After filming of Wayne's drama was halted for a couple of days, being a new actor, he couldn't catch a break. His schedule was packed with advertising photoshoots daily. Penny, who was still not able to get through to Pei Li had been diligently keeping Wayne accompanied and assisting him.
Their relationship had developed deeper that Penny wondered if she should still reach out to Pei Li. A part of her wanted all this for Pei Li but a part of her was happy for herself as though accepting the reward from Pei Li whom she had been protecting all this while.
While she sat by the bench waiting for Wayne to wrap up his photoshoot, she was approached by an unfamiliar figure dressed in black with a cap and mask. He was covered so properly that Penny couldn't identify his face. Feeling suspicious, she wanted to shift away only for him to start talking.
"Remember me sister in law?" The guy's voice was somewhat familiar to Penny. Someone who knew of her legal status with Wayne made it even worse. Her worries of being spied on during the day of the filming accident resurfaced.
He calmly crossed his leg while seated next to Penny not realising it wasn't Pei Li. Penny tried softening her squinted eyes in confusion, trying to imitate Pei Li. Her intention was for the guy to pull down his face mask but he was smart as he chuckled.
"It's me again. Still don't believe he isn't one of the Shao's?" The man chuckled, which reminded Penny of the person Wayne and her were suspecting.
She instantly changed her demeanour to become innocent.
"I remember… What is your name brother? Are you very close to the Shao's?" Penny tested and instantly could hear a sharp inhale from the guy.
"Nothing interesting for you to know. Looks like you have been taking good care of my brother…" He chuckled in a sinister way which gave chills to Penny. She couldn't shake off being paranoid about being tracked and watched.
"Where have you been, big brother? Why didn't you come more often?" Penny pestered on in a cute way.
"Don't worry little sister in law. We will meet more often… Make sure you continue to look after my brother well…" Once again he chuckled eerily before leaving.
"At least give me a name?" She pleaded.
"TP."
Penny wanted to pry more but she was worried she would give herself away. Instead, she waved goodbye to him innocently.
TP on the surface didn't ring any bells when she went through the list of crew members' names she had worked with, which she had compiled in the diary shared with Pei Li to keep each other updated. There may be only three names that fit the list, but they were all girls' names.
He lied. He can't be from work... Penny thought to herself as her mind shifted to their relatives.
His father, Shao Shiau Peng... SP. Eldest brother Liew Wei. LW. Second brother… Teng Poon. TP. Third brother Teng Pin. TP. She shuddered at her realisation. It was either of the two brothers, but she had met them before. She vaguely recalled none of them were of this height except Liew Wei and Wayne.
Her instinct was telling her the biggest suspect was Liew Wei, but she could not bring herself to ignore the initial TP.
Penny ended up meddled in her worries the whole day.
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That morning, after a quick local breakfast of soft-boiled eggs with toast, Violet and Dexter went to his old family house for the will hearing. Present was not only James but all of Dexter's aunties and uncles. Sinisterly, Edward was nowhere to be seen.
Lucky for them, James knew the couple didn't want to be around for too long, so he kept the reading simple, directed only at them despite the complaints made by other relatives and mockery for the delay of Edward not being present.
To the couple's surprise, they were left with all of the inheritance since he was the only child and Violet was her favourite. It was regardless of their marital status. Both individuals were to split the inheritance equally with a letter specially given to both of them.
Dexter & Violet
The pretty cursive handwriting was instantly recognised by them as his mother's handwriting. Despite the insults and curses hurled at the couple, none of them paid any attention to the noise. Though some questioned the validity of the will and tried challenging it against the one Edward was supposed to present, James countered all of them with the updated date on the will, which was only a month ago.
Violet wanted to renounce her portion on the spot with James, but Dexter shook his head sternly. For once, he took her hand and left the house with James trailing the couple. To him, it was a gesture to leave the family for good since his mother had passed on. There were no other reasons for him to return ever again.
In the car as she drove, he was controlling his emotions. Halfway, she parked by the roadside. He met her gaze in surprise.
She sighed and held his hand. "Are you alright?" Her question made him quickly open up the letter in his hand.
My dearest son and daughter,
No matter what happens, you both remain my children. Here is what I had left just for you both. Don't ever let it go. Not even to each other, because I have ensured I provide my children sufficiently before I leave. Sigh, I don't want to leave so early this way. Whether you are both together or not, I'm still grateful to have you both.
Till death do I love both.
Mum
The note tore down Dexter's tough walls, blocking all his emotions before this. He didn't want to in front of Violet, knowing where they were heading next, but this note had pushed him to his limits. He wondered perhaps it was his mother's last ticket to help him save his marriage, but he knew it was too late as he broke down on her shoulder.
"Mum… After all that I had done. She…" He said while closing his eyes.
"It's fine… You deserve it. Let me transfer to you my share?" She suggested, while blinking away her tears as he shook his head.
"I don't need it. It's also what you deserve. If you love her, you would honour her wish." He said, meeting her gaze. She nodded with her eyes reddened before passing him some tissues.
"Thank you for letting me feel what it is like to be dragged out and saved from the insults for once." She said as he smiled.
"I'm sorry, I realised all this too late… I'm so sorry, Vi…" Dexter apologised helplessly as Violet gave him a sad smile.
"I wouldn't be returning either. There's no point… Let's go to the bureau." He concluded.
She nodded before driving them to the civil bureau.
When they arrived, they unexpectedly bumped into familiar faces.
They first heard familiar voices bickering. Violet didn't think much of it till they saw who they were.
Violet stood with Dexter watching Edward fighting with his wife, Jennifer and the highlight was Edward's secretary, Lily was standing by his side.
"I was stupid to ever marry into your family! You're nothing but a puppet! You don't even have the guts to stand up against your father! I was so blind! Mark my words, I will divorce you and claim what's worth of my family's fortune! Leechers!" Jennifer wailed before turning and seeing the couple.
She walked towards Violet while noticing Dexter was keeping her closer to him. Jennifer scoffed at his gesture.
"Aren't you both here to divorce? Why are you so protective of her?" Jennifer mocked Dexter before averting her gaze at Violet.
"Good that you are divorcing him. All the men in this family are useless!" Jennifer concluded before storming away.
Violet and Dexter knew better not to say anything, as the next scene confirmed their guesses of seeing them all in this bureau.
Lily was checking on Edward and helping him to adjust his tie. Dexter and Violet shared a glance as their actions were overly intimate for an employer-employee relationship. Upon realising they were being watched, Edward harumped to signal for Lily to leave.
"Sorry to catch me on a not-so-good time. So are the papers ready to file?" Edward asked casually.
"You can scrap whatever I have given before. We are finalising today." Dexter said flatly
Edward gave them a half-mocking laugh, knowing it was an uncontested divorce.
"So much for the trouble… Fine, suit yourself! Good riddance after all! Since we are both free men, we could have a drink or two, celebrating with some you know…" He was hinting at the club's hostesses, but Dexter ignored him, wanting to leave, only to catch Violet refusing to move despite being pulled by Dexter.
"Why? Not willing to divorce? Aww, not the first time these papers were stopped." Edward mocked before stepping closer to her.
She did it on purpose to provoke Edward and waited for his reaction anyway. She had always been doing this to taunt Edward since they were young.
"I'm, after all, always available…" He teased Violet with a hidden meaning, and that made Dexter furious, wanting to punch him, but Violet stopped him cause she had gotten her motive.
"Don't." Her stern instruction made Dexter slow down.
"Don't waste time on such a pest. He isn't worth it. Even with so much money in this world, he is still and will always remain ungrateful. That's why he can only result in bullying others instead of earning the respect he always wanted." Violet was directing each sentence at Edward though she was facing Dexter with a calm demeanour.
They could hear Lily rushing towards Edward but he waved her aside.
"Meanwhile…" Violet's gaze moved from Lily to Edward.
"Someone should enjoy his crappy life… After all, who knows how long your fortune will last…" She smirked before taking a step forward to Edward who looked terrified cause she had pointed out the truth that with Jennifer divorcing him, their family wealth would be back to a downfall. After all, Jennifer's family fashion business empire was the reason he became even more ego now.
"If you dare…" She grabbed his collar which sent both Lily and Dexter panicking. Edward was nervous because she knew Violet could be ruthless.
"Lay any hands or leave your crappy trail on him, I would not hesitate to return to teach you a lesson… like I did when we were young." Violet was itching to give Edward a slap but controlled herself.
Instead she didn't expect a snap of her finger in front of him was enough to make him flinch into Lily's arms.