Recalling all the accidents Zoren had experienced over the years, this was the first time he almost fell for a scheme. He blamed himself for that. After all, he simply missed and longed for Penny so much that he was more than desperate to believe anyone who claimed to be her.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that if Patricia hadn't slipped up, Zoren would have happily turned a blind eye to how annoying her voice was or how her perfume hurt his nose. He wouldn't have nitpicked and would have simply believed that this was his old friend, someone he could trust.
But alas, she slipped up in the first fifteen minutes.
---
Seated on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand, his leg casually resting over the other, Zoren stared at the bonfire on the outdoor patio. He listened to the soft crackle of wood burning and slowly breaking in these unstoppable flames.
"Sir."
