Chapter 48: Penny
An hour later, and somehow, somehow, I’m still trapped in a bound game sheden with ten Hayes brothers who could not be more different If they triadi
I honestly don’t even remember hos Tyler convinced us
One second Asher was stonewalling the entire ides, practically glued to the couch with his arms crossed like a bouncer at a bad club, and the next Tyler was pleading like a five–year–old begging for her cream before dinner.
Something about how it was Asher’s duty to “bond” with his brother.
Something about how Tyler needed someone to finally beat me at Monopoly because, in his exact words, “the’s a demon in cute clathing and the must be
I’d snorted, flipping my hair over my shoulder with
“Unbeatable,” I said simply, like it was a law of nature.
Asher had grunted-
the dramatic fair I could muster.
Ime, disbelieving sound that somehow managed to say Challenge accepted without him even opening his mouth
Now here we are, an hour deep into financial warfare, and I am, of
winning
Because some things in life are just facts.
And Penelope Morgan reigns supreme at Monopoly.
Tyler has been to jail four times.
Faur
His little
red picer is basically renting a permanent room there
His properties are scattered, mortgaged, a sad broken empire that used to dream big but now cries softly in the corner.
“I hate this game,” he mutters dramatically, slumping face–first onto the board and nearly knocking over all the tiny houses.
1 lean back on my hands and grin down at him.
“You said that already,” I remind him sweetly. “And yet here you are. Still
He gmans loudly, fare still mashed into the board
“I knew this was a bad idea,” he says, his voice muffled.
“I should’ve just stayed at home and let the storm take me.”
Asher-
stoic, annoyingly unbothered Asher –
shrugs and rolls the dice like he’s doing something as boring as breathing
lasing
He moves his piece calmly, his pile of cash neat and stacked with military prection.
And okay, I have to admit
Chapter 48: Penny
He’s doing alarmingly well for someone who claimed to hate board games with his entire soul,
Still not winning, obviously.
But not embarrassing himself like a certain other Hayes in the room,
“How are you good at this? Tyler accuses him, sitting up and glaring.
-You hate games.
Asher glances at him, expression completely flat.
“It’s just strategy,” he says simply. “Planning, Risk management Calculated aggression
I stare at him for a beat.
“Did you just turn Monopoly into a tactical military exercise? | ask, eyebrows raised.
He shrugs again, as if to say, I there any other way?
Before I can roast him further for that absurd answer, my phone buzzes on the coffee table.
I reach for it, frowning when I see the name lighting up the screen
Madame Loretto.
ph no
oh no no no
My stomach drops to somewhere around my ankles, and I swear the room gets colder..
I hold up the phone helplessly
Madame,” I whisper, my voice climbing a full octave in
octave in panic.
Tyler leans toward Asher and stage–whispers, “That’s her scary
ballet teacher.”
Thanks for that, Tyler.
Really helpful.
1 scramble to answer, p
putting the phone to my ear with hands that are definitely not shaking, thank you very
much.
“Hello, Madame Loretto?” I say, trying to sound like I have my life together.
Her voice slices through the line, sharp and precise like a scalpel.
“Penelope. Good afternoon. Before you ask, no results yet it’s only Wednesday.
–
My heart, which had been preparing itself to either explode in joy or shrivel in despair,
Not results.
will be informed Saturday,”
, immediately does a screeching U–tun
Not yet.
Chapter 48: Penny
Relief hits me first.
Then dira, because if she
the antion, why is the calling at all?
Madame Loretta duenot believe in censal chats.
“However, the continues, her tone growing even cier
I am calling to remind you that this is not a vacation. You are to maintain your flexibility and technique. Stretch Work your medines, Attend the community studio if needed;
I nod frantically even though she can’t see me.⠀⠀
“Yes, Madame. Of course, Madame, I say, napping tis attention like she’s going to appear in the living room and Launch into a full inspection.
“Good. See that you do?
The line goes dead
Tlower the phone slowly, feeling the weight of her disapproval like it’s a physical thing.
Both His brothers are staring at me.
I force a smile
le that feels more like a grimace.
1, uh. I need to practice,” I say
Tyler blinks
I nod, already standing, tucking my phone into my pocket like it’s cursed.
“Yeah. At least stretch and run through a
Without waiting for an argument, I sprint upstairs and change- tights, tiny shorts over them, tank top tight across my
Hair in a u
a quick bun
No time to be cute
Madame Loretto’s imaginary wrath breathing down my neck is a powerful motivatar.
When I come back down, dragging my portable hame from behind the couch, I catch both pays staring
Well.
Tyler is staring like hes seeing a fun show he didn’t buy tickets
Ashet…
His gaze pins me in place, heavy, magnetic, focused in a way that makes my skin fash botter under the thin
tank
Like he could take me apart and put me back together without blinking.
Heat prickles up the back of my neck, but I shove it down.
Okay.” I say brightly, clapping my hands together. “You guys can leave now and save yourselves. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Tyler flops dramatically back onto the couch.
3/5
Chapter 48: Penny
“Nonsense,” he says: “I still need to beat Ash…
Asher sports under his breath
a low, disbelieving sond
but doesn’t move from where he’s sitting.
Creat.
An audience.
Exactly what I needed while trying to preserve what’s left of my dignity.
| plant my feet, flexing and pointing, breathing derp, trying to center myself.
I can do this.
performed on stage in front of hundreds of people.
Surely I can stretch in front of two very distracting one in particular–human beings.
Right?
ve into a
move
a basic plié, sinking low, arms rounding in front of me.
The silence is heavy but not unpleasant.
Every once in a while, Tyler mutters something about mortgaged properties and dumb dice rolls.
Asher doesn’t say a word.
But every time I glance over
out of the corner of my eye
be’s there.
Watching
Not in a creepy way.
Not even in a flirty way.
Just… noticing.
Like hes reading every movement I make, cataloging it, storing it somewhere behind those unteadable eyes.
and his ga
gaze never wavers.
I stretch higher, balancing on the halls of my feet, arms overhead, and
y heart pounds louder with every breath
Madame Loretto might’ve been the one who ordered me to practice.
But Asher Hayes is the one setting my nerves on fire.
And the worst part?
4/5
Chapter 48: Penny
I don’t know how to make it stop.
I’m not sure I event want to.
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