CHAPTER 102: A WEDDING... SOME TIME LATER.

"Phew!" Second and Chacha wiped their foreheads with their arms as they heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close."

Slater, standing beside them, patted his chest. "I thought we were dead."

"I saw you guys!"

The three of them shivered as Lola’s faint voice penetrated the door. They slowly looked back at the door behind them before deciding to ignore what they heard.

"Didn’t hear it—wow, I think I’m having ear problems," Slater tugged his earlobe, then gazed down at the twins. "Chacha, Second, did you hear that?"

The two of them blinked their round, innocent eyes. "Hear what, Uncle Best?"

"Heh. Nothing!" Slater grinned, watching them grin back at him.

With that, the three of them tiptoed away, as if that would erase their traces.

****

Disbelief swelled in Lola’s heart as she stared at the now-shut door. She saw the twins and Slater, but the babies were innocent. No doubt, it was Slater’s fault. But the bigger culprit was...

Lola turned to the quiet Atlas, who was lying there like a king looking at his slave having a mental breakdown. This was her bedroom, and he was here! He should be the slave!

Her mouth opened and closed, but her voice failed to come out. Just what could she say in this situation? But when she finally knew where to start, her mouth stopped mid-open as he raised his hand to her.

"Huh?" she blinked, watching his mouth hook up ever so slowly.

"I’ll show you," was all he said before he moved up slightly, reaching out for her wrist. His hand quickly wrapped around her wrist and, without further ado, yanked her down.

"Ack—" Lola let out a short squeak, hitting her cheek against his chest.

Then, she froze as she lay on something firm—definitely not a thing or an animal. Lifting her wide eyes, her mouth dropped at the face gazing at her underneath. Atlas held her waist, unbothered at the weight pressing down on him.

"This is what happened," he said while looking her dead in the eye. "But the role was reversed."

"I would never—"

Before her mind could even process the morning demo she didn’t need, she pushed herself away from him. But alas, in one swift motion, he caught her again, and before she knew it, they had switched positions.

Lola’s brain buzzed as she found herself locked, confined between his arms underneath him. His chest pressed on hers as he lowered his face until there were only a few inches between them.

"And this is what you did when I tried to struggle," he continued, pausing as he thought about it.

Technically, this was not what happened. But it wasn’t far off the real events.

His eyelashes fluttered back to her, his brows slightly elevated. "Do you understand?"

"..." Lola pursed her lips, not breathing at all. She just stared at him before she nodded. "I... get it now."

"Good." He smiled very subtly, poking the tip of her nose. "Did you sleep well?"

Did she sleep well?

If that was the question and not the morning experience, then... she cleared her throat, looking up to avoid his gaze. "Yeah."

"Glad to hear that," he said. "Breathe now."

Slowly, she looked back at him while he pushed himself away from her. In no time, Atlas was standing beside the bed while stretching his arms. He gazed at her briefly, enough to hold her gaze, before he smirked.

Without a word, he strode off while she lay there in utter... confusion, shock, and bedazzlement.

"That was... that was some morning rollercoaster," she blurted out under her breath, covering her mouth as she noticed her lips creeping into a smile.

For a second, Lola was stuck on the bed. All of that happened in less than five minutes. Who would have thought so many things could happen in that timeframe? But the most important part was...

"He and I..." She slowly pulled her hand down from her mouth, staring at the ceiling as if there was some sort of code to crack. "...slept together? And it’s not a dream...?"

But a dream come true?

Her breath hitched, then hiccups echoed in the room. Lola jumped to a sitting position, but another hiccup tried to escape her.

"Goodness—hic!" She covered her mouth, hiccuping once more. "No, no, no—hic!"

Damn it!

****

At the dining table, Lola glanced at the twins seated on her side. They were quietly eating, and aside from their good morning greeting, they didn’t say anything. Slowly, Lola peeled her gaze from them.

Her face, however, twitched upon catching the twins peeking at her. Lola’s gaze then landed on Slater, only to catch him looking away from her as well. Then, at Atlas, who was unbothered by all of this as he ate quietly.

My goodness...

Lola drew a deep breath as she raised her head. "Nothing happened, okay?" she spoke loudly, finally watching everyone look in her direction. "So stop... just stop looking at me."

"There won’t be any new babies?" Second blurted out, making her face contort.

Lola gazed at the children, not even sure if she should be talking about this to five-year-old kids.

Oh, my god... I’ve lost my mind, have I?

"No new babies," Atlas answered coolly, as if Lola was being bothered all by herself.

"Aww, man..." the twins sighed dejectedly.

Did they really want a sibling? Lola wondered, but then Slater spoke.

"How about the wedding?" Slater inquired, just as disappointed as the twins, darting his eyes between Lola and Atlas. He pointed at himself, muttering, "But I already ordered my best man outfit."

"That’s a YOU problem," Lola bit her tongue as she cleared her throat. Much to her dismay, Atlas glanced at his little brother and said,

"Keep it. You’re going to use it sometime later."

"Huuh?" Lola and Slater furrowed their brows, both leaning their confused, stricken faces.

Atlas darted his eyes between them. Looking at their expressions, Lola and Slater looked the same.

He smiled subtly, eyes on her. "Right?"

"Right, what?" she flinched when Slater clapped, then the twins cheered out of nowhere.

"Yey~!" the three of them happily mused. "A wedding... sometime later—yey~!"

Confused, Lola darted her eyes at all of them. "Is someone in your family getting married soon?"

And her question earned the attention of all the eyes in the dining room. Even the twins were looking at her.

"What?" she asked, and all she got was a smile from the four of them. "I don’t feel good about this."