CHAPTER 56: PENGUIN?

Atlas stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, arms crossed beneath his chest. His eyes might have been staring at the beautiful capital city of Novera, but his mind drifted elsewhere.

After a moment, his eyes blinked slowly before he turned and walked toward the small round table nearby. He picked up his phone and speed-dialed someone.

The ringing didn’t even finish before the line connected.

"Find out what Lola Young was doing five years ago," were the first words that came out of his mouth, not waiting for the person on the other end of the line to speak. "I want to find out everything."

"Got it, Master."

He ended the call and placed his phone back down. His eyes followed the device, his mind still swirling with thoughts and questions. A second later, a glint flickered across his eyes as their corners sharpened.

Again, he picked up his phone, this time sending a message. Ignoring the countless unread messages in the chat log, he typed:

[To: Slater

I need a favor.]

****

[The Next Day...]

"Good morning, Mommy~!"

"Thousand kisses, Mommy~!"

Chacha and Second woke Lola up with kisses and hugs. Still keeping her eyes closed, Lola chuckled. When she opened her eyes, she gazed at the adorable angels beaming at her.

"My babies." Her voice was hoarse as she stretched her arms and hugged the little buns in her arms. "Good morning, babies."

The twins giggled as they rested in her arms, just idling on the bed. The three of them didn’t feel the need to get up and simply enjoyed being lazy together.

"Mommy, are you going to work today?" Second gazed up at Lola, looking at her curiously.

"Hmm?" Lola pondered for a second and then smiled. "Just a bit."

"Then we’ll work just a bit too!" Chacha grinned. "So, Mommy doesn’t have to worry!"

"..." Lola stared at the bubbly Chacha and then at Second. "Chacha, Second, you guys... work?"

Yesterday, she didn’t think much about their words regarding working hard. For her, their father simply took them to work, but they didn’t have a real job. But now that she thought about it, these two could understand a legal contract and business plan to the point that they would catch all the issues in them.

"Mhm!" the twins nodded, blinking innocently.

Chacha then said, "We helped Uncle Allen check some papers and shred them!"

"It was fun," Second commented in a knowing tone. "Our Father Sir is very grateful that we saved his brain cells from dying."

"Is that... so?" A weak chuckle escaped Lola as she ruffled the twins’ hair with a subtle smile.

I wonder... what would everyone think if they found out that behind Summit Partners, two kids were reading their proposals? Wait—does this fall under child labor?

Lola shook her head and forced a smile, spending a bit more time idling with the twins on the bed before the three of them got up to start their morning.

While Lola washed her face, the twins also washed theirs. When she finished, they were done as well, wiping their faces at the same time. Then, they brushed their teeth together. Not that Lola told them to follow her morning routine, but the twins just copied everything she did.

****

Minutes later, Lola found herself having a light breakfast with the twins... and their father.

Forcing a piece of pancake onto her fork, she instinctively slid her eyes to Atlas. The man was enjoying a cup of coffee while quietly reading a newspaper. The twins, on the other hand, were enjoying the pancakes Lola made for them.

Surely, these three were getting too comfortable in her home. The twins were fine since they were both welcome, but their father hadn’t even mentioned staying here as well. Then again, Lola was to blame for delaying any conversation with him.

"..." She looked away, setting her gaze back on her pancake.

So, Atlas... is the man behind Summit Partners.

That revelation kept her awake all night, but even now, she still had reservations about fully believing it. It was just... too surprising.

[Do you want to be credited for it?]

Suddenly, his question from last night crossed her mind. Lola remained quiet, reminded of that brief exchange with Atlas. It had answered her question about why Summit Partners would even agree to Derek’s proposal.

Her answer to that was true.

Lola didn’t need the credit or to be thanked by her family. If anything, she preferred that they just believed it was Melissa’s efforts to thank her for it. Why? Because if they knew Lola did it, they would pester her all day and night, urging her to reach out to Summit Partners and make her try to exploit the company’s good graces. Not just the Young family, but Derek would surely pester her as well.

It happened before in her first life.

"Do you have plans today?" Atlas’s sudden question snapped her out of her thoughts.

She turned to him and shook her head. "Not much, why?"

"There’s a reservation at Harmony Feast. Come in at seven for dinner."

"Oh." Lola nodded, her brows rising as she caught the twins’ giggle. "I’ll try."

"Good."

Just like that, Atlas looked away and focused his attention on his kids. He simply told them to change, and they obediently followed his instructions.

Lola watched the trio quietly, tilting her head a bit. She hadn’t realized it until now, but Lola’s face was bare. Sometimes, Silo would react whenever he saw her without makeup, but Atlas didn’t.

Now that I think about it, he didn’t react much when he saw me with that horrendous makeup either.

For a second, she thought about it, but then shook her head. Atlas was the most indifferent person she’d probably ever known. Even if the entire world fell apart, this man would watch the end of the world with a straight face.

I should... oh, crap!

Suddenly, a surge of panic rushed through her heart as she realized the twins were leaving the two of them alone. She quickly stuffed her mouth with the whole pancake in the blink of an eye.

"By the way..." Atlas trailed off as his eyes fell on Lola’s seat, only to see it vacant. His brows furrowed, lifting his eyes just in time to catch her figure fleeing with hurried but small steps, like a...

"Penguin?"

He tilted his head to the side and shrugged. "Never mind, then. I’ll just tell her about Slater staying with us later."