"Second is right, Mommy! Protect your husband with all your might! Or someone else will crawl into his bed if they find out he’s sleeping alone!"
Lola’s face squeezed as she drove slowly, looking over her shoulder. The twins looked so serious and upset.
"Uhm..." she cleared her throat and carefully stopped at the red light. "Babies, calm down, okay?"
But the bitterness in their usually bubbly eyes shone even brighter. They chewed their lips, their chests moving heavily. That wasn’t the calm she was expecting.
A shallow breath escaped Lola. Checking the time, she gave them a huge smile. "Ice cream?"
*
*
*
In a nearby park, Lola and the twins sat on a bench with ice cream cones in hand. The twins sat on either side of her, enjoying their ice creams in between encouraging her to protect her "husband." To be fair, Lola didn’t think there was a need to. Considering what kind of man Atlas was, she was surprised she was still alive.
"So, the lady with Mister King... is she a friend of your father’s?" she hummed, watching the twins nod while licking their ice cream. Their little feet swung to and fro, looking much calmer now.
"She likes our Father Sir!" Chacha puffed her right cheek, pouting. "I don’t like her."
"I only like Mommy for our Father Sir," Second added, sharing his sister’s mood.
Lola studied the two of them and recalled the woman she had met earlier. The woman with Allen was gorgeous, in her opinion. She looked mature and elegant, a perfect fit to be the wife of a CEO or the chairman of a company as big as Summit Partners.
It wasn’t a bad match, to be honest.
Yet, the more she thought about it, bitterness crept into her heart. Because no matter what she said or did, the mixed signals Atlas was sending her were something she couldn’t completely ignore.
"Chacha, Second, I don’t think she’s that bad," she coaxed. "The auntie earlier is very pretty, and she looks smart too."
"She’s not," they answered in unison, looking at her with a shocking lack of emotion. Chacha and Second blinked, their round eyes giving her a knowing look.
Lola had to watch her expression, pursing her mouth to stop herself from whatever was tempting her to say. These were kids, and she had to be a good example. She reached out to ruffle their hair, smiling.
"Mommy, don’t you want to protect Father Sir?" Chacha asked adorably, her eyes reddening slightly. "I don’t want a new mommy."
"I don’t want a mommy if not mommy, either," Second muttered, his round eyes almost wiggling.
"That’s not going to happen," Lola reassured them, biting her tongue at the remarks she had given. "I mean, Chacha, Second, you know... your dad has been all alone all these years, right? If, let’s say, he’s happy with someone’s company, won’t you be happy for him?"
Then, the moment those words left her tongue, a question lingered in her head. Should she really be asking this question to them? Even if they were little geniuses, this was a very mature topic.
Her thoughts tangled and stopped at their quick, flat answer: "No."
"Daddy is only for our mommy!" Second hugged her side, while Chacha hugged her from the other side, saying, "And Mommy is only for Daddy!"
So now he’s your dad?
Lola watched the two of them and sighed. How could she break these two little hearts? Even though Lola knew it was impossible, she simply wanted to protect them from any heartache. After all, they didn’t even get to see their mother because... she left them.
Her eyes softened with a hint of bitterness. She hugged them back and patted their backs gently. She understood the longing for a mother because Lola longed for her mother so much that no one would ever understand.
Lola released the two with a smile. "Don’t worry about that much for now, okay?"
She didn’t know what to do with this. She wasn’t in a position to confront Atlas. Still, it intrigued her. The beautiful lady she met earlier seemed to be an important person. Otherwise, Allen wouldn’t have come in with her.
Who was that woman? And what was she in Atlas’ life?
Most importantly, why did the twins dislike her so much? This question, however, could be easily answered if she had only asked.
"Chacha, Second, can I ask something?" She tilted her head, licking the melted part of her ice cream. "That lady earlier... why don’t you like her? Did she do or say anything bad to you?"
"She wants our Father Sir," Second explained. "She doesn’t say it, but she’s always around him; it’s annoying."
"She thinks just because she stayed with us, she can be his wife!" Chacha added. "She also calls us babies!"
"She even makes us breakfast and eats with us!"
"She just babysat us when she shouldn’t even have."
Lola blinked and blinked.
That sounds... me?
Lola laughed awkwardly, not sure if she should feel hurt by this. However, she decided to take this as a simple case of children scared of losing their father to a new wife. Lola understood. After all, her already neglectful father doubled down on the neglect when he took home his new wife. But Jasmine was different, and not everyone was just like her.
She hoped.
"Maybe, she’s not that bad," she commented with a smile. "Sometimes, we just have to open our hearts to others."
The twins studied Lola’s face quietly while making sure their ice cream wouldn’t melt onto their fingers. They pursed their lips.
No way, they thought.
But somehow, this act of theirs wasn’t melting Lola’s heart enough. So, if the first hug didn’t work...
The twins threw themselves at Lola once more, hugging her tighter. Lola straightened up a bit, staring down at them helplessly. This time, she simply stroked their backs.
Little did she know, Chacha and Second peeked at each other. After a second, they nodded, then looked up at her.
"Mommy, we’ve decided!" Second cheered.
"Huh? What have you decided?" Lola blurted out. "When did this decision-making happen?"
The twins grinned, squeezing themselves to her until Lola looked like an egg squeezed between two buns.
"We’re going to protect your marriage!" they announced. "Leave it to us!"
Lola opened her mouth, but no sound came out. An awkward laugh escaped her as she lowered her head, whispering, "Can you... un-decide that?"