CHAPTER 79: I NEED SLEEP TONIGHT.

"Mommy, did Uncle Best bother you today?" Chacha asked, staring at Lola curiously.

"What?" Lola furrowed her brows slightly as she laughed, seated on the edge of the bed while tucking the twins in. "Why do you think he bothered me?"

"Because Mommy looks a little... stressed," Second answered, staring at Lola’s elevating makeup skills. "Mommy looks like she was thinking of a lot of things when you put that makeup on."

"It’s pretty, though," Chacha mused. "Mommy is always pretty."

"And Mommy is always the best for me," Second added.

Hearing their simultaneous insult and comfort made her laugh and quietly tear up. But she didn’t let that matter for now. Although Slater had been a presence she had to manage, constantly complaining, he hadn’t gotten in her way and stayed in the car when told to behave.

"Your uncle is really nice," she said with a smile. "He didn’t bother me at all. How about you? Did you have a good day at the office?"

"Mhm. Father Sir told us to join the board meeting because he didn’t want to," Second explained innocently. "So, Chacha and I sang for them."

"They said we’re really good, Mommy," Chacha smiled proudly. "We had a standing ovation."

"Hah... ah... really?" Lola laughed awkwardly, darting her eyes between the two. She could just imagine them standing on the conference room table and putting on a concert in front of the Summit Partners board members just because their father didn’t want to attend the meeting.

"My babies are so good," she mused, reaching out to stroke their heads. "How about I sing for you tonight?"

Their eyes instantly lit up at her suggestion.

"Like a lullaby?" Second asked in awe, watching Lola nod. "Okay!"

The twins lay properly, hands over the blanket, their eyes fixed on Lola. She cleared her throat, reaching for the night lamp to dim it.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, starting with a soft hum before singing them a soothing lullaby.

Lola had been out all day, and when she came back, it was almost the children’s bedtime. Thankfully, they were sleeping in her room tonight, as she felt she needed their presence after a long day of work.

Just when she thought the twins had fallen asleep, she stopped singing. But they suddenly opened their hands and clapped.

"Wow, Mommy’s so good~" Chacha cheered in awe.

"I can listen to you all night and break our bedtime for you."

Lola chuckled, biting her tongue, and sighed. "You two worked hard today," she hummed. "So, no skipping bedtime."

She instinctively glanced at the bedside clock and noticed it was past their bedtime already. When Chacha and Second had first arrived, they had gone to sleep at the exact time, like how Cinderella had to rush home by midnight.

"Chacha, Second, it’s already past your bedtime," she pointed out, her eyes falling on them. "You should sleep now."

"Our bedtime now is different because we’re with Father Sir," Second explained. "So, we can listen to Mommy sing more."

Chacha nodded eagerly.

"..." Not that Lola had a problem with that, but she was curious. "Why is your bedtime different now that your dad is here?"

"Because Father Sir is our antidote!" they answered in unison. "Otherwise, we will become monsters, and we’ll get eaten by the monster under the bed if we stay up after our bedtime."

"We don’t want to be aliens," Chacha murmured, her hand on the side of her mouth. "And we don’t want to go back to space where our space mother and space father live."

"We want to stay with Mommy and Father Sir on Earth," Second whispered as if it were a top secret.

"... Oh...?" Lola opened and closed her mouth, but ended up smiling.

I get it now, she thought. I didn’t know this trick works on kids to make them sleep on time.

A shallow breath escaped her. "Okay, then. I’ll sing more for you, but you have to sleep now, okay?"

"Okay~!"

As they happily prepared for the next lullaby, Lola sat comfortably on the edge of the bed and started singing once more. Her eyes softened as she stared at the adorable kids who seemed to be the ones getting rid of her exhaustion.

Eventually, the two of them started yawning as their eyes grew heavy. They tried to fight for consciousness, but they eventually fell asleep.

Lola stopped, staring at the children affectionately.

"I feel like I was away from them longer than a day," she whispered, fixing the blanket over their chests. A smile turned up on her face as she stared at them before pushing herself away.

But instead of heading straight to the bathroom, Lola went out for a glass of water. On her way, however, she stopped on the steps’ landing as Atlas was on it, seemingly headed upstairs.

He stopped, lifting his gaze to her. Lola pressed her lips together and forced a smile, resuming her steps until she reached him.

"They’ve already fallen asleep," she said casually. "But if you want to check on them, go ahead."

With that, she smacked her lips and lowered her head slightly. Since he was standing in the middle, she carefully tried to slip by him to get to where she was headed.

But then...

Atlas took a step, blocking her path.

"Huh?" Her brows instantly drew together, raising her head instinctively to look up at him. "What—"

Much to her dismay, Atlas suddenly grabbed her jaw. His palm rested under her chin, his fingers pressed on her cheeks. His hold wasn’t hard enough to hurt her, but it was enough to make her look at him. He squeezed her cheeks to the point that her lips were puckering.

"..." She blinked, and then blinked some more. "What are you doing?"

Atlas said nothing and just stared at her. When his eyes fell on her lips, she intuitively pursed them. However, since her lipstick reached past her lip line, she simply looked ridiculous.

A moment later, he blinked as clarity flickered across his eyes. He then looked her in the eye.

"Lola Young," he called, his voice quiet and oddly calm—calmer than usual.

She blinked and watched his mouth move.

"I’ll ma—" The rest of his words rolled back into his throat as she suddenly placed a hand over his mouth.

His brows rose, watching her smile until her eyes squinted.

"Hehehe," Lola chuckled, keeping her palm on his mouth. "Don’t say another word. I need sleep tonight."