CHAPTER 54: GOOD LUCK

"Mommy, the food is so good..." Second squeezed himself into Lola’s arms, moving so close until he was already sitting on her lap. "Mommy’s the best."

He yawned, hit with sleepiness as they drove back home. They’d enjoyed the food more than they thought, and he ended up eating more. It was the same for Chacha, who sat on her father’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, already nodding off.

Lola smiled at Second as she securely held him so he could nap comfortably in her arms. However, when she glanced to her side, her smile disappeared.

Now that I think about it, why is he sitting in the front row?

Her eyes then fell on Chacha in his arms, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Did he know they would fall asleep? That’s why he didn’t bother sitting in the back row?

Slowly, Lola looked away from him and stared out the window. For a while, silence filled the vehicle as neither of them spoke. Without the twins’ constant questions and comments, it was very quiet.

Even the driver is different, she thought as she glanced at the rearview mirror, catching a man she had never seen before. Wait. What happened to the driver Silo hired?

A brief temptation to break the silence crept into her heart to ask the man, but she decided against it. There were still too many questions in her mind, but she figured she would eventually get answers. This just wasn’t the right setting for it.

"You should’ve just told him." To her surprise, just when she thought this trip would be spent in pure silence, Atlas’ voice was heard.

Slowly, she turned and stared at his side profile. "What?"

"It’s easier to talk someone into doing something if you talk to them," he clarified, this time sliding his eyes toward her. "Instead of leaving a note."

"Oh." A shallow laugh escaped her. "You saw?"

He didn’t answer.

"Well." Lola shrugged weakly as she looked away from him, eyeing the side of the road. "You’re right, but I don’t want to pressure him. If he threw the note away, then I’ll probably try again. However, if he’s already determined, then the only thing I can do is respect that."

She paused, thinking about Cedrick’s current situation. "But if he reached out, it meant he’s just as determined as I was. It’s better to work with someone who’s on the same page as I am."

Atlas didn’t answer immediately, keeping his eyes focused on the side. His gaze briefly fell on his son, who was sleeping soundly in her arms.

"Good luck," he said after a moment.

Lola intuitively turned to him and smiled. "Thank you."

With that, silence quickly fell in the vehicle as neither of them spoke again. It wasn’t like there was nothing that should have been talked about; there were a ton of things that needed to be addressed, especially since the twins had taken a liking to her.

However, they both put that off for later.

Why?

Because even in this silence, it somehow didn’t feel as awkward as it was the first time.

****

One hour later, the four of them finally arrived at the residential building where Lola was staying. Lola carried Second while Atlas carried Chacha, taking both of them into the bedroom.

As she tucked them in, Atlas stood a few steps from the bed while she sat on the edge.

"I’ll leave them in your care for tonight," he said without any change in his usual tone, watching her look up at him. "And let me know when you’re available so we can talk about them. After all, they’ve taken a liking to you."

Lola opened her mouth, but in the next second, she bit her tongue and smiled at him. They could talk tonight, but she wanted to borrow another night to spend with the twins.

"Sure."

With that, Atlas nodded and turned on his heel to leave the room. Lola watched him go, sighing as soon as he closed the door behind him.

"I am being a bit... stupid, aren’t I?" she whispered to herself, gazing at the twins once more. "I should’ve agreed to talk tonight."

Yet, the uncertainty of the topic made her reluctant. Who knew? He might ask her to give the twins a reason to dislike her. Or he might say something about Lola manipulating the twins to get close to him.

She just had too many scenarios in her head, and each one seemed worse than the last. No one could blame her, though, especially when she had grown up surrounded by people who would do such things. Besides, even though she once had a special liking for Atlas, she was young back then. Moreover, she didn’t really know him on a personal level to understand what kind of person he truly was.

"Well." She smacked her lips as she forced a smile. "There’s no need to think about it for now, right?"

Lola huffed as she fixed the blanket over the twins one last time and went about her night like usual.

****

"It’s a good thing there’s no audition tomorrow," she muttered to herself, having finished washing up and removing her makeup. Now, she was only putting on a facial mask to help her skin regenerate.

"I wonder if Silo is fine," she wondered, pausing for a second before shrugging. "He’s gonna be fine for sure."

At least, she knew Silo would know how to get home. So, she didn’t think much about it anymore.

Once Lola finished securing the face mask, she carefully walked out of the bathroom. She smiled the moment she saw the twins sleeping soundly in the bed.

"They’re really cute," she giggled.

Afraid she would wake them up, she tiptoed her way out of the bedroom. It was still a little early for Lola to sleep, so she wanted to do some reading or perhaps watch some documentaries. Heading straight to the kitchen, she grabbed herself a glass of water and a bit of light snacks to munch on.

But on her way to the entertainment room, her steps stopped.

"..." She blinked, catching a figure from the corner of her eye. She didn’t move for a moment, needing to muster a lifetime of courage to turn her head just in case it was a ghost or a lost spirit she was about to confront.

Then, she turned... and saw who was seated on the couch in the living area.

"You..." she gasped, watching him turn his head in her direction. "... are still here?"

Because there, seated so casually in a plain white shirt matched with pajamas, was none other than Atlas.