"What happened? Don't tell me that you can't act a simple play like this," said Damien, going to his bed and taking a seat at the center as if he were readying himself, taking a comfortable position and picking a pillow from the side that he placed on his lap.

"Don't tell me the famous Penelope of the theatre 'Arison-Ava' doesn't know how to act,"? this man had really made a good background check about her, thought Penny to herself. The question was when did he even have the time to do it?! All this while he was always around in the mansion or in the room unless he was sneaking out like a cat in the middle of the night after she was asleep. She doubted that was the case.

"Master Damien, have we met before?" she asked him apprehensively already knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Does it matter? Now quick," he rubbed his hands together, "Pick Annabeth's line from page five as there's nothing in the first few pages," more than guiding he ordered her, waiting for her to start.

Penny who had been working in the theatre before moving in with her relative's family was someone who had often looked up to be the female lead which she never got to take part in. Instead, it was always the smaller roles. She did get a few side roles which were of importance. Already having heard and read about the play as she was part of the theater, Penny didn't know why her master was interested in her playing the side character who wasn't the female lead of the play.

Like many stories, Annabeth was a human but her character was a little different than the sweet and attractive heroine of the story. She was one of the characters Penny had never taken up and wasn't that eager to play due to which Penny had never taken up the role even when it was offered.

She shifted around, with her fingers pushing the pages until she came to the fifth page which was the entrance of her character.

"Do you want me to take a nap before you start so that you can learn the lines?" he asked her, putting a slightly sad face which was a false pretense! Penny wasn't going to fall for it but with the word punishment hanging like an ax on her neck, this wasn't that bad, she said to herself. At least she wasn't going to be standing in the rain with her getting drenched.

Penny didn't have to go through the lines as she already knew most of it. And did it matter if he liked it or not? It wasn't as if he was her customer or part of the audience. When she started to clear her throat, she heard him say, "Go there. You can start from there," he directed her.

Turning around Penny walked to the far corner of the room.

Clearing her throat again she started to walk in, her head held up high, with the book rolled in her hand as if it were a weapon, "Where is Mr. Scrutioner?" she spoke loudly, her head moving left and right. She tried bringing some tears in her eyes. Bringing out tears wasn't that hard for her but with Damien Quinn sitting there looking at her like a child-like expression which she hadn't seen before caught her off guard that she lost the ability to tear up at the scene. The scene was where the hero of the story had jilted his fiance which Penny was right now playing.

Taking the bedpost to be the person, she looked up at it, "Please don't leave me Mr.?Scrutioner. You promised me when you bought me the flowers that you would stay by my side."

"Where did I say that?" said Damien suddenly jumping into the scene which Penny had not expected.

"B-but," stammered Penny who had with great difficulty tried to remember the lines which now felt lost.

"But what? Where did the flowers say I promised a wedding?" Asked Damien filling up the hero's role while still sitting on the bed. He waved his hand for her to continue.

"Does it mean the flowers meant nothing to you? Us meeting under the peach tree only for you to blow away my words like the wind. Why would you do that Mr.?Scrutioner? Did my feelings mean nothing to you?" asked Penny feeling a little strange that she had now shifted her gaze from the bedpost to look at Damien. She waited for two seconds wondering if he would chip in his words here but seeing that he wasn't she continued to say, "I have given my love to you since I have seen you. Though we didn't like each other in the beginning, I have come to like you with your sweet gestures. I thought-"

"What did you think?" came the curt voice of Damien who changed his voice slightly, pushing the pillow away from him and stepping down from the bed, "Tell me."

"Mr.?Scrutioner," Penny took a step back. Forgetting the lines, she flipped the pages quickly to read what was next. Falling down on the floor dramatically, she hid her face to say, "Do you even need to ask?" she asked even more dramatically which made Damien chuckle, a genuine one that came out by looking at her. Penny made strange noises as if she were crying loudly, sniffing and shaking her head.

"Oh oh, I am so lost in this world now. The person I believed to be the one for me is now getting married to another woman. Was I not good enough?" bringing tears in her eyes felt less difficult as she didn't face Damien right now. For some odd reason bringing the false tears was hard in front of him and it made her feel that she was lying which she evidently was as it was all an act.