"I... I'm sorry"
Those words pierced straight through Penelope's heart. For a moment, her chest tightened so painfully she thought she might stop breathing, yet beneath that ache... something warm quietly spread through her body.
Relief.
A strange, cruel, beautiful relief~
Her trembling fingers slowly curled around the spoon resting beside her plate while a faint smile touched her lips. She knew her heart hurt. She knew she should not have felt happy hearing rejection from the man sitting in front of her.
Yet she smiled anyway.
Because he was no longer looking at her with that unbearable kindness. He was not accepting her feelings out of pity, guilt, or sympathy.
He answered her honestly.
He never looked at her that way...
Those words still echoed softly inside her head, calm and direct, exactly the kind of answer she expected from him.
"T-Thank you... Mr. Lackey."
