BLEACHED

126: You need to change

"how annoying you are." Penelope clicks her tongue and glances off to the side. "I wonder how Domen is interested in you."

"Is that a compliment?" Lavender chuckles as she smiles slightly and drops her eyes back to the icecream.

"It's not wrong." Penelope sighs as she stared at her bottle of wine and reaches out to it, wrapping her fingers around it as she traces her thumb around the brand name. "I am waiting to see if he's willing to punish me for things I did for his future. His own mother."

"You took Felix from him. You weren't a mother then. You should have understood that." Lavender frowns at her as Penelope clenches her jaw and drops her gaze down to the bowl.

"It was still for him, by the end of the day." Penelope shrugs her shoulders. "As a mother, I needed to make tough decisions for him."

"But now you've seen how much he's willing to do for Felix. You should know he doesn't mind living a standard life, as long as it's with Felix and Domen, together." Lavender points out, getting Penelope to close her eyes and stroke her forehead, feeling annoyed yet knowing she could be right.

Penelope doesn't reply to that as she simply closes her eyes and leans onto the counter.

Lavender eases her shoulders, glad she isn't spitting out any more curses at her like earlier.

Maybe the drunk version of Penelope is more calm.

Lavender drops her eyes back to the icecream, feeling the tingling sensation in her stomach to simply reach out and grab it.

"You keep staring at it, if you wanted some, you should have said something." Penelope shoves the tub of icecream towards Lavender who widens her eyes in excitement and happily grabs the tub, bringing it closer.

"I didn't know if it was respectful." She smiles as she gets up from the stool and rushes to the drawer she saw Penelope pull out a spoon from.

"You said disrespectful things, you have no shame in contradicting yourself." Penelope sighs as she watches Lavender rush back to her seat and open the icecream, digging her spoon into it before shoving it in her mouth. "And please act more civilized and not eat directly from the container."

"Oh... Sorry. Force of habit." She nods as she walks around the kitchen, forgetting where Penelope took the bowl from.

Penelope sighs and reaches into the bottom drawer, pulling another clean bowl before placing it in front of her as Lavender noticed and rushes back.

"Thank you." Lavender smiles and serves herself s full bowl before digging in.

Penelope watches as Lavender happily enjoys the cold creaming and sweet flavour and feel of the icecream.

Unlike her son, her Daughter-in-law or her grandchild, she's the only one that orders the maids to restock the icecream.

She's not in love with it, she simply enjoys it paired with wine.

Though seeing the short Lavender devour the icecream with almost no embarrassment to eat so casually in front of her, Penelope can start to understand why Domen is willing to go against her for such a simple woman.

She seems to be more happy by just eating.

"Lavender." Penelope calls as she throws a leg over the other and takes in a heavy sigh. "What if I give you an offer?"

"No, thank you." Lavender shakes her head in denial as she licks her bottom lip, ridding it of the cream she is messily eating.

"You will never have to work again. Consider it child support for the rest of your life." Penelope smiles slightly as Lavender frowns and glances down to the cupboard.

"I love Domen." Lavender shrugs her shoulders as she glances back up to meet her eyes. "That's all I can say."

Pressing her lips together, Penelope looks over to something beside her as Lavender continues eating.

"I knew you would say so." Penelope clenches her jaw and stands from her eat, grabbing her bowl. "Just as Domen bluntly refused to listen to me. You both are the same."

Lavender smiles as she gets up from the stool as well, having finished her icecream and slowly walks over to her, still unsure if Penelope is really acting normal or is just putting up a front.

"Do you wanna know the gender?" Lavender asks as she watches Penelope walks back to the cupboard where she found the bowl and puts it back after drying it.

"Even if I refuse, will that make a difference?" Penelope raises a brow at Lavender who chuckles and walks to the sink, rinsing off her bowl as well.

"It's a girl." Lavender nods slightly before grabbing the towel. "That's what the doctor said, anyway."

"Our heritage rarely has females. It's the blood of the men in the family." Penelope shakes her head. "It will be a boy."

Lavender slowly nods and looks around for a moment when she notices Penelope is really staring at her.

No, like really staring.

It almost feels as though she's thinking of something. Something... Odd.

"Your family doesn't have to be perfect." Lavender says in a mummer when she doesn't have anything else to tell the woman. "Your way isn't always the best way, anyway."

"You're not in the place to tell me that." Penelope furrows her brows down at Lavender who walks from her and stops a few feet away. "You're just a woman fortunate enough to successfully seduce my grandchild. Nothing more."

Lavender frowns and drops her gaze to the floor instead, feeling like she's taken a few steps back talking to Penelope.

Did she really even get close to her at all?

Penelope's pokerface makes it hard to tell.

"So know your place, child." Penelope clicks her tongue as she crosses her arms on her chest. "You are in no position to question my authority."

"I know." Lavender nods and takes a step back. "But you have to know that your family is turning against you, because you keep being this way." She says before turning and leaving Penelope in the kitchen, irritated at the woman who is only here because of the baby growing within her.

It would have been pleasurable if Domen had agreed to her rules. Her way of doing things.

But mixed in with his older brother, Felix, and this woman.

She knows Domen has all the reasons not to listen to her.

"This woman clearly is a problem." Penelope clenches her jaw tighter as she glares at the arch.