"Thank Miss Young for this."
After saying that, Harvey carried on, and the Summit Partners entourage drove away without wasting another second. Derek, anwhile, stared at the retreating vehicles in stunned silence.
Harvey’s words had reached everyone’s ears, and slowly, all eyes turned to lissa.
"Oh, Lisa!" Jasmine grasped her daughter’s hand. "What did you do, hmm?"
lissa bit her lip, having no idea what Harvey ant. But with everyone looking at her and Derek rushing to her side with pride and joy in his eyes, she couldn’t help but smile.
"Surely, my daughter is a godsend!" Lawrence laughed, his earlier worries evaporating like smoke. This was better than anything he’d hoped for.
"Dad, it’s not much..." lissa tucked her hair behind her ear, feigning modesty. "I just tried following up with Summit Partners about the proposal."
"lissa..." Derek clasped her hand, his gaze swimming with affection. "You really are a blessing to ."
Whatever tension had been in the air from Lola’s earlier appearance was quickly forgotten. The Lancasters exchanged glances and then turned their attention to lissa.
Whatever she had done, they were grateful for it.
As for Lola, she quietly watched how the atmosphere shifted. The Lancasters’ mood had visibly changed.
Well, it’s Summit Partners, she thought, eyes following the cars driving out the gate. Even if they disliked the engagent, this is sothing they can’t ignore.
She tilted her head, still puzzled.
But why?
Lola thought about it but ca up empty. With a shrug, she turned and walked back inside, where Chairman Lancaster was still seated. She had co with her own agenda. Whatever "blessing" ca to lissa and Derek was no concern of hers.
Little did she—or anyone else—know, the answer to Summit Partners’ unexpected appearance was much simpler than they thought.
The answer... were just sitting in a convenience store, feet swinging beneath the table, waiting patiently for their "mommy."
****
anwhile...
Silo sat across from the adorable duo, Chacha and Second, who were quietly watching people walk by through the glass wall of the convenience store. They were just outside the subdivision where Lola had gone.
Their faces, like Lola’s, were painted as if Halloween had arrived early. When Lola had done her makeup in the car earlier, the twins had wanted to copy her—and here they were, decked out in full Halloween glam.
"Uh... kids," Silo cleared his throat as they looked at him with those big, curious eyes. "Why do you keep calling Lola your mother?"
He couldn’t shake it. It had been nagging at him since earlier. They had clearly ntioned having a father, but when it ca to a mother, only Lola.
The twins blinked, then looked up as if trying to recall sothing. Chacha pouted.
"Uncle, because our mommy is our mommy!"
Second nodded seriously. "Our dad told us so!"
"Your dad... told you Lola is your mother?" Silo repeated, confused.
The twins nodded enthusiastically. The truth was, they hadn’t thought much about having a mother until recently. As they grew older and noticed other kids calling soone "Mommy," curiosity grew with them.
Why did other kids have mommies... and they didn’t?
So, they had asked their father if they had one.
His answer?
"You didn’t co from a tree."
And that ant they had one. But when they asked where she was, their father had no idea.
"Huh?" Silo frowned. "Your father didn’t know where your mom was?"
Second shook his round little head. "He said we were delivered to him."
Silo’s face contorted. He didn’t know if he should laugh, cry, or call soone. This was borderline absurd.
"But our Father Sir told us what our mommy looked like!" Chacha chid in proudly. "He said she’s the prettiest soul! Super attractive and has a really nice voice too! He said we’d know her when we saw her!"
"Yep!" Second added. "So even if Father Sir didn’t know where she was, we found her already! So it’s fine!"
They bead, grinning from ear to ear, their painted faces glowing with pure joy.
The flight where they first saw Lola had been a random choice. They had booked multiple flights that day, unable to decide which one to take, so they rolled a dice. And by so twist of fate, that dice landed them on her flight.
As they idled in their seats, they’d heard a woman’s voice—smooth and gentle—and their ears perked up. When they peeked over the seats, they saw the prettiest face they’d ever seen.
They’d seen many won fawn over their father. But none—none—were like Lola.
Thinking about it, the twins bead even more. That flight had been their lucky draw.
Silo, anwhile, sat frozen. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. This whole situation? This entire whirlwind Lola had been dragged into?
All because a certain man didn’t provide a proper sketch, description, or even a photo of their mother?!
Just then, the door chi rang.
The twins slowly turned. Their faces lit up as they spotted their "mommy" in full Halloween horror makeup.
Silo, on the other hand, flinched.
Did she add another layer of eyeshadow? She actually looked more decent when she left.
Even the cashier behind the counter jumped in his seat when he caught a glimpse of what looked like a walking bad spirit.
"Mommy!" the twins cried, jumping from their chairs and racing toward her. They wrapped their little arms around her as soon as she entered.
Lola smiled, squatting down to et them. "Did I take long?"
"Nope!" the twins bead. "Mommy didn’t take long at all! And we behaved!"
Lola’s eyes softened as she nodded and took their little hands in hers. Their presence imdiately washed away the lingering negativity clinging to her from the Young Residence.
"Shall we go to the ice cream shop now?"
"Yey~! Mommy is the best~!" they cheered, making Lola laugh.
"Alright then." Still holding their hands, she stood and looked toward Silo. "Let’s get out of here."
****
[The Young Residence]
Chairman Lancaster didn’t stay long after Summit Partners made their surprise appearance. He had only co for Lola—everything else could be handled by the rest of his family. After his departure, the others began to leave as well.
Lola left soon after—or rather, it felt more like she’d been kicked out. Not physically, but the unspoken dismissal was clear. Derek lingered a bit, but with Summit Partners’ sudden approval, he hurried off to the company, eager to bask in his mont of glory.
News, especially when tied to Summit Partners, traveled fast.
Now, only Jasmine, Lawrence, and lissa remained in the family room.
"Dear, you really are amazing," Jasmine said, holding lissa’s hand. "With Summit Partners on your side, none of the Lancaster relatives will dare look down on you."
lissa pursed her lips. Once Summit Partners had shown support, even Chairman Lancaster had cald down. He didn’t even try to dismiss her anymore — or so, she thought.
"Isn’t that right, dear?" Jasmine turned to Lawrence, frowning as she noticed the grim look on his face. "What is it?"
Lawrence snapped his eyes toward them. "I’m just thinking about Loren’s residence and garden. I was already in talks with an interested buyer."
"Dear, just give them to Lola," Jasmine said with a shrug. "It’s just a house and a garden. Once lissa marries Derek, we’ll be relatives of the Lancasters."
lissa pressed her lips together, letting her mother take the lead.
"What about the properties I already sold? So were used as collateral," Lawrence muttered.
"Is that even a problem?" Jasmine replied. "Just buy them all back."
His face twisted. "The price will have increased. I sold them below market value back then."
"Dear." Jasmine released lissa’s hand and moved closer to her husband. "Even if you have to take out loans to buy those properties back, it’ll be worth it. lissa is marrying the man who just brought Summit Partners into the Lancasters’ circle."
She lowered her voice. "The chairman might be grumpy, but he still has the final say. And we both know he’ll object if Lola tells him you didn’t give those properties back."
lissa cleared her throat. "Dad, once I’m married to Derek, I’ll help you however I can."
Lawrence remained silent, weighing his options. On one hand, he’d need to tap into even his capital to buy back what he’d sold. But on the other... with the Lancasters and Summit Partners backing them, he could recover.
After a long sigh, he huffed. "Fine. Let’s give those properties back to her."
He narrowed his eyes.
"And then we kick her out of this family completely."
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