PAMPERED

172 I am being bullied

“Isn’t it lovely to live in this country!? This county is the best place to live… if you’re a criminal, right, officers?!” @

The madman they arrested from a brawl continued to laugh maniacally until some officers took him somewhere else. Even when being dragged, he expressed his dismay toward the wife and the cowardly husband who could only fight women.

“Tch!” Grace clicked her tongue through her gritted teeth, glaring daggers at her parents. “You two… you’re just the same!”

As soon as the last syllable rolled out of her tongue, she ran away with a heavy heart. Grace ran away s

so fast that some lazy police officer couldn’t stop her.

“Eh. She’s just being dramatic,” said

come home.”

dr father while waving dismissively. ‘Don’t mind her. She’ll

Hugo, Charles, and Haines weren’t pleased with how this man would not even show the slightest remorse. However, after writing up their reports, the officers let all of them leave – just like that.

It was a frustrating experience for everyone and, in a way, the experience would be like a splinter stuck in their hearts.

When they left the station, the Bennet Family returned to the square to meet up with everyone. Thankfully, Charles was quick enough to alert Haines and Allison so as not to cause panic. Allison stayed with Atlas and Slater to make sure everyone wouldn’t panic while Charles and Haines looked for Penny and Hugo.

Therefore, when they returned, they had to socialize and celebrate the success of the club’s mission. Acting like nothing happened was a skill many in the upper echelon learned. Which explains how the Bennets quickly put on their smiling faces.

But when the charity event ended, and they were on the way home, Slater and Atlas nagged Hugo for not telling them when he left with Penny. The couple, Penny, and Hugo decided not to worry the other children unnecessarily. So, they didn’t detail what actually happened.

“Penny, don’t disappear like that again,” Slater repeated as he idled in Penny’s bedroom after they reached home. “Do you know how worried we were?”

Penny looked up at him from the bed with her pets while Slater stood near the door. “Sorry.” “Penny, nothing really happened?” he asked suspiciously. “You, Mom and Dad, Uncle Haines, and even Second Brother had been acting strange since you came back. What really happened?” “Well… hmm…” she rubbed her chin, thinking she agreed not to tell her other brothers en thou

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172 lambeing bullied

wouldn’t have to worry. What happened already happened it was done.

Assessing Slater longer than she should, Penny blurted out, “Third Brother, if, somehow, your bullies were caught bullying you by a teacher or the headmaster, would you tell them the truth?”

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“Or would you keep quiet and deny it?”

“Penny, are we talking about this again? I haven’t decided on what to do yet,” he frowned, assuming this was Penny’s way of reminding him about coming clean to his parents.

“That’s not my intention. I’m just curious why would victims deny and protect their abusers?”

“Because that’s what happens when you’ve been abused for so long. Your spirits break and you. somehow believe it’s your fault.”

“Are you like that?”

“I’m not bullied that long, but I’ve seen some people, he casually explained. “I’m only picked on by Keith when I told him off. He targeted me since then, and our family’s relationship with their family isn’t really good. So, that added to his reasons for picking on me.”

Slater leaned his side against the wall. “Why are you asking?”

“Third Brother, if I didn’t find out about your situation… do you think you’d be dependent on your bullies as well?”

For some reason, his breath stopped, unable to answer her question.

If not for Penny….

It wasn’t like Slater didn’t know what Penny had done to make his life a lot casier. She never mentioned it before, nor did she ask for credit for it. But now that she mentioned it in a tone that genuinely came from pure curiosity, it touched a part of his heart he never thought existed before.

“Maybe,” he admitted under his breath as this sense of bitterness crept into his heart. “I mean, yes. Penny, can I ask you a question?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you help me when I was mean to you?”

“Why is that a question?” she blurted out. “Even if you’re mean to me, you’re still my brother. I might bully you, but it’s different if others did it to you or any of our family.”

“Right?” Slater let out a short laugh.

Penny pressed her lips into a thin line. Before she could say anything, Slater peeled his side from the wall.

“Anyway, you should rest first. Today is fun, but also tiring,” he said. “I gotta go back to my room. I forgot I have to do something!”

Her mouth parted, but Slater already fled before she could speak. Deep lines appeared between

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172 lam being bullied

her brows, staring at the door he slammed closed.

‘Why did he suddenly act so strangely?” she wondered, but then shook her head and didn’t dwell

on it.

Right now, she wanted to think about how to help Grace. Clearly, Grace’s mother was already too trapped in their situation that she would blatantly lie, even when help was right in front of her. Not to mention, Grace ran away earlier.

“She worries me…” another whisper slipped past Penny’s. “How can I help her with this body?”

Oh, how she wished she was already an adult now. Things would be a lot easier if she were.

***

Unlike what Slater said, he didn’t go back to his room. Instead, he made his way to his father’s study, where he and Haines would be. Standing in front of the study room, he gazed at the door.

He clasped his hands into a tight fist and gulped a mouthful. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then he knocked. Even before he could hear anyone from the inside permitting him to come in, he reached for the knob and slowly opened the door.

“Slater?” Charles, who was leaning against the desk, turned to him with furrowed brows. Surprisingly, Allison was also in the study, seated on the couch.

Haines was standing by the window, looking at Slater curiously. “Slater, do you need anything?”

Slater raised his head and looked straight at his father. “I am being bullied,” he confessed bravely before his resolve could wane. “For a year, I have been bullied. That’s why Penny suddenly asks. to go to school to stop the bullying.”

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This mini mass release is my appreciation for helping me reach Ik Golden Tickets <3 I hope you enjoy and I’ll also take this opportunity to make some announcements.

I will be adding privilege tiers for the month of August. The privilege will go online

Thank you for the 4k unlocks