A light grunt escaped Lola as the lines on her face deepened. She stretched her limbs, but in the next second, her eyes popped open.
"I was studying!" Like a zombie, she sat up straight as if that was the proper way to wake up.
A moment later, she blinked and realized she was back in her bedroom. Turning her head to the other side of the bed, she pressed her hand against the sheets. She could still feel warmth lingering there, telling her Atlas had been beside her not long ago.
"I fell asleep," she muttered, ruffling her hair as she tried to remember what she’d been doing before nodding off.
Just then, the door of the walk-in closet flew open. Lola snapped her eyes toward it, catching Atlas as he stepped out.
"Gosh." She bent her knee, propping her elbow against it as she cupped her cheek.
Atlas quietly approached her and sat on the edge of the bed. "You should rest more," he said. "It’s still too early."
"Atlas, how can you stay up late at night and still wake up earlier than everybody?"
"Routine." He slowly reached out and pinched her cheek. The gesture made her brows rise.
"Something wrong?" she asked, but like usual, he didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at her quietly, studying every pore on her face before meeting her eyes. "I just missed you."
"Hehe." She smiled and chuckled weakly, scooting closer to him. Her arms found their way around him as she hugged him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Me too, Atlas. I miss you."
Her lips curved downward as her thoughts drifted to the past month since they arrived here. From the moment they set foot in this place, Atlas had been buried in responsibilities. It was no surprise—he was the one running everything, and unlike managing a business, this family was far more complicated.
He had to be hands-on. Otherwise, people might think he wasn’t focused enough and create problems. So, he had to make up for the days he was gone. Even though he carved out time for Lola and the children, it still didn’t feel like enough.
Slowly, Lola lifted her head. "Atlas, am I giving you a lot of trouble?" she asked. "I heard you had a hard time when you first came here because you were an outsider. So... marrying another outsider... were the other families bothering you?"
"My marriage is none of anyone’s concern," he replied. "Don’t think about that."
She smacked her lips. "How can I help you?"
"You’re already helping me," he nodded. "That’s enough."
But sadness flickered in her eyes. There was still so much she had to learn. So many things to understand. Lola knew that. However, she wanted to speed-run everything just so she could stay by his side without being a burden.
Atlas studied her expression and smiled subtly. "I have a meeting in thirty minutes. After that, I need to go to the main town to meet someone. You can come."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up, making him chuckle quietly.
He hummed and nodded. "I’ll call for you."
"Okay." She grinned excitedly. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Atlas stayed with her for a moment before leaving for his meeting. Lola, on the other hand, got up and began her day. While Atlas was in his meeting, she visited her children and had breakfast with them.
As she ate with Slater and the twins, she couldn’t help thinking about the research lab.
No wonder my children, at this age, are familiar with nuclear weapons, she thought. But I get it now. I understand why Atlas raised our children the way he did.
Because knowing their children were capable and could fend for themselves—or at least could buy them time if the worst happened—was one less thing to worry about.
"Mommy, are you leaving today with Daddy?" Second’s adorable voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Lola smiled. "Mhm. I’ll accompany your daddy today. Do you guys have other plans today?"
Peace, huh?
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy!