Chapter 200: Fainting again? or not?
Despite Lola’s reluctance, she had to force herself out of bed and act like she wasn’t planning on making a quick visit to the clinic today. But even when she was playing, pretending, she couldn’t help but take constant peeks at Atlas.
Before breakfast, during breakfast, and even now that they were done, she peeked—more like secretly stalked him whenever he wasn’t looking.
"Was it really... just a dream?" She mumbled to herself as she placed her plate in the sink. She winced. "Damn it."
His lips are so soft... and I feel like I can feel them on mine.
Even the sensation on her lips lingered, making her lick and bite them quietly. She sighed once more, rinsing her plate before throwing it in the dishwasher. But just as Lola reached for the hand towel and turned around, her breath stopped in her throat.
There, standing at the end of the counter, was Atlas.
She blinked, then blinked again, side-eyeing the exit. When her eyes landed on him, an awkward voice came out of her.
"You—you hadn’t left yet?" she almost stuttered, grinning unnaturally. "What? Need anything?"
"Mhm," he let out a hum and resumed his steps. When he stood before her, her breath hitched.
"..." She pressed her lips into a thin line while she mentally wept. Please stop getting so close to me until I get a factory reset by my psychiatrist.
Atlas studied that fake smile plastered on her face, his hands in his pockets.
"The children are waiting for you to bid them goodbye," he said, his breath brushing along her cheek.
"Ah... they’re waiting to say goodbye?" she repeated, laughing awkwardly. "I see. Did I stay here longer than I should? Is that why you came to get me?"
"No, you just got here." He raised his brows, his eyes, unlike usual, studying her thoroughly. "I came to get mine in advance. I’m worried our children will be traumatized if I wait."
"Traumatized by what?"
Without over-explaining himself, he lowered his head and casually placed a very light peck on her lips. His hand moved inches around her hips on instinct, just in case she fainted again.
Slowly, he drew his head back. His eyelashes fluttered, and he stared at the blank look on her face.
"Fainting again?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head. "Or not?"
Just making sure whether the kiss was the actual cause of her fainting, or if the doctor was right.
For the next few seconds, Lola stood motionless. No reaction, no words, just pure... silence. When her wide eyes moved to the face a palm’s length away from her, her brain just started working once more.
"Did you just..." she trailed off, her chest falling and rising heavily. "...kiss me?"
"It’s not the first time," he said, reaching for her hand and guiding it to him. When he held her gaze while holding her hand before him, he uttered, "Come out if you’re not going to faint. The kids are going to be late, and they’re stubborn too."
The second those words rolled out of his lips, he moved her hand and planted another kiss on her knuckles. His gaze remained on her until he released her hand.
"Let’s try again later, Lola," he said as he reached out and brushed the side of her lips with his thumb.
Having said that, or rather, after pulling off those three attacks in quick succession, he turned and nonchalantly walked away. Meanwhile, Lola stood rooted in place as if her mind was just getting memory full.
"What just... happened?" she asked herself, touching her lips and then the back of her hand. Finally, she realized the small tape plaster on the back of her hand, and it clicked.
Lola gasped and whipped her head toward the entrance.
"Does that mean—" Before she could form a word, she marched outside in a hurry.
The family was no longer in the dining room, which was not surprising. Hence, she marched toward the living area. The second she stepped out, she quickly caught Atlas, the twins, and Slater, still in his pajamas, already in the entryway.
"Atlas Bennet!" she shouted.
The second her shout echoed in the house, the four turned to the source of the voice. The twins tilted their heads, seeing their mother’s red face. Atlas, on the other hand, arched a brow, wondering if she needed another kiss.
As for Slater, the moment he saw Lola, his eyes popped open. For some reason, his little sister’s face and pose whenever she would shout his complete name overlapped with hers. Even his mother would have that look and stance whenever she would call out their father’s full name.
The full name call was always the giveaway.
"Oh, shoot!" Panicked, Slater turned to Atlas and his kids. "Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! Fast, fast!"
He hurried, pushing his brother and then the kids before Lola could even reach them. Out of confusion, Atlas, Second, and Chacha just followed and left, even though the twins were waiting for their mommy to kiss them and send them off.
"Wait—" Lola halted as the door slammed shut before she could even reach them.
She opened and closed her mouth in disbelief, staring at the door in utter confusion. Just now, as she approached, Slater hurriedly dragged everyone out as if a monster was about to eat them all.
"Just what is wrong with him?" She blurted out with a scoff. "I just want to ask Atlas if what happened last night was real?"
Surely, the more she knew Slater, the more she felt scammed by his public image. This was not how she imagined him to be in real life. No wonder people say not to meet their heroes.
Lola sighed once more, her eyes falling on the back of her hand. Raising it and holding it, she pressed her lips into a thin line as its corners hooked up. Her smile, however, faded the longer she stared at the bandage.
"..." Looking up, she tried to recall more about the events of last night.
[I’m just... I’m just so happy. I feel like... I think... I...m going to faint.]
She winced, covering her lips with her mouth. "Did I... really just faint before the best part?!"