Chapter 228: Confrontation
Silo peeked inside the reading hall where everyone was throwing lines at each other. His eyes searched for Lola, only to catch her seated right next to Slater. Slater had his hand cupped against his cheek, his entire focus on Lola.
"..." Silo’s mouth fell open in disbelief, shaking his head.
Oh, god. I know they were already living together, but... how could he just smile at her like that when she’s like that?
Since Lola and Slater were seated side by side, doing a comparison was hard to avoid. The man was beaming, the air around him warm and bright. His face angelic and with that charming smile—even Silo felt like he would squeal.
And then, there was Lola—the total opposite.
The stark contrast of their aura and demeanor, their faces and such, was just too ridiculous to ignore. But that wasn’t Silo’s concern.
"I can’t let this go on," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "As her friend, I can’t let her go astray."
At the same time, he heard Director Sarian clap along with the crew.
"Great!" he mused. "You guys are doing a good job! Let’s take a thirty-minute break first, then we come back here to read the pages..."
Silo eavesdropped as he saw Director Sarian and everyone standing from their seats. One of them was Lola, who was hurrying to leave as well. He watched Lola stop and speak to Slater, and whatever she said made the guy nod before she hurriedly rushed to the door where Silo was waiting.
"I can do this!" Silo huffed to himself, leaning on the side of the door until it flew open. As soon as Lola stepped out, he took a large step and raised a hand in front of her face. "We need to talk."
Lola blinked at the palm inches from her face, scrunching up her nose. But before she could get another word in, he said, "Now," and dragged her into the corner of the hall where no one was around.
Silo looked from left to right, making sure no one was around before facing her squarely.
"Silo, it’s not like I’m trying to avoid you, but I need to make an important call," she said. "Can we talk about this later?"
"No." He shook his head, then grabbed her shoulders with both hands. Looking her straight in the eye, he started in a solemn tone, "Lola, you know we’ve been friends for a long time. And even though there were years in between that we lost contact, we’re friends, right?"
"Uh... huh." And she didn’t like it whenever he would bring up friendship.
"And as a friend, I promised myself to correct you when I know you’re straying from the right and moral path," he continued. "That is why, as a friend, even if you hate me, I need to tell you—stop whatever you’re doing."
"..." Confusion quickly shone in Lola’s eyes. "You mean, stop managing and helping the production?"
"Not that, but you know what I’m talking about."
"No, actually, I have no idea."
Silo groaned in frustration, frowning deeply. "Lola, I’m not talking about the business or this side gig. I support it, you know that. What I’m talking about is your... personal life."
"..."
"Your love life," he stressed when she still looked confused. "Stop it now."
"You know about it...?"
"Duh?" Silo rolled his eyes as he retrieved his hands from her shoulders. "Lola, even if you hide it from me, the truth always prevails. How I found out is not important, but just the fact that you’re not letting me go to your penthouse is enough."
Another deep huff escaped him. "I don’t mind if you’re in a relationship—it’s your life. If anything, I’d be happy if you were finally dating someone."
Lola remained silent, staring into the pair of sincere eyes mirroring hers. It wasn’t like she was hiding it from him because she was scared he would say anything. Silo was truly a good friend; a friend she owed a lifetime to. But just as she was feeling moved by him, he continued.
"But it’s not right to be seeing two men at the same time!" he intoned, only to bite his tongue and look around nervously. He heaved a sigh of relief when he made sure no one heard them.
"What did you say?" Lola blurted out. "I am, what?"
"Lola, you don’t have to deny it. I already know, okay?" He clicked his tongue, his eyes flickering with judgment. "No matter how good-looking you are, it’s not good for you to play with people’s hearts. That’s not what my friend is."
"Huh?"
"Tch." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Are you still going to deny that you’re two-timing?"
The second those words came into her mind, her face twitched. "Silo, what have you been smoking? Me? Two —" she deadpanned. "Jesus. Do you really think I’m capable of doing that? I mean, with this face?"
"No, but people change, and you’ve been acting strange since we set foot in Novera," he shook his head. "But I want you to promise me: choose one, and end it with the other. We only have one heart, and it cannot beat for two or more."
Lola’s head throbbed a bit, and then she snapped her eyes back to him. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Silo."
"I said I already know," Silo stressed each word. "You’ve been in a relationship with Slater Bennet, and then you’re meeting another man behind his back."
"HUH?!" Lola gasped, but this time, she wasn’t the only one gasping.
Approaching them so quietly that neither Lola nor Silo noticed, Slater stopped several paces away, his mouth falling open.
Silo turned to the other voice, only to slap his hand over his mouth.
Oh no. I didn’t mean for him to hear.
Lola, on the other hand, darted her eyes between Slater and Silo before she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, but..." she sighed heavily, running her tongue along her cheek. "I think there’s a huge misunderstanding. You two come with me. I’m so done with this now."
And so, Lola, Silo, and Slater sat down in Slater’s van with his manager to clear up any misunderstanding. In the end, not only Silo gasped in shock, but Slater and his manager, James, also gasped in horror.
Lola, on the other hand, shook her head. "For the love of me... why am I getting squeezed into this kind of situation?"