Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 564

Chapter 564: Thank you for being my friend.

[FLASHBACK]

"Penny, you shouldn’t let your own family do that to you." Nathaniel reclined, resting his hands on either side of him. He gazed up at the bridge not far from the short slope where they were drinking beer. "Why do you even stick around when you know they wouldn’t appreciate you?"

He cocked his head back, snapping his eyes at her. All he saw was her smile as she hissed after chugging down the cold beer.

"You’re drinking too much tonight," he pointed out. "I knew it. Something happened tonight, didn’t it?"

Penny looked at him and scrunched up her face. "Do I drink when things go south?" she clicked her tongue. "I’m drinking because I feel like celebrating."

"Why? What are you celebrating, huh?"

"Well." Penny shrugged, looking away from him, smiling. "My brother told me I did a good job."

"Huh?"

She smiled, almost as if she was suppressing a giggle. "He even patted me on the head."

"..." Nathaniel crinkled his nose in disbelief at watching her so gleefully after getting a pat on the head. "I can pat your head too, and it wouldn’t mean anything to me!"

"Who said it would mean anything to me if you did?"

He frowned at that quick change in her expression. Just moments ago, she had been giggling in happiness after receiving a pat from her brother, but now she was looking at him with disdain.

"This world is unfair!" he expressed angrily, earning a laugh from her. "Goodness. Why do you do that to your brothers, huh? Are they your gods or something? It seems to me you’re almost—no, you’re legit worshiping them!"

"So what?" she mocked. "Even if I worship them or this beer, does it matter to you?"

"Of course!" he blurted out, making her brows rise.

"Why would it matter to you?"

"Ah..." Nathaniel opened and closed his mouth, watching her blink at him innocently. "Well... ahem! You’re my friend—of course, it matters to me! Your family abuses you and discarded you a long time ago! There’s no need to please them or win their hearts."

Penny pressed her lips and tilted her head to the side. After a moment, she shook her head and looked away from him.

"My family doesn’t abuse me," she answered, smiling. "I abuse me."

"What the hell is that about?"

"I mean... I’m letting them." Penny smacked her lips as she looked up. "I love my family even though they do not love me back. I always find myself giving up many times, but I still find myself running back to them whenever they need me."

"Isn’t that abuse? Taking advantage of you?"

"But when they need me, I feel like I have purpose." Penny smiled as she faced him squarely, with no trace of anything but innocence and purity. "Today, I feel like everything was worth it."

Despite the lack of light in the surroundings, her smile was so bright that one could easily overlook the remnants of exhaustion on her face. Her face was small, and her cheeks were a little hollow. Penny was petite—almost malnourished. However, she didn’t look pitiful at all.

’I hope you disappear,’ was what he wanted to tell her, lowering his gaze. ’Disappear and never show your face here ever again.’