Lola tried to ignore all the distractions around her. She had stopped wondering what the whispers in the crowd were about. She’d been at it for an entire day now, and entertaining the twins earlier had already drained so of her energy. She couldn’t afford to waste any more.
So, even when she saw Slater and a few others setting up caras and lights on the side—as if he wanted to docunt everything—she ignored it completely. She stayed focused, putting everything on the line.
"You’re being foolish," the man running beside her grumbled under his breath. "This is all futile. Why don’t you just quit?"
She gave him a sidelong glance, catching several others shooting her looks as well. She scoffed and turned forward.
"Don’t worry about ," she exhaled. "I only started this morning. You guys started days ago. If soone’s being foolish here, it’s not . And if I’m being stubborn, then what do I call the rest of you?"
"We’re not going to stop," another man muttered between deep breaths. "What part of that don’t you understand?"
"And which part of what I said—’I’m not quitting until every single one of you quits’—isn’t clear?" She shot back, letting out a dry laugh despite her exhaustion. "You’re wasting your breath. Unless you stop, knock it off."
With that, she shut them out, wearing an expression that made it clear she wasn’t open to negotiation. The n exchanged bitter looks. So were irritated by her stubbornness, while others were simply too exhausted to care. A few quietly stared at her figure, their resolve beginning to waver.
One of them, starting to give in, tapped the man in front of him. When the latter glanced back, he gestured to switch positions. Without a word, they briefly broke formation—the first slowing down as the second jogged forward to take his spot.
It happened again. Each ti, the man tapped the one ahead and switched until he was finally just one place behind Lola.
"What if we stop?" He called loudly enough for her to hear. "And the big boss gets angry? Will you take responsibility?"
Finally, Lola looked at him. She had been waiting for this question.
"Of course," she said without hesitation. "So of you are being punished because of ." She took a few deep breaths. "I know so of you made mistakes, but I also know you were following orders. And that doesn’t sit right with ."
Her eyes glead with determination as she looked straight ahead. "Stop, and I’ll stand before all of you. Don’t worry about Atlas."
"He’s not even trying to stop you," another snickered. "With all due respect, but unlike you, we’ve been with him for years. He’s not the type to take his words back."
"I’m saying this for your sake, Miss," another added. "Don’t undermine his authority. Soone tried that once, and everyone paid the price."
Everyone, including them. Even Scarlet. Right now, none of them cared about pride or position; they just wanted to survive this punishnt and move on with their lives.
"If he were going to listen to you, he would’ve stopped you in the first five hours," said the man running nearest to her. "How can you guarantee that stopping now will keep us all alive? Every single one of us?"
Lola glanced around at the n — all of them watching her intently for the first ti all day.
A soft, dry laugh escaped her. "That’s easy. Leave it to ." Then she arched a brow, smirking faintly. "I’ll break up with your boss if I fail."
Their brows furrowed in disbelief, but even through exhaustion, Lola didn’t show a hint of doubt. Before they could decide whether to trust her or not, sothing hit their noses.
The sll. That wonderful and appetizing sll was enough to make anyone drool.
Their eyes widened, and their stomachs twisted. All at once, they turned toward the source. Steam curled from pots and serving bowls as the chef and helpers placed dishes on the table. Not far away, others were grilling barbecue over open flas. They could even hear the at’s sizzle against those grills.
The air was thick with the aroma of roasted at and rich spices. Their stomachs growled violently. Lola and the n swallowed hard and looked away, faces pale with dread. If soone hadn’t known better, they would have thought they’d seen sothing horrifying.
"He’s doing this on purpose," one man seethed, clenching his teeth. He placed a hand on his stomach, which rumbled in betrayal.
Others gulped, trying to ignore it. But how could they? They were exhausted, starving, and now surrounded by the sll of freshly grilled food. If this was not another form of torture, what was?
Worse still were the twins’ faint voices in the distance, cheering and praising how tender the at was.
Lola’s expression darkened. "You guys... I’m giving you a chance," she muttered, head bowed, shadows falling across her face. "A chance to live and learn from your mistakes. But now... I might just bury you all alive tonight."
She gulped, her mind already wandering to the first bite of real food. "Out of sight, out of mind. If I don’t see you running, maybe I can rewire my brain and keep my conscience clean."
The n stared at her, horrified. She had been running with them all day, and now she’d finally snapped.
"Hehe..." Lola let out a faint, eerie giggle, slowly turning her head toward them. "Heh."
"She... she snapped, didn’t she?" one of the n whispered, fear creeping into his face.
Yes. She did.
The man, who had moved closer to her, swallowed again. The food’s sll was torture, but her words stayed in his mind.
"Hey," he called. "You’d better keep your word because if he kills us all, I’ll take you down with before I go to hell."
His words snapped everyone—including Lola—to attention. They all turned to him in shock.
And to everyone’s surprise, he slowed down. Then, he stopped dead in his tracks.
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