CHAPTER 396: IF I HAND OVER MY RESIGNATION...

Lola had said it before, and she wouldn’t get tired of saying it again—she was grateful. Deeply, utterly grateful for everything that was happening in her life. It wasn’t what she expected, but it was everything she didn’t know she needed. She felt complete; she felt that all the hardships she’d endured were worth it, and that life was finally worth living for.

But never once had she thought she didn’t deserve it.

If anything, deep down, she believed she did deserve this happiness. She deserved this peace... and this soreness in her muscles after a night full of love with her man.

"Ugh..." she groaned before even opening her eyes, feeling every sore muscle in her body—especially the ones between her thighs.

Slowly, she blinked awake, her face twisting as flashes of last night’s wild affair crossed her mind. Last night was unlike any other night she’d spent with Atlas. If she had to put a word to it, it was wilder.

Was it because she told him she missed him? Or because she told him she wished he’d been there?

Either way, her body might have been sore, but her heart was full.

"Hehe—" She froze when Atlas suddenly walked out of the bathroom.

Atlas paused mid-step, shifting his gaze toward the bed. The moment he did, he caught her hurriedly shutting her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

A light chuckle escaped his lips as he sauntered over and sat on the edge of the bed. Leaning down, he whispered near her ear,

"Fucking with dead people is also a fantasy—"

Like a zombie, her eyes shot wide open. "What?"

"Haha," he chuckled, straightening up. "Get up. Breakfast’s ready."

He rose to his feet and went to grab his tie, draped over the nearby chair. Meanwhile, Lola sat upright, staring at him in disbelief.

"Atlas, baby, is that... one of your fantasies?" she gasped, looking at him with pure judgment in her eyes.

He arched a brow. "Do I look like that?"

"No," she replied automatically. Though she wasn’t entirely sure.

Atlas could be a little... eccentric in his own way. Even with that godlike face, he could very well be hiding something dark. Her breath hitched when she saw him pause, deep in thought.

"Why are you thinking about it?" she pressed. "Wait—really?"

"Depends."

"Depends on what?"

"If it’s your carcass or not." His tone stayed perfectly flat, his gaze locked on her. "If it’s yours, I might."

"..."

For a few long seconds, she just stared as he adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. When he finally turned back toward her, he blinked.

"Does that bother you?"

******

"Why would it bother me at all?" Lola blushed, cupping her cheeks as she squealed quietly in her office. "See? He’s really crazy about me. ’Death do us part’—my butt! Not even death can separate us! This is like a dream come true."

"Being dead and knowing someone might lust over your dead body is a dream come true?" Amala blurted out, her mind blank as she stared at Lola, squealing.

"Uh..." Haji ran his tongue along his inner cheek, watching the woman fawn like a lovesick maniac behind her desk. "Amala, if I submit my resignation right now, can I strangle her before I leave?"

Amala, standing across from Lola’s desk, didn’t even know how to respond.

Meanwhile, Silo—lounging on the couch—bolted upright, absolutely scandalized.

"How could you?!" he shouted, marching to the desk and slamming both hands on it. "Lola, take that back right now! My Atlas would never say something like that! You’re tainting his name!"

Lola’s smile vanished instantly as she glared at him. "Goodness. Look at you blaming me! How is it my fault that my boyfriend wants my corpse, huh? Gosh. It’s been years and you’re still jealous of me—"

"That’s it!" Silo lunged across the desk and wrapped an arm around her neck. "Take it back! My Atlas wouldn’t say something like that!"

"Ack—Stop! He’s not your Atlas—he’s my Atlas!"

Amala: "..."

Haji: "..."

The two stood frozen. The ridiculous story they’d been forced to listen to had somehow escalated into a wrestling match over a man. In seconds, Lola flipped the situation and overpowered Silo completely. Not that it surprised them, because they knew Silo would never stand a chance.

"Say, Amala..." Haji leaned toward her, whispering. "If I hand over my resignation today, can I strangle both of them? Right? And you’re not really gonna kill me?"

Once again, Amala didn’t respond, but she was dangerously close to saying yes.

All three—Silo included—had come to Lola’s office for different reasons, all supposedly important. But Lola had been too excited to share her morning talk with Atlas, and now it had devolved into chaos.

"Ahh!" Silo yelped. "Stop—I give up! He’s yours, fine! But in the next lifetime, he’s mine—ack! Someone stop her, she’s gonna kill me!"

Lola and Silo had ended up on the floor, Silo flat on his stomach while she pinned him down. He tapped the floor in surrender, but she didn’t let go.

"Lola," Amala called out.

"Wait for me, Amala! I’ll just teach this guy a lesson!"

Amala sighed. "Have you not checked your messages or calls? Someone from the Lancasters reached out to the office."

That caught Lola’s attention immediately. She looked up sharply, deep lines forming between her brows.

"From the Lancasters—wait, from the chairman?"

Amala nodded. "He was rushed to the hospital again."

"..."

Slowly, Lola released Silo’s leg, earning a grunt from him as she stood up and grabbed her phone. She hadn’t checked it since last night and only now saw multiple missed calls from the head butler of Chairman Lancaster’s home.

"I know it’s not your obligation," Amala said softly, "but after talking to the butler, he told me the chairman could die if he has another heart attack." She paused, her tone heavy with concern. "He’s not going to make it, Lola. And even if he survives... his condition’s worsening. He doesn’t have much time left."