CHAPTER 369: JUST THE TIP

In Lola’s first life, she didn’t live to see the day the Young family fell apart. Deep in her heart, she knew karma came around and that Lawrence, Jasmine, and Melissa’s success was temporary. It wasn’t hope — she just knew that all that success would be taken from them.

In this life, she wouldn’t wait for karma to come. She might as well do the job and help karma along.

Standing before Loren’s grave, a soft wind blew past Lola. Her hair floated back; her eyes were fixed on the name Loren Albert etched in cursive on the stone. Slowly, she bent and placed a bouquet — something Lola had arranged herself from the newly renovated garden she and everyone else had worked so hard to finish.

When she straightened, she remained quiet.

"Mom," she whispered after a long moment of silence. "I told you last time I came that I’d return once everything was done."

She swallowed, but her heart stayed still.

"It’s strange," she added under her breath. "I feel... nothing."

She wasn’t happy about the Youngs’ crumbling world, nor did she feel an ounce of pity for Lawrence or his new family. They hadn’t given Lola the chance to reconsider. If anything, everything they’d done leading to this had only strengthened her resolve.

"I’m not going to ask if you’re proud of me — I know you aren’t," she continued in the same quiet tone. "But also know... you’re proud of me for holding out this long."

A small smile crept onto her face as her eyes softened. Brief, warm memories of her mother flashed through her mind, taking her on a short trip down memory lane. Her smile faded when memories of her previous life crossed her thoughts.

Slowly, her gaze dropped, and she swallowed.

Those were the days she’d fought so hard to take what was rightfully hers. The day she lost that fight was the day of the accident. When she woke unable to move, paralyzed and abandoned by the same people she’d called family, she was left to rot in a small storage room at the hospital.

And when that wasn’t enough, Melissa had come to her to finish her off out of impatience.

She often said she had died long ago. Had she not regained her memories at fourteen, Lola would have lived that nightmare twice.

Why had it turned out like this?

She didn’t know. What she did know was that despite the ups and downs since she was fourteen, she had lived for this very day — the day she could watch the Young family fall so hard they’d wish they had all just died.

"I am..." she trailed off, then let out a light, strange laugh. Lola touched her head and shook it, unable to stop chuckling. "I am... just like them in the end, aren’t I?"

She glared at the gravestone, smiling helplessly.

Would anyone blame her for becoming one of them after living under those monsters?

"Mom." Lola smacked her lips and exhaled faintly. "I may be like them in the end, but from this moment on I’ll try to live for myself."

Her smile softened. "For myself... and for my kids. You know, their father... I’m sure you remember that huge crush I had on someone back then. It’s funny that after decades I get to see him again and be with him so openly, so warmly... and so liberating."

Loren had known Atlas. Her mother used to tease Lola and even helped her bake chocolates. Loren’s advice had been small — how to bake them perfectly — but Loren knew about Lola’s admiration.

"So, rest in peace now, Mom," she nodded. "Your daughter is in a good place."

It wasn’t what Lola expected when she returned to Novera. She thought the Youngs’ downfall would change nothing except let her release her long-suppressed fury.

She lowered her head, then shifted her gaze to the grave beside her mother’s. Lola stepped closer and stood before the small stone.

"My little pea," she whispered, caressing the toy on the grave.

The boy in that grave was not hers, yet her love and longing felt real. Whoever he had been, her love for him was the same. That little grave had been what kept her going during the years she didn’t want to get up.

"Mommy will still come here," she hummed softly. "Next time, I’ll introduce you to... your brother and sister."

She rested her hand on her knee and smiled. "Their names are Chacha and Second. They’re clever and bubbly. Once everything’s settled, I’ll take them here for a picnic."

At a distance, the bodyguards exchanged glances. They watched Lola speak to the child’s grave as if he were alive, her hand resting on her knees, smiling in the same way she smiled at the twins.

"Didn’t she already know that we dug that grave while her boyfriend watched like it was a show?" Izu muttered, watching from afar.

The other guard shot him a sidelong look. "What do you expect her to do? Dig up the skeletons now?

"It’s not even someone she knew." Izu shrugged. "It’s like telling someone to stay rent-free."

"What you said will live in my head rent-free," his colleague returned.

"That’s still her child," Baby said softly, voice low and naturally gentle. "The child there may not be hers biologically, but in her heart she’ll always be that child’s mother."

All the men turned to Baby, nodded, then returned their attention to Lola.

Lola smiled — not wide, but sincere. She stepped back and stood between Loren’s grave and the child’s stone.

"I am... happy," she said from the bottom of her heart. "And I will continue to fight for this happiness."

This time, she wouldn’t fight only out of spite. She had more reason now: to keep this happiness even if she had to fight to death for it.

Slowly, she bowed her head to the people who had been in her life and were now watching from above, smiling. She smiled at them one last time and turned away.

This time, Lola didn’t look back. Just as she had planned not to look back at the past.

She didn’t know it yet, but this was only the beginning of a nightmare much bigger than she had ever dreamed of.