CHAPTER 72: LOVER’S QUARREL.

Lola’s efforts to eliminate any silly thoughts about Atlas were a real effort, to the point that she even dreamed of the past. And just when she thought that as long as she ignored and didn’t put any meaning into the man’s actions, and things would be fine, someone would suddenly say,

"Please marry First Brother!"

"Eh?" Lola scrunched up her nose, pulling her head back slightly. But the man pulled her hands closer as he leaned forward.

"Please," he said, lowering his head a little. "He’s a good person, even if it’s not obvious. His pockets are so deep you might find the Earth’s inner core. And he’s smart—a total package. Trust me, there’s nothing wrong with him, and there isn’t any catch. Please marry him as soon as possible... today is good too."

Her mouth opened and closed, her mind trying to absorb his rapid-fire remarks. But her brain felt like a non-absorbent sponge at the moment.

She had met this guy before—Slater Bennet—when they were young. That didn’t mean she hadn’t seen him in the present, as his face was everywhere. He was a superstar, after all. And now, this superstar wasn’t even giving her a moment to be starstruck because he was... selling his own brother.

Slater fluttered his eyelashes innocently, smiling from ear to ear as if that would add more to his sales pitch. Meanwhile, Lola just stared at him, completely dumbfounded.

"Okay?" he urged, nodding at her. "Yes?"

Before she could answer, two voices rang out.

"Best Uncle!" Chacha and Second echoed from the living area, making Slater and Lola turn their heads in their direction.

The twins, still in their pajamas, ran to them from Atlas’s room.

"Babies..." Slater let go of Lola’s hands, taking a step forward. He knelt and spread his arms wide, a beautiful smile on his face. "Oh, I miss you so, so much~!"

But then...

"Mommy~!"

Slater’s soft smile stiffened as the twins parted, running past him and jumping to Lola.

"Eh? Where did they go?" he peeked down at his empty arms, scrunching his nose. "Did I finally pass?"

Looking back, he saw the twins hugging Lola’s legs. She smiled at them before casting a conflicted look at Slater.

"Mommy, good morning~!" Second chirped, almost giggling. Chacha tugged her leg. "Morning, Mommy~"

"Good morning, Chacha and Second," Lola forced a smile, trying to ignore the look she was getting from the twins’ uncle. She squatted down, cupping their soft cheeks. "Hungry?"

"Mhm~!" The twins nodded in unison.

"I’ll make you breakfast then..."

"You don’t have to." Suddenly, Atlas’s voice was heard. He walked out of the kitchen as everyone turned to him. "Breakfast is ready." He then snapped his eyes to his brother, who was kneeling on the floor. "Right. Was about to say, my brother’s here."

Wasn’t that a little late now?

"... Yeah," Lola muttered under her breath. "I think I know that now."

****

Just the other day, it was only Lola, Chacha, and Second sharing breakfast. Then, Atlas had occupied the empty seat. Now, there was another addition to the table.

"If you don’t know yet, which I doubt... I’m Slater Bennet, but you can just call me Slater." Seated across the dining table, Slater offered a confident smile.

Lola intuitively narrowed her eyes, almost blinded by the guy’s charming smile.

"I’ve been in the country for a few days, but because I came here abruptly, I had to do some photoshoots and other taping for commercials I left back home." Slater frowned bitterly, recalling his tight schedule even before he’d left the airport. "Oh, well!" he shrugged. "Now I’m free from all that."

After his piece, silence filled the dining room. All eyes were on Lola as she scanned their faces.

These people know... that this is my home, right?

"Slater’s going to stay here with us." Before she could even answer, Atlas’s voice sliced through the silence. "It’s better to have him around since the two of you will be working together."

Lola swallowed and gazed down, scratching her temple.

"Ah..." She slowly raised her head, brushing her stray hairs back with a wide smile. "Is that so?"

"Mhm."

"Okay!" she intoned, her smile brighter. "Sounds great!"

But just as everyone’s faces formed a satisfied smile, she slammed her hands on the table.

"Hey, ha... ha, is that what you’re expecting me to say in this situation?" She gasped, looking at Atlas with wide, incredulous eyes. "Aren’t you getting too comfortable in my house?"

Slater frowned, only to see her raise a hand at him.

"No offense," she said before turning back to Atlas. "I have no problem with you, but with him."

Slater blinked, then blinked again, moving his eyes to the twins seated next to Lola. His face twisted as he made a chopping gesture across his neck. He mouthed, "Lover’s quarrel."

The twins nodded at him before they slowly turned their heads to Lola. After a second, they looked at each other and nodded, carefully sliding down from their seats. Slater, on the other hand, also carefully slid out of his seat.

While Lola’s frustration grew, Atlas narrowed his eyes, catching his children and brother tiptoeing their way to the exit.

"What I’m saying is, you can’t just—god." Lola pinched the bridge of her nose in distress.

Letting people stay at her place was not a problem. The apartment was big enough for another person like Slater. However, this was her place, her territory, and Atlas was getting more and more intrusive! The girl had to protect what little she could, a.k.a. her heart.

"I mean, don’t get me wrong, alright?" Lola looked up at him, pointing at the chairs beside her. "Like I said, taking care of and looking after Chacha and Second is not a problem. The three of us get along. Right Chacha? Seco—huh? Where did they go?"

The second she turned her head in the twins’ direction, she almost bit her tongue as she saw that the chairs were empty. Only then did she also realize Slater was gone as well!

"Slater’s going to stay." Like the man of the house, Atlas picked up his coffee and watched her look back at him. "Didn’t you want to work with him?"

"Work with him? When did I say that...?" As soon as the words left her tongue, a realization hit her like a truck. Hadn’t the twins told her that they’d asked their uncle to work at The Angel’s Revenge?

It hadn’t been long since that conversation, but with everything else going on, she had almost forgotten about it. Only now did she realize why Slater was here in the first place.

It was the twins who had summoned him.

"Ah... that’s why you looked so smug about it," she said, stabbing the bacon and shoving it in her mouth.

He smirked subtly, because he was, indeed, smug about it. "Just eat."