When Atlas returned to the bedroom, a large hill was mounded on the other side of the bed. Lola had hidden herself inside the blanket, leaving his side without one. He shook his head and placed the glass of water on her side table.
"Drink before you sleep," he said quietly before heading away to get himself a new blanket.
As for Lola, she winced under the blanket. She heard his voice and listened to his quiet footsteps as he left. Not long after, the added weight on the other side of the bed pressed on it.
Damn it...
She let out a shallow breath, not moving an inch, as she felt a slight movent on the other side.
What am I even doing?
Thinking about her current situation, she did another slight head shake. Slowly, she let her body relax on the bed as the quietness and stillness enveloped her. The movents on her side were gone, and there wasn’t the slightest noise that could be heard in the room.
It was pure silence.
Is he asleep? She wondered, glancing in his direction. She didn’t dare peek, though; it was too risky.
For a while, Lola just suffocated herself under the blanket. She lay on her stomach, her face turned to the other side, and her hands near her face. Pursing her lips, another heavy sigh escaped her.
He’s probably asleep now, she told herself, and with that thought, the remaining stiffness in her muscles began to subside. It wasn’t the first ti they slept together in the sa bed. But this was the first ti she was aware and very sober.
I got too distracted by him that I completely forgot the rest that happened earlier, before all of this.
Slowly, Lola adjusted her position under the blanket.
lissa... Hudson...
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Did she... get drugged that night?
That wasn’t impossible. If lissa didn’t have a problem pulling Lola’s life support in her previous life, that woman wouldn’t have a problem hiring soone to drug her and do whatever she wanted with Lola.
Thinking about it brought a frown to Lola’s face, her hand balling into a tight fist. Just thinking about it infuriated her in a way she could never put into words.
"That witch..." she hissed and intuitively pulled the blanket down, temporarily forgetting that she was currently bedsharing with Atlas. The blanket was already pulled down when she realized who was lying beside her.
Lola froze in place before she turned her head to the side ever so carefully. Much to her dismay, Atlas was just lying there motionless. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, his blinks properly tid as if even that were on schedule.
She didn’t even plan to ask why he was still awake and simply planned to sink back inside her makeshift cave when he suddenly spoke.
"I’m hard," he said, and her breath hitched. "That is the answer to your question of why I’m still awake."
Her face twitched. "I’m not even curious—hah... ha..."
Atlas remained like a statue on that side while she slowly pulled her blanket over her head. But before she could fully cover herself, he shot her a side eye.
"You didn’t tell ."
"Hm?"
"The reason you wanted to borrow my na," he clarified in the sa quiet and flat tone. "I can’t let you borrow it, but I’d like to hear the reason."
She had already told him the reason: it was personal. Too personal, too risky to share. But looking at him with that unreadable look on his face made her reconsider.
Lola pulled down the blanket again, looking at him before staring at the ceiling. "Do you... always keep your promises, Atlas?"
"I do."
"Do you also find loopholes in them?" she asked, cocking her head in his direction. His silence was enough to get a clear answer. "So, you do?"
"Finding loopholes is easy, but it depends on whether I exploit them or not."
"So, when you promised that you would not misunderstand ... does that an you might not misunderstand , but you can still judge ?"
Amusent flickered in his eyes, which she quickly caught.
"What?" she asked. "Did I say sothing amusing for you to look at like that?"
"You did," he nodded slightly. "I find it amusing that you sincerely believe I haven’t judged you yet."
She deadpanned. "You had judged even before you got to know ?"
"I judge everyone even before I know their existence."
Her face scrunched up, not at all pleased by his ridiculous claim. But that didn’t surprise her.
"Tsk," Lola clicked her tongue and huffed sharply. "By that, you an whether I do anything or not, you’re going to judge , huh?"
"Not just , but the world."
"Hmm?" She whipped her head back to him, only to find him already staring.
"Do sothing or do nothing, the world will still judge. So, why care if one person judges you?"
Her brows rose mildly, staring at him, who had said sothing logical with such a straight face. After a second, a defeated laugh escaped her.
"Is that why you don’t care much?" she mused, and he answered her with a shrug.
If that was the reason—this couldn’t-care-less attitude of whether this world would end or not—then she was learning. It made sense, after all: if you do sothing, people will judge. If you do nothing, it will be the sa.
Society would judge because people feel better when they step on soone.
"I want to get close to lissa," she finally answered as soon as she averted her gaze from him. "And being Mrs. Bennet is the easiest way to approach soone like her without raising suspicion."
"Then, have it."
Lola laughed. "Like I said, I agree with what you said and—"
"Treat it as a free trial," he cut her off.
Her face contorted. "What is this, a subscription?"
"You can have the lifeti subscription," he added, one brow arched. "Use it... or I will deal with her. I don’t like how she’s able to get on my nerves."
Silence followed his remarks as she stared at him with slight surprise and confusion. But in the end, she smiled and nodded.
"I’ll think about it," she muttered while he reached for the night lamp. But even when it was switched off, she could still see him.
Lola quickly pulled the blanket over her chest, her mind drifting to their brief conversation. Minutes later, she quietly turned on her side, her back facing him.
"Atlas," she called, and when she heard a low hum from him, she muttered, "Earlier... did you just tell you’re going to pursue without saying it directly? Does that an... you’re romantically interesting in ?"
As always, he didn’t answer imdiately. He stared at her back montarily and then nodded.
"Yes."
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