PAMPERED

380 She’s different when drunk

Meanwhile, in the CEO’s office of the Prime Group… D

Hugo glanced at Atlas, seated across from him, running his tongue across his inner cheek. It was still early in the morning, and many people in the world were either preparing to go to work or on their way. But here they were, and Hugo had to watch Atlas quietly fume until he could

unleash it.

“First Brother,” Hugo called after a prolonged, stifling silence. “You’re not going to kill Penny, are you?”

then

Atlas slowly snapped his sharp eyes at his second brother. His lips parted, but he pressed

them shut..

“Ha ha…” Hugo let out an awkward laugh. “That bad, huh?”

Atlas drew a deep breath and huffed. “And you?” he asked. “Where were you last night?”

“Well-”

“I saw you come home and then leave last night,” Atlas added, cutting him off mid–sentence. “And you’re also here so early in the morning when I arrived last night, and you still haven’t made it home. You’re still wearing the clothes you wore yesterday, and you smell really bad.”

Atlas was not in the mood to play nice, exposing everything he knew. He was expecting his second brother to either tell him the truth or shut up. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“How did you know she didn’t go home last night?” Atlas asked directly.

Hugo scratched the back of his head and smiled. He didn’t answer, knowing everything he would tell his first brother would be a lie. His silence was enough for an answer. Hence, Atlas didn’t pry any further.

“But, First Brother, why are you so angry that Penny left last night?” asked Hugo, hoping he would get an answer from Atlas. “It’s not like it’s the first time she didn’t go home. I mean, Penny lived independently until now. Even though she lived with Uncle Haines, she’s an adult.”

It wasn’t like Hugo didn’t know this could be a worry, but at the same time, if it was just a simple worry, Atlas wouldn’t go as far as to drive around searching for her. Penny was a grown woman. Whether she was the youngest or still the little princess in their eyes, they all knew Penny was a capable adult.

She was a capable child, so she was even more capable as an adult.

Therefore, it didn’t make sense to him that Atlas was acting the way he was.

“She was drunk,” said Atlas, snapping his eyes at Hugo. “Have you seen her drunk before?”

Hugo tilted his head a little to the side. “She’s cute?”

Atlas blinked, waiting for Hugo to tell him more.

“Last night was the first time I’ve seen her drunk, Hugo sighed. “I think she’s cute. A little

<

380 She’s different when drunk

Much to Hugo’s surprise, Atlas snorted. “Why, First Brother? I think she’s really cute.”

“She’s just that drunk, huh?”

“What do you mean by that?” Deep lines appeared between Hugo’s brows as he noticed Atlas sighing for reasons unknown. “First Brother, is there something wrong when Penny gets drunk?”

“Mhm.”

“What is it?”

“She looks for trouble. She turns into a completely different person.” Atlas’s answer was vague, his eyes moving to the desk in the office. “Worst of all is that she doesn’t even remember it when she wakes up.“.

“She’s that wasted?”

Atlas snapped his eyes back to Hugo. “She only had one glass of wine that time.”

“A glass of wine, and she’s already looking for trouble? Wow” Hugo was amused and confused at the same time. “I know she’s a lightweight since she only had a cocktail last night, but she’s already cute.”

“If she’s acting cute and not like a demoness straight from hell, then that’s good.” Atlas heaved a sigh of relief. “Even so, why didn’t she come home? Where did she sleep?”

‘I think I know where,‘ was what Hugo wanted to say, only to bite his tongue to stop himself. He promised Penny not to tell anyone about Zoren. He needed to keep that promise.

Atlas shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as his head slightly hurt.

“First Brother, are you okay?” Hugo

inquired, worried. “If you’re worried about Penny, there are at lot of places she could’ve slept. This building is one of them, but since she’s not here, there are others. There’s the Cortez household, her friends, or a hotel. She’s probably scared of you. That’s why she didn’t dare come home.”

“I’m not worried about her. My head hurts, probably because I only slept a few hours.” Atlas straightened his back and rose from his seat, fixing the buttons of his suit.

“Where are you going?”

“To work,” he answered flatly. “Are you going to wait for her here? Then tell her to meet me at lunch.”

Having said that, Atlas trudged out of the office while Hugo’s gaze followed him. When Atlas closed the door behind him, silence quickly ensued in the office.

Hugo tilted his head to the side, still mystified at what Atlas had just sald. “She turns into a different person when drunk?” he muttered, confused. “How? And when did he see her get drunk?”

There were only a few instances when Atlas went to see Penny when she was abroad. However, Hugo was mostly at the base and was unaware of all of them.

“Now, I’m curious to know this side of her, he told himself. “First Brother wouldn’t react this way

380 She’s different when drunk

Hugo chuckled as he leaned back, throwing himself against the backrest of the couch. He then sniffed, smelling something nasty. Lifting his arms a bit, he lowered his head to get a whiff of his body. His face twisted.

“I do smell,” he told himself, thinking Atlas was kind enough to refrain from telling him Hugo’s scent probably caused his headache. Or was Atlas’s real intention to punish Penny by letting his second brother’s smell linger in her office?

Either way, Hugo left the office, only to go to the top floor’s room where Penny had built her own place.