Every time Violet tried to sleep, she kept being jolted awake by her dream of falling off in the air. It was too terrifying for her to continue till she suddenly felt a pair of sturdy arms gently tapping the side of her shoulder to calm her.
She was sleeping on her stomach due to her back injury as she turned to her right to find Sebastian smiling to comfort her. "Hey… Sleep, I'm here." He said softly before gently caressing her left cheek as she peered at him.
She wanted to get up but had much difficulty. Instead, she moved aside a little with a lot of pain just to get him up in bed to accompany her.
"What are you doing here?" She finally asked, surprised at his presence when he should be asleep at home or the hotel.
He sighed as he climbed into bed with her after her multiple urges. He was supposed to comfort her, but he could not control his tears at the sight of how strong she was, enduring everything.
"I'm sorry…" He apologised before breaking down into a sob as she gently rubbed her nose against his soft hair.
"It's fine… I will be alright. You will be too… Aren't we good now?" Her gentle whispers were not working this time.
"Don't endure it, Vi. It's all my fault for getting you involved. It was so painful for you to endure. It should have been me… I should have protected you better…" Sebastian was letting go of all his agony, fear and sadness, which made Violet's eyes tear up.
"Sebby, we are close to the end. We have made it this far. Things will be better…" She continued on to comfort him with positivity as they both slowly drifted to a peaceful sleep in each other's comfort.
In the morning, Violet woke groggily to herself in the hospital bed, but this time a friend was by her side. She thought it was Sebastian, but when she tried rolling over to her back before remembering she could not, she heard his voice.
"Careful, Vi! Not your back!" Maliwei alerted before putting down his sketch pad.
"Ahh… Fancy to see you here! I've been hearing from Sam occasionally about your comic preparation. How's it coming?" She asked while facing him on her left, still lying on her stomach as he raised her bed up a little.
"Yep, I'm launching next month… And I am preparing for the next sequel…" Maliwei updated while pouring her a glass of water.
"That's really a success, man… I remembered how much you had struggled back then." Violet praised as he helped her to drink from a straw.
"Thanks…" She mumbled before he sat back down by her bedside.
"It's not exactly out of the woods yet. There is lots of marketing to do, and money is still inconsistent. Distributors all pay slowly." He shrugged, which reminded Violet that he had a point.
"You could continue doing more advertisements, perhaps? That way it would be consistent and quick income too. Commission work all…" She suggested, to which he nodded in agreement.
"Yep, I'm actually involved in the storyboard and editing for the recent biscuit advertisement involving Sebastian and Wayne Shao…" Maliwei was quickly interrupted.
"Wayne? What? He's involved too?" Violet questioned in surprise.
"Yep, if you see the output of the edited advertisement, Sam really did a good job. The effects of the area, coupled with them retaking several times, hitting packets of flour to give the vibe of blending all the ingredients into the mixing bowl… Their sales are going to fly high…" Maliwei showed Violet the effect and was impressed with the editing.
"Looks like Lucky Clover's advertisement department is running the performance show at this rate…" Violet praised.
"Oh come on, boss… I'm still working for you, ain't I?" He was trying to stay humble.
"Yes, but soon you will be able to fly high like all of them…" She tried to clap but kept forgetting about her injured back.
"Hey… Take it easy…. You need a week to recover, though they allowed you to be discharged over the next two days." Maliwei informed her as she sighed.
"What are you worried about?" He prompted. "Their safety… The culprit. The agency. Sebby's mental health…" Violet sighed into the pillow as Maliwei gently tapped her head.
"Don't worry. Sam is around. He would be able to handle all of it." Maliwei tried to comfort her.
"Nay… This time is different. Besides, he has my pregnant sister-in-law to look after. We can't keep relying on him." Violet pointed out.
"Then, what do you want to do?" Maliwei questioned. "With the agency, things are under control. With Wayne and Penny's personal issue, there's nothing we can do for now except to monitor the situation." Maliwei chuckled at her ambitious self being defeated by her own thoughts.
"You should really focus on recovering. That way you would be able to do whatever you want to later." Maliwei reminded her as they continued to chit-chat.
Penny, on the other hand, was out visiting her mother after leaving Wayne to his solo filming session in the studio.
"Mum… Have you been eating well lately?" Penny asked in a less friendly manner but more concerned than Pei Li.
Mdm. Wu has always known the differences between the two identities. At first, she was shocked during her discovery back then thinking Pei Ni was still alive. She even thought she was going insane, but over the years, she slowly learnt to accept the fact that Pei Li had the same issue as her own mother did. On certain days when Pei Li was switching her personality, it was an opportunity for her to experience what it was like if Pei Ni was around.
Mdm. Wu hummed in acknowledgement while studying her look. Penny always knew Mdm. Wu had always had her suspicions all this while, but she chose not to acknowledge them.
"Mum, has anyone come to visit you while I was away?" Penny prompted while feeding her another mouthful of soup.
Mdm. Wu had noticed Penny was being disturbed throughout as she kept monitoring her surroundings and wondered if her useless husband was stalking her.
"No… Why? Is your father…" Mdm. Wu was about to panic when Penny put down the bowl of soup to hold her hands and calm her.
"No, Mum. I'm safe. I'm only checking. Wayne looks after me very well." Penny tried to calm her as Mdm. Wu managed a little smile.
"Why do you look troubled?" Mdm. Wu prompted gently, which made Penny meet her gaze, wanting for once to tell her everything like any child would to their mother, but she held back.
"Something happened? Come tell me…" She coaxed Penny very well. Penny's eyes were blurring with tears.
"An accident happened to my friend. She's fine and recovering…" Penny explained sadly. Mdm. Wu smiled gratefully at her honesty.
She hugged her "third" daughter to comfort her as any mother would. And today, she wanted to go an extra mile as a part of her was urging her to confront Penny about her condition.
"It's alright. It's alright. Everything will always be alright…" Mdm. Wu gently rubbed Penny's back as she used to remember after a traumatic episode of protecting Pei Li from her abusive father.
"Mum…" Penny's voice cracked unexpectedly.
"My dear child… You have been too strong for far too long. Thank you. Thank you for always being…" Mdm. Wu's voice cracked as her tears fell. She was pitying Penny for enduring so much for Pei Li, though she was only one of the personalities. Mdm. Wu initiated her confrontation, but still she did not dare to meet Penny's gaze.
Penny could tell of her intentions but was weary. Penny took the chance to be bold cause she knew her plans were of no turning back. She might not have a chance to thank this lady who had equally gone through so much in this cruel life of theirs.
She pulled away from their embrace as Mdm. Wu kept her eyes closed, trying to not break down before speaking like she was Pei Li.
"Mum, thank you for everything. Thank you for keeping me safe and comforting me when I most needed it. I understand you could only do that much. You had gone through a lot too… Thank you for staying this strong…" Penny said as Mdm. Wu finally broke down.
Penny hugged her for a while as she continued to monitor their surroundings. Still no signs of TP despite being very prepared to confront him alone by all means.
"What's your name?" Mdm. Wu's unexpected question caught Penny off guard.
"What… what do you mean?" Penny tried to keep her from knowing the truth.
"I am all of your mother. How would I not know? I don't need you to explain anything about your condition… I recognise it. Your grandma had gone through it worse, but never have I thought about my girls…" Mdm. Wu paused to control her emotions as Penny wiped away her own tears, learning of a new truth.
"I could at least know what my third daughter's name is, can't I?" Mdm. Wu gently coaxed Penny, who was very touched by her words.
"Penny… P E N N Y." The name reminded Mdm. Wu of her own mother even more. Her mother's condition happened after her birth. Back then, medicine and technology was not that advanced yet. Everyone thought she was possessed and had gone insane before many shamans were invited to perform rituals on her. Eventually, she succumbed to the exhaustion and torture of those fake shamans.
"Thank you… Thank you, Penny." Mdm. Wu cried in Penny's arms.
Penny could only quietly console her as she spent the entire afternoon learning about the past of Mdm. Wu's unfortunate family history. She finally understood the reason she had to endure her arranged marriage with her useless father. It was better than staying with a family who had shunned and blamed her for the death of her mother. Unfortunately, Mdm. Wu was illiterate, and one thing Penny was grateful for was the contraceptive pills she worked very hard to secure for her each time.
Penny knew Mdm. Wu was not brave enough to run away given the lack of exposure to the outside world, but at the very least she knew how to protect her only daughter left from being burdened with an illicit child. She did not want Pei Li to suffer the same shunned fate as her.
Mdm. Wu was glad she married well at least. It was a bonding Penny had never expected, Mdm. Wu accepted so nonchalantly, yet it might be her last time meeting her. It was a tender moment she wanted to remember for life for herself for once.