CHAPTER 42: APOCALYPSE

Getting rejected outright was probably better than getting rejected for a stupid reason. Either way, that was what she would consider her first heartbreak.

Months later, her heart broke again as her mother’s condition worsened, and they had to return to Novera. After all, her mother wanted to spend the last moments of her life at home, instead of taking her final breath in a foreign country.

So, Lola eventually got over that first heartbreak and simply started calling Atlas—her first crush, and perhaps, her first puppy love—the guy from high school.

That guy, she would remember for the rest of her life. But also, someone she never thought she would ever see again.

Never in her wildest imagination did she think they would meet again, or that he would show up on her doorstep. He was a part of her past, but not only did he appear in front of her doorstep, he appeared right in the middle of her home!

"You’re drooling." His voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Lola instinctively closed her mouth, checking for any drool. There wasn’t any.

"Mommy, don’t you like the soup?" Second tilted his head. "You haven’t touched it."

Chacha frowned a bit, thinking there was something wrong with the soup they prepared for her.

"Uh." Lola cleared her throat and smiled, not even having the brain energy to realize that Atlas’s kids were still calling her "mommy" right in front of him. "No, no. It’s not like that. I’m going to eat now, okay?"

"Okay~"

Just as she picked up the spoon, she peeked at them and saw the twins watching her eagerly. She gulped and took a spoonful, her brows rising in surprise.

I know they can cook, but this soup... it’s amazing.

Before she knew it, she took another spoonful, and then another one, until she consumed half of it. The soup not only tasted good, but it also woke up her appetite with every spoonful. It was warm and, somehow, healing too.

For a moment, Lola temporarily forgot that she was eating breakfast with the twins and their father.

"Hehe." Chacha giggled happily, enjoying the food like Second.

Their smiles were cemented on their faces, thinking this was their first family breakfast!

*****

The meal was spent in silence, with the twins’ occasional comments and questions to Lola. They made the air in the dining room a lot lighter than it should have been. Their father, on the other hand, remained quiet throughout.

As for Lola, by the time she finished her soup and had a portion of the other dishes, she felt like her hangover was gone. With the throbbing in her head gone, her mind was now clear.

This was not just a dream.

The twins, Atlas—they were here with her.

"Finished?"

Again, his voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Lola flinched a bit, looking up, catching him standing just a step from her seat.

"Uh..." she opened and closed her mouth before she blurted out, "Yeah...?"

Surprisingly, her answer made him click his tongue faintly. His eyes glinted for a split second. If she hadn’t been looking, she wouldn’t have caught it.

What—what’s that now? She wondered in horror. Why did he suddenly look disappointed?

Without a word, Atlas picked up her empty plate and placed a glass of water in front of her. Like nothing happened, he sauntered to the twins and picked up their plates, taking them to the kitchen sink.

Lola watched him in silence, and the moment he was out of her sight, she gasped and turned to the twins.

"Babies, didn’t you say your father isn’t Atlas Bennet?" She leaned against the table, her voice low but enough to reach the twins.

The twins blinked and nodded. "That’s right."

But that was Atlas Bennet!

"Mommy, do you know our dad?" Second asked, only for Chacha to lean toward him and whisper something in his ear.

Seeing Chacha cover the side of her mouth as she whispered to her brother made Lola furrow her brows.

"Wha—what are you whispering about?" Lola felt nervous watching the twins turn to her.

Their little mouths stretched from ear to ear until their eyes were squinting.

"Nothing, Mommy~!" they hummed in unison. "It’s nothing at all~!"

"But your faces tell me it’s something," she blurted out, only to earn a giggle from the twins. "Kids, can I ask—"

"I’m taking them with me today." Before she could finish her question, Atlas’s voice was heard once more.

Lola looked back, catching him walking back from the kitchen while wiping his hands with a cloth. When he stopped at the end of the table, his eyes were on her.

"They’ll work," he added.

Deep lines appeared between her brows; at the same time, the twins jumped out of their seats.

"Mommy, don’t worry~!" Chacha reassured with a big smile. "Chacha and Second will work hard today!"

"And we will not take any breaks either!" Second added as they stood beside their father.

Atlas nodded. Now, all of them were staring at the living apocalypse seated in that chair.

"No need to drink and cry," he said flatly. "Everyone’s going to work twice as hard to make up."

The twins nodded reassuringly before they walked to Lola.

"See you later, Mommy~" Chacha tugged Lola’s arm, making the latter lower her head. She planted a kiss on her cheek, and then Second on the other cheek.

"Don’t worry about us, Mommy~" Second beamed. "Father Sir promised to make it fair for you~! See yah~!"

With that, the twins kissed her cheeks at the same time before running back to their father. Before they could reach him, he had already turned on his heel and walked away.

"Bye bye~!" the twins waved at her as they held their father’s hands, their heads turned to Lola.

"Uh..." Lola touched her cheek, eyes on the retreating trio. "... okay...?"

She sat in that seat even after they were gone, her mind blank as she just couldn’t seem to process what the hell was happening to her life. It felt like she was pushed off a cliff, and right now, she was just free-falling, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Goodness," she murmured as she finally pushed herself off the table, dragging her feet to the bathroom in her room. "Everyone’s going to work today...? What does even—ah, demon, begone!"

Her thoughts halted as she walked into the bathroom and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Lola jumped, her back pressed to the tiled wall, staring at her reflection in the mirror. For a second, she thought there was a ghost, only to realize it was... her.

Slowly, her mouth fell open as she touched her face, her pupils constricting upon realizing one thing.

"Ah, god."

Defeated, she covered her mouth as she quietly lamented, dark clouds thundering over her head. She glanced at her reflection one more time.

"How come no one told me that if the apocalypse ever happens today, I’m already halfway there?"