CHAPTER 80: THE FINE LINE BETWEEN BEST AND WORST

"God..." Lola dipped into the tub, unsure if she should groan in relief from the warm water hugging her body, or in frustration because Atlas had just ambushed her.

Thankfully, after telling him to shut up, she’d managed to sneak away and grab herself a glass of water. What made things slightly weirder was that she was so spooked she had to sneak around her own home just to get to the bathroom.

"Hah..." she huffed, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling. "What was he trying to say just now?"

Her right brow raised as she tried to add words to the ones he’d failed to say. However, before she could even start, she shook her head to get rid of the thought.

"Whatever it was, Lola, don’t think about it," she murmured. "Just live your life like you used to. It’s better that way."

Closing her eyes, Lola let her entire body and her thoughts relax. She already had enough on her plate. Besides, she’d realized today just how far behind schedule she was because of everything. Not that she blamed the twins, but because Lola had come back to Novera for a reason.

It was just that she never thought two adorable angels—along with their father and now their uncle—would come into her life.

"That’s fine now," she told herself, sliding down the tub until the back of her head rested on the rim. "Just don’t let these things stop you."

She partially opened her eyes, which appeared sharper as they glinted. After a second, she nodded to herself, telling herself to keep her head in the game.

****

At the same time...

Atlas sat in his chosen room, spending the night reading the documents his people had gathered about Lola Young. The initial background check had only provided surface-level information.

But these documents gave him more insight into who Lola Young truly was.

A daughter of a humble man and the heiress of a flourishing construction company. The initial reports painted a picture of a pampered and spoiled little miss, as she was an only child. However, the more he read these new reports, the more he understood that her title had been nothing but an empty one.

"This is a lot of contradiction," he whispered, flipping to the next page.

In the initial report, it was said that Lola Young was sent to a top university, fully supported by Lawrence Young. However, because of her freedom away from home, she got pregnant.

But with these thorough reports, it said that Lola had worked multiple part-time jobs while attending the university. He saw her records for these jobs, and just looking at the timestamps, it was enough to make one wonder if she even had time to eat or sleep while also attending school.

Yet, she maintained good grades and remained a top student.

The initial report said Lola got pregnant and had an abortion. But in these new reports, there were too many suspicious records. Assuming she had an abortion, what didn’t make sense to him was that around the time she "aborted" her child, her grades plummeted.

Wasn’t that supposed to make her focus more on school? To achieve something after erasing what she might have considered a burden?

"She dropped out," he whispered, checking her school records. "She would’ve easily graduated at the top of her class."

Yet, she had thrown it all away.

Atlas shrugged and read more about her. There was a gap between everything since her pregnancy and after her alleged abortion. It was like reading blanks, but he was able to get a perfect picture of her situation.

Her situation with her family, with the Lancasters, and with her current activities.

Once he reached the end of the page, Atlas placed the paper on the table. At the same time, he picked up a glass of wine and took a sip.

"Lola Young," he whispered, narrowing his eyes slightly. "How come... you didn’t have a record of being in Anteca five years ago?"

There were many reasons for Allen—Atlas’s trusted assistant—to believe Atlas was mistaken. Aside from the DNA test results, Lola’s records showed she hadn’t been in Novera all these years.

It was impossible for him to have gotten her pregnant when they weren’t even breathing the same air.

But Atlas knew he was not mistaken. How could he mistake the only person he had spent a night with?

****

[Five Years Ago]

Atlas sat in the middle of chaos; everything around him was upside down. Broken furniture and other items were toppled over. The entire place looked like the aftermath of a tornado, with only the sofa he was sitting on properly intact.

Slowly, he turned his head toward the open entrance of the residence.

Outside was chaos, people shouting and cheering. A shallow breath slipped past his nostrils as he pushed himself up. The heat in his groin made his pants very tight, his entire body on fire—all thanks to his crazy little sister. Or rather, it was her husband’s fault.

Atlas trudged toward the entrance and stopped outside, watching a large group surrounding a fight. They were all cheering and booing, and a few were dragged into the fight. It was a fight between his brother—Hugo—and a black panther. The people around them were bodyguards from the residence who held a grudge against Hugo.

"Zoren should’ve told his cat to use its teeth and munch on their bones," he murmured, filled with bitterness as he envied these people. They had found a way to distract themselves from the "magical soup" served to them.

He, on the other hand, was here, suffering.

Atlas shook his head, ignoring the fight after hoping they would all just drop dead. He jumped into his car, driving off to find a place to distract himself—and then, he ended up in the city’s sinful red-light district.

And unlike his plans, he might just make the biggest mistake of his life — or perhaps, the best decision of his life.