II.
She was suffocating.
Which was ironic considering the size of the room she stood in. Sheldon Cooper was grandiose in every way of the word and his bedroom was no exception; everything was black with rich dark wood accents and while another fireplace adorned the wall parallel to the large king bed in the middle of the room, it still felt cold. She could see his silhouette across the room, he stood with his back turned to her as he looked out the large ceiling to floor windows that lined his bedroom wall. The moonlight dimly lit the room casting a shadow on his face and highlighting his furrowed eyebrows and tense shoulders –she could tell his fists were balled in his pockets.
"We'll be going out this weekend."
His voice was curt, he was to-the-point and made it clear with his tone it wasn't up for debate but that didn't stop the stubborn blonde. "Where?"
He threw a glance at her from over his shoulder before bringing his focus back to the Los Angeles night skyline. It was evident by his tone he'd rather not explain himself, that this wasn't something he did very often. "Every year I get invited to the Hofstadter's annual gala and every year I decline. However, I've decided a change of scenery would do some good and promised I'd be in attendance this year–"
"–Why? Why go now?"
He narrowed his eyes at her in warning, his body now fully turned towards her he continued. "Everything is business in our world. The Hofstadter's are an affluent family and CooperLabs would benefit from their friendship." He explained vaguely. "Which is why it would do well for the heir and his future bride to show face at the Hofstadter's gala."
The name was familiar to Penny, she was sure she's heard the name Hofstadter before maybe while her father was conducting business. "Hofstadter…Hofstadter…the family that owns all those banks?" It clicked. Sheldon lifted his chin. "Summit Trust Financial, yes. Which is why I need to schmooze and rub elbows with the cretin." She was intrigued. Sheldon clearly wasn't a fan of the man, so why bother go to his gala and be in his presence all night? It was clear there was an ulterior motive but despite being curious, she didn't feel like doing Sheldon any favours so she jutted her chin out and found her courage.
"I don't think me being there would help you in any situation. I'd embarrass you; I barely went to galas with my own family it would probably be best for me to stay home."
There was a moment of silence and the only thing Penny could hear was her own nervous heartbeat, but not long after there was a low chuckle as if Sheldon found something amusing. "Please don't confuse my words, Penelope, as much as it was an invitation there was no room for refusal." For the first time since she entered the room, he held her gaze and it felt as if her skin was on fire. "You have no choice."
She could feel the heat spread through her veins as she processed his words. She felt the weight of what he was saying and knew it went beyond the gala.
Without missing a beat, he continued. "If leaving you at home was an option, I would've explored it. You'll be attending out of necessity not out of companionship." He paused to give her a chance to process his words. She scoffed; she couldn't help but feel offended. "Necessity? Is that all I am now a day, a pawn in everyone else's business schemes?"
The two young adults locked onto each other; Penny was silently fuming as she listened to Sheldon speak about her as if she didn't have a say over her own life. Meanwhile, Sheldon felt his patience being tried; he knew this was a situation Penny would need time to come to terms with, he was willing to give her that. Truthfully, he had always believed the heiress to Crowned Investments was beautiful but they lived such different lives. He heard the whispers; she was stubborn, but she was a dreamer who loved the night life and everything that came with it. He was headstrong, focused on inheriting the family business and becoming successful.
She would never look twice at a man like him. So, when her father's associates came knocking on his door with a proposition, he couldn't say no.
"You dream of a life in Hollywood, right? Think of this as one of your biggest acting roles to date. Leonard Hofstadter has a wife, she's everything a woman of her status should be; boisterous, competitive, and she loves to gossip. Be friendly with her, see if she'll tell you anything about Leonard's most recent business deals." And to remind her why she needed him and it wasn't the other way around, he added. "I'm the only thing between your family and destitution, Penelope, cooperate with me while I'm still being nice."
When Penny was young her family struggled to make ends meet, she'll never forget the days her parents would sacrifice their dinner just to feed her and her brother. She would be forever grateful to her parents for providing for her the best way they knew how. And that's why the burden of marrying Sheldon Cooper fell heavily on her shoulders, she felt like this was her problem to bear; marrying Sheldon would ensure their family fortune and her parents would have nothing to worry about, this was how she could repay them for everything they've done for her.
But once her father established his business and found investors, money was no longer an unspoken word in their house. Long ago were the days they had one meal every few days, now the things that felt so far away were within her reach like all the name brands her classmates had that she had missed out on. Shopping had become therapeutic for her; it made her feel like she belonged in a society that once shunned and turned their nose up at her –the mall quickly became one of her favourite places. But now as she walked through the large building with fancy storefronts lining the halls, bags in hand, it felt almost like a punishment. Here she was having to buy a gown for an event she didn't even want to attend with a man she didn't love. How could she live the rest of her life knowing she subjected herself to a lifetime of resentment and a loveless marriage, she would never be happy.
" –glad you met him, even if it was a shock."
Penny's attention was brought back to her friend who had been talking beside her this whole time. "Sorry?"
Bernadette was one of the first friend's Penny made when she moved to Los Angeles. After a long day of auditions and rejections Penny wasn't sure how much more bad news she could take, she felt like maybe everyone else was right; an acting career was stupid. She was wasting her time and she needed to get real, start taking life seriously and focus on the family business. Feeling down on her luck, she stopped by a small café she always frequented on her way home, their drinks were amazing and made her feel better every time. After placing her iced coffee order she heard the mousiest most high-pitched voice– typically, Penny was great at minding her business but the woman's voice made that nearly impossible and she couldn't help but notice the argument taking place between the short woman and the frustrated barista.
"That's not my fault, you should've told me you wanted soy milk when I was taking your order…"
"I did!" The shorter woman screeched.
Penny figured at that point if her day couldn't get any brighter, maybe she could make someone else's. She noticed she and the mousy blonde had the same drink order and decided to offer her the untouched drink, that way she didn't have to wait in line again, the barista could go back to work, and Penny didn't have to be subjected to the shrill noise that came from the angry woman's mouth.
"–Thanks…I just never knew it was so hard to make a drink with soy milk instead of two percent."
"Yeah…no problem." The drink wasn't even worth it to Penny anymore, she just wanted to go home.
"Wait!" The lady called out to the retreating blonde. "I'm Bernadette."
"Penny."
Bernadette rolled her eyes playfully. "I said, I'm glad you met Sheldon– even if you kept your relationship a secret from me this whole time." She teased. "I am sorry about that, Bernie. We just didn't want the news of our relationship to effect Sheldon's work." Penny interjected. Sheldon and she had to come up with a story, they both refused to admit to their peers their marriage was one of convenience and business so the story was they dated in secret for a few months before Sheldon proposed.
Penny's phone rang, seeing Sheldon's name light up the screen. She couldn't help the grimace that passed her face at the sight of his name, why was he calling her? He knew she was with Bernadette and it wasn't like they had anything to talk about, so she declined the call and turned her attention back to her friend.
Bernadette waved her off. "It's fine, really. Honestly, I'm just glad you won't be alone anymore…Howie and I were starting to feel bad every time we hung out." She admitted guiltily. "And on the plus side, now that you're getting married, I don't have to pretend to like your one-night stands anymore." Bernadette grinned lightheartedly. Penny wasn't sure how she was meant to reply to that, she knew Bernadette didn't have a mean bone in her body, she knew there wasn't any malicious intentions behind her words but on the other hand if she squinted really hard and tilted her head to the left, she could almost see the judgement hanging off each word.
The good news, her phone rang again so she didn't have to answer her friend. The bad? It was Sheldon again.
"Are you gonna get that?" Her friend sounded puzzled and she didn't blame her. It must've looked weird to see her declining her new fiancés calls and Penny didn't necessarily care but she figured if she was going to go through with this marriage she might as well pretend this was the role of her life and play the part of a loving future wife.
She pressed accept and put the phone to her ear.
"You declined my call."
She could barely get a full breath out before his deep voice boomed over the phone and filled her ear. "Hello to you too, Sweetie." She took a few steps away from her friend, not wanting the nosy female to overhear her private call with Sheldon, it was clear the older man was already in a bad mood.
"You declined my call." He repeated, his accusation hanging heavily in the air. "Why?"
"I know. I was busy." She lied through her teeth and she hated herself for it. She was confident in the moment when she silenced Sheldon's phone call, she was certain in her actions but as the silence grew she began questioning them.
"When I call it's for a reason and I expect you to answer. Don't let this become a habit."
She could hear the warning in his tone and decided she pushed her luck far enough for the day. Thankfully, Sheldon continued. "Could you come back to the house? It's getting late and I have something to show you."
Curious, she voiced her compliance before ending the call and turning back to her friend. "Bernie, I gotta go now but we're still on for yoga this week, right?" She said her goodbyes. Truthfully, despite wanting to spend as little time with Sheldon as possible, she was thankful for the excuse to leave the mall. Her friend had become judgemental and that's not something she had the patience to deal with at the moment.
By the time Penny got back to the Cooper estate the sun was almost completely set, and it was like the events of the day were finally taking its toll on her as she trudged up the wide stone steps and walked through the large black wooden front doors. She felt her shoulders immediately sag as she exhaled, she was exhausted. But she was taken by surprise when Sheldon rounded the corner and met her in the foyer. "How was the mall?" His question was so nonchalant and yet so unexpected that she had to take a moment, but she quickly caught herself and decided not to put up a fight. "Tiring. But I did find a decent dress for tomorrow, so mission accomplished."
"That's good." It was such a mundane exchange but it left her heart beating faster than she was willing to admit. Sheldon stepped towards her, casually taking the shopping bags from her hands as if this was a natural occurrence. "But any dress worn on you would be more than decent, I'm sure you'll look stunning." The compliment was so offhanded she barely had a chance to register it. She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head as he began to walk towards his bedroom. "Thank you?"
Without looking back, he spoke over his shoulder. "Come here, I got something for you." And then the curiosity came back and forced her to follow him down the many halls and into his bedroom.
"I'm glad you found a dress." He admitted as he disappeared into the attached walk-in closet. "It makes this much easier." He came back into the bedroom with a dark blue rectangular velvet box and handed it to her. Penny was no fool, she knew exactly what this was and looking at Sheldon she shook her head slowly. "Sheldon–" he held his hand up silencing her. "Don't do that." "I can't accept this; it doesn't feel right." She admitted begrudgingly.
He watched her for a moment making her feel nervous under his gaze, his eyes were so blue and they pierced her with curiosity and something else she couldn't quite yet place but it quickly disappeared. "Don't think too much into it." He opened the box himself revealing a beautiful diamond necklace on a dainty gold chain. "I want you to wear this tomorrow night. It's for the gala."
Penny couldn't deny the beauty of the necklace, it was absolutely gorgeous. "It's beautiful." She whispered as she admired the shiny stones that dangled from the chain, her slender fingers barely grazing the expensive piece as she appreciated the necklace. Sheldon watched her intently, pleased with her reaction.
He had been nervous buying the necklace, he never bought jewelry for a woman before– aside from his mother and meemaw. Despite his 30 years of life, he wouldn't call himself experienced when it came to dating. Majority of his time was spent working for his father and ensuring his future as the CEO of CooperLabs, with such a busy work life seldom did he ever have time to date– which isn't to say he has never had a girlfriend. Though brief, he did have a few flings through time. None of them lasted longer than six months, nor were they important enough for Sheldon to think of marrying them– even if they wanted it. Sheldon dated for the sake of avoiding unwanted conversations about his love life with his parents, and for his own sexual desires. Penny was the first woman in his life that made marriage make sense in his head, even if she didn't like him.
"Maybe it will make you feel better about accepting this if I tell you this necklace is meant to be a conversational piece between you and Mrs. Hofstadter." He added, still studying her face. "As I told you yesterday, she's a particular woman who likes to boast and she's very materialistic. This necklace is vintage La'Vianne from their nineteen-ninety-six line and there's only ever been one of its kind made and I'm sure she's aware of that. I wouldn't doubt her approaching you once she notices this hanging from your neck."
Penny finally understood. "I'll wear it." "Great."
Watching as she took the box and stood to her feet, his large hand quickly reached out and firmly but gently gripped her wrist keeping her in place. "That's not all."
He continued. "We're to be married in a month, I think it's time we start acting like it." Alarms immediately started going off in Penny's head. "Act like it? What are you talking about?" "I mean; despite this being a marriage born out of business and convenience instead of feelings it'll still be a legal marriage and I don't intend on having a wife who behaves like my roommate or a prisoner–"
"I am a prisoner!" She exclaimed, completely thrown off guard. Sheldon's eyebrows pulled together at her words, clearly displeased with what she said. "Is that how you truly feel? Like a prisoner?" His tone was even, not giving away any of his feelings. Penny scoffed. "Did you think I'd want to be here on my own accord? I'm being forced to marry you to save my family's name and you're just as aware of that as I am."
He wanted to hold onto the belief that as time went on her mind would change, he didn't want her to hate him and he didn't want her to be unhappy. He wanted to do everything in his power to make her come around to the idea of marrying him and possibly start loving him. He knew she was a stubborn and strong-willed woman and he also knew it would be a task to get her to change her mind about their situation, but what he didn't expect was for her to be so irritated with their circumstance she would resort to trying to poison him during one of their first dinners together.
Sheldon straightened his back and squared his shoulders, his defences clearly built back up. "You'll sleep in my room from now. You're not a roommate nor a guest, there's no reason for you to have your own room." It wasn't a question. "I have a large california king bed, space is not an issue. I'll have people move your belongings in here tomorrow."
Her own room was the last piece of independence she had. When Sheldon pissed her off or when she felt like crying, she could always just lock herself away in her room and just be, now he was taking this away from her.
"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you! You're completely insane if you think I am." She moved away from him and towards the door; he was already forcing her into marriage he couldn't force her into his bed either. She wouldn't have it. Sheldon's jaw clenched angrily. He didn't want to force her into anything, but she refused to just cooperate.
"Wouldn't it be a shame if Wyatt found out his entire life's work was in vain because his daughter tried to poison her future husband?" The question was rhetorical and it hung heavily in the night air making Penny freeze, hand on the door knob. "I'm helping your family, I'm in this situation just as much as you are but instead of working with me you insist on pushing me away and making us enemies. You made the first move by trying to kill me, I did you a huge favour by overlooking that incident and keeping it a secret when I could've told your family or worse, the police."
She knew he was right, attempting to poison him was a stupid move. Not only did he know the entire time, but she could've gone to prison if he called the police. It was a reckless move and she should've known better. "I'm not asking you to love me, I'm asking you to at least behave as if we're friends and not enemies."
"We are enemies, Sheldon. Why aren't you furious about this marriage? You've been a bachelor all your life and all of a sudden, you're ok with giving that all up? I don't believe that for a second." She shook her head, her resolve slowly breaking as the conversation carried on because a small part of her knew he was right. He chuckled. "Contrary to belief, I have no ulterior motives." He stated simply. "I'm not the enemy here, Penelope, please don't make me have to start behaving like one."
And she could hear the thinly veiled threat behind his words. Apart of her wanted to call his bluff, he wouldn't call the police on her. But a larger part of her, the part that knew he had a point, knew she was far too tired to argue anymore. One moment he's forcing the poisonous drink that was meant for him down her throat, the next he's complimenting her and buying her jewelry, then he threatens her with prison time and her family's ruin. She was tired of the games and she just wanted this whole thing to be over. So she glanced over at the large bed deducing it was more than large enough for them to not be near each other, and she let her hand fall from the door knob.
"I need my toothbrush."
