CHAPTER 68: I’LL ADOPT YOU AS MY WIFE.

A dinner with Atlas was something Lola hadn’t dreamed of, but now that it was happening, hearing him talk about his fatherhood was something she didn’t expect.

According to him, the twins were delivered to him, left outside his parents’ home with a single note that read: "To: Atlas."

Paternity tests were done immediately—all tests, just to be sure—and the results all came back positive. But for the mother of the twins? Nothing. He hadn’t looked for her because he believed there was no point in searching for someone who didn’t want anything to do with her own children.

He does have a point... Lola thought, sneaking a look at him as they ate the main course in silence. Why bother looking for someone who could only potentially hurt the children?

Even if it meant he had to raise his kids alone.

Lola nodded to herself, understanding his reasoning completely. If she had the choice, she would have rather not known her father, Lawrence Young, because he could still hurt her in his own way. And she hated that.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat. He continued eating, but she knew he was listening. "You said you believed... and that you could be wrong. What does that mean?"

He shrugged mildly, not looking at her. "Literally."

The literal meaning is just as vague, though

. Lola didn’t press the question, not wanting to push the matter.

"So, you’re not married, huh?" she murmured, temporarily forgetting she had just spoken her mind.

This time, he cast her a glance. His lips parted, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. For a while, neither of them spoke, and Lola’s thoughts were filled with how strange Atlas’s journey to fatherhood was. It also gave her a deeper understanding of the twins’ longing for a mother.

As she barely ate, deep in thought, Atlas spoke.

"I want to discuss something important to you while we’re here," he said, wiping the corner of his mouth with a cloth. He glanced at her plate, then at her. "After you finish, of course."

"It’s alright." She smiled. "I think we really should discuss some things, since Chacha and Second are obviously mistaking me for their mother."

"They are not."

"Hmm?" Lola’s smile remained, and she raised her brows. "What do you mean?"

Her smile, however, would stiffen upon his next words.

"My children wanted to adopt you."

Still smiling, she blinked as if the words hadn’t registered. When they finally sank in, she pointed at herself, her eyes still on him. "You want to adopt me?"

"Yes."

"..." Horror slowly dawned on her face as she imagined the setup. She cringed. "Father... Sir?"

This time, he frowned, his gaze completely flat. "Don’t."

"Hah..." Lola laughed awkwardly, scratching her neck. "Yep, I know it’s weird, right? Second and Chacha truly have colorful imaginations to request their father to adopt me."

Atlas was only a few years older than her. Besides, she remembered all the requests the twins would ask their father and get rejected. Take the jumping off the rooftop as an example. However, her thoughts and laughter suddenly halted upon hearing his next remarks.

"I’ll adopt you as my wife."

"Haha. Of course, you love your children, so you’re willing to adopt—what did you say?" Her jaw went slack as she processed his words. "You—you want to what me?"

"Adopt," he drawled. "Wife."

The moment those words rolled off his tongue, Lola felt the breeze stop, then reverse direction. She opened and closed her mouth, but her voice didn’t come out of her throat.

Atlas studied her stunned reaction and nodded. But just as his mouth opened to say, "I’ll take that as a yes," she suddenly stretched her arm over the table, pointing a finger at him.

"Don’t you dare, Atlas Bennet," she warned, completely forgetting all formalities. "Don’t nod like that."

"You don’t even know what I’m going to say."

"You’re going to say, ’I’ll take your silence as a yes,’ aren’t you?"

He slid his eyes to the side as he casually lied, "... wrong."

"No," she scoffed, retracting her hand and shaking her head.

"You don’t want to get adopted?" The corners of his mouth turned down. "That’s strange."

What was the point of fueling her family and Derek Lancaster’s egos? Her relationship with her family was already strained, and he’d been fueling it. All so she wouldn’t have a problem turning away from such a problematic family.

Hence, Harvey did a good job of creating that mistake. If she gets credited for all the devilish investments he was doing, she might take Derek back. From what he heard, Lola used to be so dedicated to the guy.

Was I too early to ask for her hand?

Lola pinched the bridge of her nose in distress, unaware of the things on his mind. After a second, she huffed and looked up at him.

"Atlas Bennet, I don’t think you can even adopt a wife," she reasoned, feeling as though, in his eyes, she was a dog he could gift to his kids. "I’ll be honest with you. I love Chacha and Second; I adore them, and I don’t mind looking after them. But marriage?"

A shallow sigh escaped her. She tried to put herself in his shoes and understood that he might not grasp the true concept of marriage.

"It’s not the word you used, but I don’t treat marriage lightly," she said. "Even with a legal contract, or rather, especially if it involves a legal contract or anything that is for benefits — I don’t want it."

Lola paused, looking him straight in the eye. "For me, it’s very important. Marriage is sacred and shouldn’t be tainted by anything other than love. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s why I broke off the engagement."

"You did?" he arched a brow. "That’s not what I heard."

"Of course," she snorted. "That idiot—I mean, Derek—will never say I dumped him."

Studying her reaction, his eyes flickered with intrigue. He nodded carefully as he picked up his glass, his eyes sliding back to her as he guided it to his lips.

"So, you don’t like him? Is that what you were saying?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Why would I?"

"Good," he intoned before taking a sip of his wine, making her raise her brows. However, she didn’t dwell on it as she cleared her throat.

"So, there’s that," she said with a smile. "You don’t have to adopt me for me to love your children. I love them already, and I’m willing to take care of them. So, you don’t have to offer marriage just for them."

His silence was long enough to make her feel slightly uncomfortable until he finally broke it with a simple, "Okay."

That’s it? She wondered, but didn’t dwell on it as she smiled. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome..." he smiled back, a sight she had never seen before. "... Lola Young."