Lola sat quietly in the wide living area of the penthouse, deep in thought. She was propped up on the armrest, her knuckles resting on her jaw.
We have Mommy too...
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she recalled Chacha’s whisper in her sleep. She had known them for only a few hours, but those words tugged at her like no other. It was almost painful.
"Don’t they have a mother?" she wondered to herself, thinking that they had only mentioned their father once. "..."
Lola let out another deep sigh as she reached for her phone. She checked her brief message log with the number the twins had given her. Rereading their father’s messages, a sense of bitterness filled her chest.
"Just how could a man call himself a father when he just neglects them?" she mumbled, not impressed by whatever parenting the twins’ father was doing. "Whatever it is, he can’t just let his children go around without anyone looking after them."
It wasn’t normal, and to be honest, she wanted to call child services on him.
[To: Unsaved Number
Chacha and Second have already slept. Let me know if you’re going to pick them up.]
But just when she was about to send it, her thumb hovered over the send button.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue and deleted the message. "Never mind him."
The twins’ father hadn’t replied to her last message, and he hadn’t asked about the twins until now. So, why should Lola bother?
His disinterest in his kids only made her angry, and it would break her heart for the twins. Even so, the words Chacha murmured in her sleep played in her mind like a broken record, making her more upset by the second.
Leaning on the couch, she sighed.
"Never mind them," she whispered, closing her eyes. "A neglectful parent... of all people, I should be the one who is more aware of that."
After all, the only real parent Lola had was her late mother. However, when she passed due to her sickness, her neglectful father quickly took in another woman. To make matters worse, that woman had a child the same age as Lola, and that child was also her father’s daughter from that woman.
Her eyes partially opened. "I feel sorry for them," she whispered, referring to the twins, before closing her eyes again.
With her eyes now shut, memories of her bitter life flashed through her mind like a horror film she was cursed to remember, especially the incident that took the last piece of her heart.
---
Hours later...
Chacha and Second stood beside the couch, their faces filled with curiosity as they stared at Lola’s face. Lola had fallen asleep on the couch instead of sleeping with them on the bed.
Second pointed his chubby, small finger and poked Lola’s cheek. Her cheek squished, making the twins giggle.
"Second, we have a mommy now, right?" Chacha asked quietly, turning to her brother. "She’s our mommy, right?"
Second rubbed his chin and thought about it. After a second, he nodded and turned to Chacha.
"Hmm!" Second hummed cheerfully, resting his little hands on her shoulders. "Chacha, we need to be good so Mommy will stay with us!"
Chacha nodded, her eyes full of determination. "Mhm!"
The two of them shifted their eyes back to where Lola was sleeping before exchanging looks. The corners of their mouths stretched from ear to ear, giggling.
****
Lola’s eyes flickered underneath her eyelids, the stiffness in her neck waking her from her deep slumber. Even before she opened her eyes, she sat up and massaged her neck.
Opening her eyes, Lola hadn’t fully realized she had fallen asleep on the couch when two children greeted her so cheerfully.
"Good morning, Mommy!" the twins chimed in unison.
Lola jolted in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. Clutching her chest, her eyes darted between the twins standing a few paces from her.
"Oh, god..." she blurted out, patting her chest. "That almost gave me a heart attack."
"Mommy, we made you breakfast!" Chacha ran to her side, beaming with her cheeks flushed. "Are you hungry?"
"Chacha and Second don’t know what Mommy likes, so we just did everything with the little ingredients you have in the kitchen!" Second, on her other side, cheered energetically.
"Hah..." Lola smiled awkwardly as she looked at their round faces. After a second, the awkwardness on her face disappeared as her heart warmed. "Really? You made me something?"
"Yes!" the twins cheered. "Want to see?!"
"Mommy, let’s go!"
With that, the twins took her hands and dragged her to the kitchen. Lola chuckled as she let the energetic duo start her day with their cuteness.
She didn’t expect anything special for breakfast. Who knew? They could’ve probably prepared some cereal or pancakes. Although even that would have been surprising and impressive for her, considering the twins were only five.
But then, when Lola arrived in the dining room, her mouth dropped to the floor.
There, on the table, was a feast. No, it wasn’t just pancakes and cereal. They were... fancy dishes with presentations only seen in high-end restaurants.
Lola looked at the children, her mouth still wide open. There was no way these kids could’ve done this.
"You—you guys made this?" she stuttered, and the two of them nodded.
She didn’t want to believe them, but they were so adamant that Lola didn’t have the heart to break their bubble. Her doubt, however, disappeared once she sat down, and the twins started detailing what each dish was to the point that Lola didn’t dare ask anymore.
What was more surprising was that not only was the presentation too fancy, but the taste of each dish was heavenly.
"Hihi~!" the twins giggled while Lola swallowed her food.
"Goodness, you two," she breathed out, looking at the endearing children. Her eyes softened as she ruffled their hair. "I really love it."
The twins paused for a second and just stared at her. After a moment, their smile stretched even wider as their cheeks blushed even more.
Chacha raised her hand behind Lola, and Second placed his hand on his sister’s palm for a high five.
In their minds, they only had one thought: Mission Success!
The twins only had one plan: to make Lola their mother.
And to do that, their first plan was to make her love them so much that Lola would overlook having a husband just like their father.
****
After the meal, Lola was surprised that, despite the twins making all those dishes, they had even cleaned the kitchen squeaky clean. She didn’t know if this was talent, if the twins were geniuses, or if it was the hardships of life that had taught them things kids their age usually had no idea about.
Either way, it was a memorable breakfast she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Once Lola finished the dishes and returned to the living room, she picked up her phone. Her family and Derek had bombarded her phone all night and all morning, but one particular message drew her attention.
The message read:
[From: Derek
Lola, my grandpa wants to see you today. He’s coming to your residence, expecting you. This is your last chance to break off our engagement, or else I’ll never forgive you.]
"He’s coming here?" she wondered, ignoring the rest of Derek’s gibberish. She frowned and sighed. "Did they have to send the chairman when his health has been declining?"
The Young Family might’ve been a family Lola was unlucky to be born into, but there were still a few people she cared about. One of them was Derek’s grandfather, who had treated her more like family than her own.
"Fine," she breathed out and finally responded to them.
[Coming.]