Now this was serious. Penelope immediately took several steps away from Norton, not wanting to be caught in the blast radius.
Norton’s eyes darted back and forth. He squeezed out a single tear and pointed to a bruise on his arm from the fight. “Bro, they hit me,” he whimpered. “It hurts.”
Theodore’s eyes narrowed. “Clearly, they didn’t hit you enough.”
“Bro!”
“Tell me the truth.”
Norton tried to deflect, but seeing the storm gathering on Theodore’s face, he finally mumbled, “I… I really did just stumble upon those two adulterers by accident.”
“Norton.”
“Hamilton and that starlet.”
“Stumbling upon them was an accident. What about taking pictures and leaking them online?”
“I…” Norton hesitated, then threw caution to the wind. “He has a wife, but he’s still out there cheating! Behavior like that deserves to be exposed and condemned by the public. I was performing an act of justice!”
Theodore’s response to this “act of justice” was a swift slap to the back of Norton’s head.
“You think I don’t know what you were really trying to do?”
Norton rubbed his nose, not denying it. “Natalie deserves a better man. Hamilton isn’t worthy of her.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Well, I’m better than Hamilton.”
Theodore was so angry he almost laughed. “And how, exactly, are you better than him?”
“In every way.”
Penelope couldn’t help but smile. Norton had really played the long game this time. First, he leaked the scandal about Hamilton and the starlet. Then he rushed to Natalie’s film set, planning to swoop in while she was vulnerable. He never could have predicted that Natalie would leave the set to clean up Hamilton’s mess. Unwilling to give up, he had waited for her, only to be caught. All that effort for nothing. And now that his scheme was exposed, a beating was inevitable.
“Wasn’t I awesome in that fight just now?” she asked, nudging him with her elbow.
Timothy made a face. “I can’t believe a violent woman like you actually found someone to love her. He must have strange taste.”
“Get lost.”
After his punishment, a miserable-looking Norton emerged from the alley behind Theodore, rubbing his backside and the back of his head.
“Alright, you two should head back to school,” Penelope said, giving Norton a meaningful look.
Norton took the cue. “Bro, I’m going back to school now! I promise I won’t cause any more trouble!” He then scampered off. Timothy rolled his eyes and followed.
Seeing that they were alone, Penelope immediately turned on the charm, trying to snuggle up to Theodore and make him forget she had instigated a street fight. But he was having none of it. He gently pushed her away and started walking back, a clear sign of his displeasure.
Was he really that angry?

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