Lola was stopped by the servers, but she told them she had forgotten something in the car. After she insisted on not being assisted, they let her go on her own.
In the past five years of her life, she had learned a lot, mostly the hard way. Just like now, Lola had also grown comfortable with someone once and ended up almost ruining her entire life. That situation was happening again.
Lola was getting comfortable with someone she shouldn’t have been. Vito and Atlas might be different, but they were both men who could make things complicated for her. So, this was not the time for Lola to go out on dinner dates with him.
I can babysit Chacha and Second, but him... I should draw the line.
Taking the same path she had previously taken, Lola walked down the hallway. There were other doors on each side, leading to other private dining rooms. Her steps were quiet, but not slow. Her strides showed no sign of stopping as she had already decided.
But then... as she was walking, the door several steps ahead suddenly slid open.
"Yeah, I know..."
Lola’s steps trailed off as she watched a man step out of the private dining room while talking to someone inside.
For crying out loud... Lola mentally hissed. Just how much does this world hate me?
Because right there, just ten steps away, was... Derek.
Why do I keep bumping into this abomination?
And to make it worse, she would bump into that cursed being at the times she was least in the mood. Lola winced as she tried to turn around and walk back to the rooftop. But then, she heard the gigantic red flag talking.
"You!"
She froze, keeping her head turned away.
Derek, on the other hand, squinted and tilted his head to see her.
"Hang on..." he muttered, taking careful steps until he was in front of her. The second he recognized the beauty, he clapped excitedly and grinned. "It’s you!"
I swear... after I burn the Youngs’ residence, this world’s gonna be next.
Lola clenched her teeth and let out a restrained huff. She forced a smile and finally faced him.
"Hey," she said, and sarcastically remarked, "Fate?"
"See?" Derek mused, his hands on his hips as he laughed. "I told you! This is fate! I am starting to believe in the theory of the red string of fate."
"Ha... ha...?" she laughed. Just where is this damn thread so I can put it around his neck?
Derek rubbed the tip of his nose, giving her a knowing look. "Miss, I’m starting to wonder if this really is fate or... do you know that I’ll be here?"
A vein protruded on her forehead, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
"Haha! I’m kidding! How would you know, right?" he laughed again, thinking his humor was funny. "I’m just humoring you."
That is not humor, that is a mental illness.
"Ahem! Anyway..." Derek raised his brows as he looked her in the eye. "Are you also dining here tonight? All alone? Or..." he trailed off, catching sight of the hallway she was walking from. "... are you lost?"
"No, I just fi—"
"How about you join us?" he interjected with a smile, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "I’m with my cousin. I’ll introduce you to him."
Her mouth parted, but then she decided against answering. She knew he would just interrupt her again. Derek, even if he was foolish, was smart in some other areas. And for sure, he knew she would reject him, which was why he wasn’t letting her finish.
"What do you think?" he wiggled his brows, his smile so charming she wished she were blind.
Lola drew a deep breath and smiled. "I’m with someone."
"That’s fine," he said. "The two of you can join us—my treat."
"Hah." She scoffed.
"When fate is the one making a way for us to cross paths, don’t you think it’s about time we grab the chance?" he shrugged. "Maybe we’ll understand why we always cross paths!"
Lola touched her nape and massaged it a little, turning her head slightly to the side.
Don’t do it, Lola. Extend your grace, she told herself, but then Derek spoke again.
"Don’t worry," he said. "I just want to be friends."
Friends?
She blinked as the corners of her eyes sharpened.
Friends?!
But just as Lola faced him, ready to knock him out—just once—she stopped. Her breathing stopped at once, her eyes dilating.
Seeing her reaction, Derek chuckled. "Come on. You don’t have to be so surprised. I mean, getting to know you first and being friends—"
The rest of his words stopped when a palm carefully touched his cheek and shoved him to the side. Taken off guard, Derek was pushed and almost bumped into the wall.
"What the—" Derek instinctively slapped the wall for balance, stunned for a second. But when he recovered, he snapped his eyes up.
There, standing a step from where he had stood, was a man.
Derek’s face twisted in irritation. He straightened his back and took a step closer.
"What the hell?" he barked, his hands slightly spread on either side of him. "Why would you do that?"
"You’re in the way," Atlas replied without batting an eye, his attention fixed on Lola. He studied her up and down as if trying to find something wrong.
Lola, on the other hand, raised her brows. She was tempted to step back under his gaze, but she didn’t, even as she swallowed the growing nervousness in her throat.
"In the way?" Derek scoffed as he took another step forward. Seeing how Atlas was staring at the beauty before him, he sneered.
Men are predators, and he knew when one was eyeing his meal.
"Hey, I know she’s very pretty, but she’s actually with someone—"
The rest of his words were shoved back into his throat as a hand suddenly grabbed his jaw. Stunned, Derek’s eyes widened as Atlas’s palm pressed on his mouth and his fingers squeezed both his cheeks.
His action not only shocked Derek but also Lola. Everything just happened so fast, and before she knew it, Atlas was grabbing that man by the jaw.
Atlas blinked indifferently before he warned in a very flat voice, "Shut it."