"Because your mother—Jasmine—never carried my father’s child. Ask them. They know. Atlas Bennet knows. Doctor Tyler knows. Everyone knows... except you, Lola. I guess you’re not that smart, after all."
Confusion didn’t even begin to describe what Lola felt after hearing those words. Her gaze darted between lissa’s flushed, tear-streaked face and Jasmine’s panicked expression. Slowly, she took a step back.
"Lola, it’s not—" Jasmine reached for her, tears already forming in her eyes. But Lola pulled away before she could touch her.
Jasmine was acting strange. This wasn’t the usual script.
It had always been Jasmine and lissa against her. Never once had Jasmine taken Lola’s side.
"Jasmine Young, why are you looking at like that?" Lola asked, her voice tight as her mind tried to block everything else out. She didn’t want to consider any of this. Not yet. "You don’t have to explain anything to ."
She swallowed hard. "Just tell ... your daughter is insane."
"Daughter?" lissa let out a humorless laugh. "Yes, her daughter is insane. Her daughter—you—are insane."
Lola ignored the remark, keeping her eyes on Jasmine. The older woman pressed her lips into a thin line, shaking her head slowly.
"What?" Lola asked again, her voice trembling. "Tell her that’s not true. You’re not my mother, Jasmine Young. Whatever’s going on here—it’s just lissa Young losing her mind."
But nothing ca.
Only silence... and a tear spilling down Jasmine’s cheek.
Lola’s heart stopped. She took a step back, her mind blank, her expression frozen in pure dread.
"No," she whispered, turning on her heel to walk away. But she barely took a step when lissa laughed.
"Lola, no matter how much you deny it..." A twisted chuckle escaped lissa, as though saying it out loud finally freed her. "You are a product of deception and infidelity." She stressed each word, watching Lola’s face twist. Seeing the horror in her expression filled lissa with dark satisfaction. Finally, she’d managed to hurt her.
"Between us," lissa hissed, "it’s you who doesn’t belong here."
Lola’s breath hitched, her pupils dilating. When she glanced at Jasmine one last ti, all she saw was Jasmine’s bitter, defeated expression as she stared at lissa.
"Hah..." Lola scoffed, the sound empty. She resud walking. She could hear Jasmine calling after her, even rushing to catch up. But when Jasmine reached for her, Lola tore her hand away and kept going.
*****
If Jasmine hadn’t appeared, Lola would have ignored everything lissa said. That woman would say anything—truth or lie—if it ant hurting her. Considering lissa had nothing left to lose, it wouldn’t have surprised Lola if she had simply made it all up.
But no. Jasmine had been there, and her silence, her tears, the look in her eyes—all of it made Lola hesitate.
That look: pity, guilt, and sothing else she couldn’t na. Longing, maybe. And then there was lissa’s rage. Rage that didn’t co from nowhere.
In the car, Izu glanced in the rearview mirror. Lola sat quietly in the back seat, staring blankly out the window. She hadn’t said a word since getting in. Aside from giving him her destination, she had remained completely silent.
"Young Madam," he said at last, breaking the stillness. "We’re almost there."
Lola blinked slowly, swallowing the tightness in her throat. She looked toward the driver’s seat, lips parting, then closed them again. In the end, she only nodded.
The silence continued until the car rolled to a stop in front of a two-story house in an exclusive subdivision. Lola turned her head toward the window, her eyes landing on a ho she vaguely recognized.
Before she could reach for the handle, the door opened from the outside. Izu stood there, holding it for her.
"Thanks," she murmured as she stepped out.
Her gaze drifted to the fence gate ahead. She was about to walk off when she suddenly paused and turned back to him.
"Do you also know, Izu?" she asked quietly.
He frowned. "Know what, Madam?"
"This thing... regarding Jasmine Young and ."
The question was vague, but Izu understood perfectly. And that was exactly why he didn’t want to answer.
His jaw tightened. He lowered his head slightly, biting the inside of his cheek. His silence, however, said everything.
"What?" Lola let out a hollow laugh. "So, everyone knows except ?"
She shook her head, tongue pressed against her inner cheek. Izu didn’t move, didn’t respond. He just stood there, eyes downcast.
"Fine," she muttered under her breath, exhaling sharply before turning toward the residence.
She reached over the gate and unlatched it, inviting herself inside. Without hesitation, she walked up the short path and pressed the doorbell.
Once. Twice. Three tis.
When no one answered, she pressed it again, and again. She was about to hit it for the sixth ti when the door finally swung open.
Lola froze mid-motion, her hand hovering on the doorbell.
Doctor Tyler stood in the doorway, his brows furrowing as he saw her. He studied her expression for a mont before exhaling softly.
"Lola," he greeted, offering a faint, polite smile. "I didn’t expect you tonight."
He tried to sound light, his voice gentle. "Have you eaten anything? Co in."
*****
anwhile...
"I see..." Atlas exhaled, rocking his head slightly as he spoke into his phone from the outdoor patio. "It’s alright. Let know once she cos back."
After hanging up, he turned and found Penny standing a few steps away, arms folded across her chest, head tilted slightly.
Penny blinked slowly. "Where is she? It’s getting late."
"She had to drop by sowhere," Atlas replied. "Don’t worry about her."
"I’m not worried about her," Penny countered imdiately. "I’m more worried about you."
Atlas’s brows lifted faintly. "Worrying about is the last thing you should be doing."
"Not you exactly," she said pointedly. "First Brother, you have to tell her." She stressed every word. "If you really want to help her, she should hear it from you, not from soone else."
Silence settled between them, eyes holding each other.
"No," Atlas said finally.
Her eyes narrowed. "Why not?"
"She doesn’t need to hear it from ," he said simply.
Penny’s expression faltered. "You’re making a mistake—"
"Mistakes are things I don’t do, Penny. If anyone’s going to tell her," he continued, walking past his sister slowly, "it shouldn’t be ." His tone was steady, almost cold. "My role isn’t to deliver bad news to her or break her heart, Penny. It’s to fix it."
Because Atlas already knew lissa was there... and he had let her listen.
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