As always, Melissa tried to defend Lola and downplay it. However, Derek was not buying it anymore. It had always been like this. Lola would bully Melissa, and Melissa would still protect her. Derek was so fed up that he had begun to loathe Lola’s deceitful ways.
After all, even when he would witness Lola hurting Melissa, Lola would always deny it. It was how his friendship with Lola slowly crumbled because of Lola’s "attitude" toward poor Melissa.
Derek thought Lola had finally stopped tormenting Melissa, but he was wrong. Because until now, Lola could still look for ways to torment her half-sister.
"Melissa." Derek clutched her hand on the table, looking her in the eye sincerely. "Don’t worry about this injustice. She’ll hear from me this time."
"Derek..."
He shook his head, cutting her off. "I can’t let her do this over and over. The reason she’s doing this is that you’re letting her. I’m not just going to sit around while Lola bullies my fiancé."
Her eyes softened, looking at Derek with conflict, and feeling touched. But deep in her heart, she was sneering.
"For now, enjoy our meal, alright?" he hummed gently, looking at her with pity. "As long as I’m with you, I’ll protect you, Melissa."
"Derek," she blushed, pursing her lips. "Thank you. I feel reassured having you by my side."
He smirked. "Of course. I am, after all, Derek Lancaster."
*****
Melissa and Derek enjoyed their early dinner before Derek finally dropped her home. It had been a while since the two of them went on a date, and in a way, Derek felt slightly guilty.
He had been so busy with company affairs that he didn’t realize Lola was on the move again.
"I knew it!" he hissed, thinking about everything that Melissa had told him. "That Lola is scheming something again while I wasn’t looking."
He clicked his tongue irritably, driving himself to where he knew Lola was staying. Melissa didn’t know her address, but thankfully, he had gotten wind of where that woman was hiding and plotting her poisons when he was at the chairman’s residence, as the chairman had wanted to send her some food.
Soon, Derek arrived at a high-rise condominium building. Stepping out of the car, he stood before it and hissed. He knew this place, of course. It was one of the most exclusive buildings in King’s City, where only the rich could afford.
"Did she ask Grandpa to let her stay in here?" he grumbled. "That woman—I knew it when I heard that she’s staying in this place. I’m sure she asked Grandpa to buy her a place here. Otherwise, how would she be able to afford to be in this place?"
Bitterness filled his heart at the thought. After all, Derek was well aware of how Lola was exploiting his grandfather’s affection for her.
"I really hate her guts," he hissed. "Just because Grandpa likes her, even Travis favors her."
But that wasn’t what he came here for.
Derek clicked his tongue and shook his head in disgust. With that, he walked inside with only one mission: to scold Lola and make her fix the problem she had caused for Melissa. If not, then make her apologize or regret it.
But just as Derek got inside the building, he caught two children running in his direction.
"Chacha!" Second yelled as his twin sister ran ahead of him.
Chacha just looked back at him, and when she looked ahead, it was too late to stop.
Boink.
Chacha collided with Derek’s leg, but since she was small, she was the only one who landed on her bottom. She fell so adorably that she didn’t even make a sound.
"Ouchie..." she whimpered, rubbing her nose and forehead.
"Chacha!" Second’s voice echoed once more, gliding to her side. His round eyes shook with worry. "Chacha, are you not going to cry?"
Chacha frowned as she looked up at her brother. "But I didn’t get hurt... because I was wearing mommy’s booty cushion. I can’t cry."
"Phew!" Second heaved a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead. "No wonder you’re not crying."
"Second, you should wear one too!" Chacha beamed. "It’s so much fun! Look at me!"
Chacha then went on to bounce on her rear, giggling as she couldn’t feel anything. "Maybe this is why mommy wears this for protection."
"Does she play trampoline with it?" Second wondered, rubbing his chin.
As the twins ignored the collision and just happily talked about the butt padding Chacha was wearing, Derek frowned deeply at the two of them. He darted his eyes between the two vampire children, who seemed to have attended a Halloween party.
"Tch. How could their parents just let their children run around?" Derek gazed at his pants, only to see a white substance painted into a small face. It looked like a white ghost had formed on his legs, thanks to the kid who crashed into it.
He clicked his tongue again, about to let it go and move on to his mission, when he stopped.
"Huh?" His brows knitted as he looked slowly at the two children, who hadn’t even apologized. "Isn’t those...?"
Deep lines appeared between his brows as he thought about a memory not long ago. At the same time, Second assisted his sister to her feet.
Both children stood beside each other and bowed politely. "Mister, sorry for hitting you. We will be careful next time."
Derek narrowed his eyes at the children. He scoffed, now reminded why these children looked so familiar. "You kids... are you Lola’s kids?"
Chacha and Second stared at Derek with round eyes, blinking at him. The question caught them off guard, but then, their mouths stretched from ear to ear. That was right, they were Lola’s children.
So, the twins answered proudly, "That’s our Mommy, and we’re her beloved children~!"
"Tch," he scowled, his eyes glinting bitterly. "That woman... she really pushed that pregnancy."
After hearing that Lola was pregnant and confirming it himself, Derek simply didn’t want anything to do with her. Every little pity and reluctance he had toward her disappeared with that pregnancy.
"You two... do you even know how much these pants cost?" he asked. "Where’s your mother? Surely, she is not raising her children right for letting you run around this place unsupervised."
He sneered. "But then again, how would she know about class when you three—no, you four, including that fish-headed father of yours—are just leeching off our family’s fortune?"