Chapter 149: All She Needed Was Herself
"What do you think you’re doing, thinking that you and I... were ever friends?"
Hearing that from the person she thought was her friend was something Lola wanted to ignore. She prayed in that moment that she was just hearing things. But she was wrong.
These people had never truly seen her as a friend. Not even for one second. They kept her around because she was fun to play with. Besides, Lola had been helping them with their studies.
They flew Lola to this country not because they wanted her there, but because they had made a bet: a bet on whether she would ditch her work to party or not. After all, she was known for taking her part-time jobs seriously.
So, the money for her plane ticket, accommodation, and everything else had all been funded on a bet.
In the end, Lola found herself running away while everyone laughed behind her. Out of frustration, she ended up in another club where she drank more to forget the humiliation and the heartbreak of how these so-called friends had betrayed her.
She forgot almost everything that happened afterward. All she could remember was that one of the guests, who wasn’t part of the main group, found her drinking in another bar. She assumed this guest had booked her a motel room since she was blackout drunk at the time. After all, Lola woke up in a motel the next day.
But that wasn’t the worst part. In the following days, Lola was stuck in another country with no real support because her "friends" weren’t really friends at all. And when she returned to Novera, she discovered she had been fired from all her part-time jobs. Why? Because those so-called friends had sent humiliating videos of her at the club to her employers.
Cruel, but it was the biggest lesson she learned.
Back then, Lola might have already given up on seeking her father’s affection. However, she still subconsciously craved validation and approval from others. That made her too trusting of people who claimed to be her friends.
That incident taught her she didn’t need family. She didn’t need friends. All she needed was herself—her own approval. Nothing else. No one else.
*****
[PRESENT TIME]
Even though Lola had learned from that incident, she kept asking herself why those people would do something so cruel. She gave herself a lot of explanations, but their actions—making her lose her job—were still too excessive.
She tried to justify it in her head, but deep down, there was only one explanation that made sense.
Melissa.
Lola wasn’t stupid anymore. She had learned from everything, and it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Even a child could do it. After all, her only clue about her pregnancy was that it might have happened while she was abroad. The possibility was low, but it existed.
Amala’s investigation confirmed she was right, because Hudson was originally from Anteca. The man was only in Novera for reasons unknown. And now that she knew Hudson had ties to Melissa, a flood of thoughts overwhelmed her.
"Did she hire him?" Lola muttered under her breath. "Did she ask him to... to violate me while I was knocked out?"
Or did Melissa ask him to do something else entirely?
Lola’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as her jaw clenched. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to control the storm of emotions rising inside her.
Silence filled the car until she started hearing a flatline ring in her ears. She didn’t blink, her mind racing through Melissa’s possible involvement in everything that had happened to her.
"I’m going to kill her," Lola whispered, her eyes glinting. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her fingers turned white, barely keeping herself from driving off and running that woman over.
She closed her eyes and drew deep breaths, exhaling slowly through her lips.
"It’s okay," she whispered to herself. "It’s okay, Lola. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you."
Bitterness filled her heart, so strong she could taste it at the back of her throat. But little by little, she forced herself to be calm. When she opened her eyes again, clarity finally returned to her.
Leaning back, her grip on the wheel loosening, she thought aloud: "Assuming Melissa had something to do with the pregnancy... is that how Hudson suddenly got his wealth? According to the timeline, he did start living larger around that time."
"But how?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How could Melissa fund that kind of lifestyle?"
The Young family had their own wealth thanks to Lola’s grandfather, who had built their company. But they couldn’t just hand out that kind of money so easily. Unless Hudson was clever enough to diversify, which she doubted.
And now, after losing a fortune to Lola, Hudson was running back to Melissa. It was obvious what he wanted: money.
Lola nodded to herself, piecing together Hudson and Melissa’s connection. After a shallow breath, she reached for her phone and checked her contacts. Her eyes lingered on the unsaved number in her call logs.
"I shouldn’t bother him with this," she whispered, her hand trembling. "I shouldn’t..."
She pressed her lips together, closed her eyes, and drew another deep breath. When she opened them again, she hit the call button.
*****
[Summit Partner: Chairman’s Office]
Atlas sat in the head seat in the visitor’s lounge of his office. The long couches were occupied by a few men, and on the other side sat Scarlet. They were speaking solemnly, having a more intimate meeting, when a buzz cut through the air.
"And by this—" Scarlet stopped, her brows rising.
Slowly, everyone turned toward the sound. Their eyes landed on Atlas, who hadn’t seemed to notice until all attention was on him.
"..." Without a word, he pulled out his phone from his suit. Lola’s unsaved number glowed on the screen. He answered immediately, not caring about the eyes on him.
"Are you... available later?" came Lola’s soft, slightly hesitant voice. "I... I need to talk to you about something."
Atlas leaned back, looking at all the faces watching him. "Just come here. I’m not doing anything today."
Everyone in the room, including Allen, had their faces twisting in disbelief. Not doing anything today? Did he forget his packed schedule?
"Just come straight to my office," he added. "No need to stop anywhere else."