"Let’s beat them at their own ga!"
Invisible fire engulfed Lola, her eyes burning with renewed motivation. After the twins let her rest and said all that, all she wanted right now was to finish everything and finally rest. They would only get that well-deserved rest once all these conspiracies were resolved.
So, sacrificing so family ti for now was necessary so they could have more in the future.
But her words were t with silence... and then the birds’ croaking outside.
"Huh?" Lola snapped her eyes toward everyone inside, only to realize the people in the room were... people she didn’t know.
She blinked, scanning every face, until she spotted Scarlet among them. The latter was just staring at her with a deadpan expression.
"What are you doing?" Scarlet asked with a raised brow, seated at a table where they were having a eting with representatives from another departnt. "Beat them at their own ga?"
"Madam?" another one called in confusion. "What are you... doing here?"
Lola forced a smile and stepped back. "Oops. Wrong room." Then she reached for the knob and quietly pulled the door closed. "Sorry. Go on, don’t mind . I’m just a woman with renewed motivation... and no sleep. I didn’t an to interrupt your eting, but don’t mind . I definitely didn’t hear anything, and I have no idea what you were talking... definitely didn’t see that monitor..."
As Lola slowly shut the door, her explanation grew more muffled, and her awkward chuckles sounded slightly creepy.
Everyone inside just stared at her with parted lips until the door fully closed.
"Isn’t that... the Madam?" one of them wondered. "Was she angry? She looked like she was on fire."
"A little? She could’ve burned the door with that motivation."
"Is it because of Ravah? Did so good news reach her?"
Others chuckled, clearly seeing her in a different light than before. Ravah had been a massive success, and strategically, it served a huge purpose for the Order. Not to ntion, with Lola’s lead, everyone there had made it out alive.
At least, that was what the main teams in Ravah reported. So most of the credit went to Lola.
"Maybe she should go to the council etings and kick those arrogant founding family heads’ asses! Hahaha!" another joked, as if he hadn’t once criticized her. "I even heard she had a dance number in Ravah."
"Yeah, I heard she had a weird taste in music."
Everyone laughed, while Scarlet rely raised a brow at how quickly they got sidetracked. She shook her head but let them talk before steering them back.
This is better, she thought. Better than the Order arguing about the role of the matriarch.
"Everyone, let’s get back to work," Scarlet announced firmly, cutting through the laughter. "We’re still discussing Ravah’s reconstruction. Let’s continue."
*****
anwhile...
"Goodness." Lola shook her head as she walked down the hallway. "I got so motivated I went to the wrong floor."
She shivered and lightly slapped her cheeks to stay awake.
Soon, she reached the room she had left earlier that day. Before entering, she double-checked the room number. Once sure, she knocked once and pushed the door open.
The first thing she saw was Atlas, standing before the board Hugo had worked on earlier. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, his tie gone, and the top three buttons of his shirt undone.
Lola pursed her lips and shut the door behind her.
"Didn’t you sleep?" she asked, walking toward him. "I thought you did."
"I did," he humd without looking at her. "You saw in the room earlier. I was beside you."
She nodded, hands clasped behind her back as she stopped near the board. "I thought you skipped sleep and kept working."
Atlas didn’t answer, but she knew. He had slept... just not long enough.
"Hugo left to get food and take a nap," he said instead. "Slater and Allen will be up in a few hours. Once they return, I’ll rest more."
He paused. "But every second counts. It’s been days since Yuri made that call."
He didn’t say he was worried, but she could feel it.
Lola studied the board, then stepped closer and quietly pinched his side.
Atlas paused and turned to her. "What are you doing?"
"You know I can knock you out too, right?" She made a light chopping motion. "You used that on in Ravah to force to rest."
She smiled wider, tilting her head. "Don’t make do it."
"..."
"Co on." She took the file from his hand. "I’ve rested enough, thanks to you and the twins. But you haven’t."
"Lola—"
"Before we ca here, you promised sothing," she cut in, eting his eyes. "Do you rember?"
Silence fell between them, and then her expression softened.
"You said you’d trust . That you see as soone you can lean on, not just soone you have to shield," she reminded him. "I’m your wife. The mother of your children. And marrying you ans I also marry your responsibilities in the Order."
"I agreed to be Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Zorken... I’ll be every Mrs. tied to your na because I love you — and because I can," she added with a smile. "Earlier, I was ntally complaining because I was tired. But I realized how ungrateful that was."
"I complained while you worked this hard, while even the twins weren’t complaining, only trying to understand our responsibilities," she exhaled softly. "This is the life I chose. I am not just your wife, but also your partner."
"I also wanted to rescue Yuri," Lola nodded. "And also, I want us to resolve this quickly so we can take a short break with the kids."
She wasn’t asking for a normal life. She didn’t think she even wanted that.
"Let handle this while you rest," she said firmly. "I promise when you wake up, everything will be organized."
Atlas stared at her. Then a quiet breath escaped him, and a faint smile touched his lips.
"I’ll take the couch," he said. "Wake if sothing happens."
Lola bead. "Of course! You won’t be disappointed."
For the first ti in a while, Atlas finally let himself rest — trusting that a few hours of sleep wouldn’t end the world.
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