaching Natalie’s house, Benson abruptly snapped out of it. He looked down at
the pages he’d just written and nodded in satisfaction.
“You… hey, what’s your name?” Benson asked, turning to Penelope.
Penelope studied him carefully, and once she was sure he was back to normal, she
answered, “Penelope Laurier.”
“Ms. Laurier.” Benson said with a
gentle smile. “Because of you, I finally broke through a plot point I’ve been stuck on for two weeks. Thank
Youre
I really mean it.”
“Is that so?” Penelope’s lips twitched. “It’s my honor to have been of service, Mr. Cooper.”
“I’ll take you to dinner sometime to thank you properly.”
“You’re too kind.”
Dinner is definitely not necessary. I don’t want him to scare me into having a breakdown.
“But I’m not free anytime soon.”
“Then let’s just say I owe you one. If you ever need help with anything, just ask.”