Chapter 576

But just as she was about to leave, she turned back. She wasn’t fully dressed. She threw her clothes on in a hurry, not caring if Theodore was watching, and then ran out.
Theodore took several deep, heavy breaths. When it came to Penelope, he always felt a sense of powerlessness.
He opened his own wardrobe to get some clothes, but as he did, he saw Penelope’s discarded wet clothes in a pile on the floor. He took another deep breath and, resigning himself to the task, picked them up—her outerwear and her underwear.
He put them in the laundry basket along with his own clothes. The housekeeper would come by later to take them to be washed.
Penelope deliberately avoided the living room and used a side door to get to the kitchen.
The moment she opened the kitchen door, she was hit by a thick, acrid smell. She quickly turned off the stove and lifted the pot lid. The tea had completely boiled away, and the bottom of the pot was scorched black.
She grabbed a cloth, used it to hold the hot handle, and lifted the pot to move it to the sink. But just then, the kitchen door was pulled open. Startled by the sight of Sherry standing there, Penelope dropped the pot.
She frantically reached for it, forgetting the cloth, and badly burned her hand.
“Ah!”
She quickly pulled her hand back, but blisters were already forming on her fingers.
“Are you alright?” Sherry came in, her voice full of concern.
Penelope shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’ll just put some ointment on it later.”
“You’re the housekeeper, right?”
“Huh?” It took Penelope a moment to process the question. She looked down at her simple jeans and sweatshirt. It was true she wasn’t dressed in designer labels like Sherry, but she didn’t think she looked like a housekeeper.
But whatever. She didn’t care what Sherry thought of her.
“Wait here, I’ll go find some burn cream.”
“You don’t have to Before she could finish, Sherry had already run out.
Sherry had a quiet beauty, not the striking, vibrant kind, but her gentle eyes and soft features were very pleasant. She was the very picture of a well-bred, graceful, and virtuous young woman.
No wonder Theodore had chosen her. This was probably his ideal type all along. Penelope had just been an exception.
Sherry quickly returned with the ointment and even helped apply it.
Just then, Theodore came downstairs and saw the two of them together. He frowned.
“Theodore, she didn’t mean to make a mess in the kitchen. Please don’t scold her.”
Sherry, assuming Penelope was the
hought she had et
messed up and was trying to defend her from Theodore’s wrath
“Do you know who she is?” Theodore asked, his eyes narrowing.
Sherry nodded. “She’s your housekeeper.”
Theodore looked at Penelope, who had lowered her head, clearly feeling guilty.
He was silent for a moment. “She’s not the housekeeper. She’s my ex-wife. Julian’s mother.”
Sherry was stunned to hear this.
Penelope was stunned too. She never expected Theodore to just come out and say
it, especially not like this.
“Ms. Austin, please don’t
misunderstand. Theodore and I
don’t normally see each other just came to drop Julian off today,
“I’m not misunderstanding.” Sherry shook her head. “Theodore has already told me
all about you two.”
“Oh.”
Penelope’s heart clenched again. It seemed he was truly serious about Sherry, enough to tell her about their past.
“Uh, is your hand okay?” Sherry asked.
“Yes. I… I should go.”
Feeling inexplicably flustered, Penelope rushed to the foot of the stairs to call for Julian and Kristin. Just then Theodore spoke again, addressing Sherry.
“She won’t be appearing in our lives again. You don’t have to worry.”