The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy! novel Chapter 499

Chapter 499: Best In Town

Silence hung in the car as neither Lola nor Atlas spoke for minutes after they got in. Her attention was fixed on the window beside her, replaying the scene they had left behind in the cabin. After a moment, she turned to her other side, where he sat.

"Atlas?" she called softly.

He lifted his brows at her, pausing in the middle of reading an article.

"You said they deserved it... Do they really?"

Atlas blinked slowly, setting the tablet aside and facing her squarely. "The man you met was someone who opposed Sybil’s decision to let me take the helm of the Order."

"He wasn’t the first to disagree, but he was the first to spread disparaging rumors that harmed the Order and the family," he continued. "On top of that, he encouraged others to start what you may call a rebellion."

Normally, that alone wouldn’t warrant such violent punishment. Atlas would have ignored it. But what those people did afterward was what earned his wrath.

"They started an uprising, targeting the weak who were under the Order’s protection," he added, his tone darkening. "Just one night after they acted on their plan, many suffered—especially women, children, and those who openly opposed them."

In truth, it hadn’t even been a full night. Merely a few hours. But the damage they caused was so severe that killing them would’ve been mercy. They had wanted to brand Atlas’s reign with their uprising, hoping to topple him through chaos.

Hence, Atlas had been hunting down the ones who escaped the island.

As punishment, those he caught were thrown into the very cabin where it all began, left to bleed out and rot, forced to die in front of their leader.

"Whoa..." Lola’s mouth fell open, not expecting that kind of answer. She had assumed the rebels had done something bad—just not that bad.

Surely, she had underestimated how far these people were willing to go to reject an outsider as their new leader.

"They do not deserve pity," he said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Their suffering will not bring back the innocent lives they took, nor erase the scars they left on the survivors of those hours of terror."

Lola pressed her lips into a thin line, holding his gaze until he slowly looked away. Atlas returned to reading his article, but her eyes lingered on him.

Biased as she was, Lola could tell he carried the burden of what happened—even if he would never show it. After all, it happened because of him.

What Lola didn’t know was that Atlas could have prevented further damage... if only the people he expected to listen to him had listened immediately. But being an outsider in this small, backward world came with its own challenges.

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Soon, their envoy reached a small, old restaurant situated in the main town. Its interior was aged but well-maintained, preserved almost exactly in its original design. When they entered, they were greeted by two women: an elderly granny and a teenage girl.

"Welcome, Master," both greeted politely as soon as Atlas stepped inside.

Atlas stopped in front of them and faced the older woman. "What are you doing here?"

"Hehe." The granny chuckled. "I heard you’d be visiting the restaurant, Master. How could I miss serving you and everyone?"

"..." Atlas stared at her lined face and squinting eyes, his lips parting slightly as if to speak, but whatever he meant to say simply rolled back into his throat.

In the end, he only nodded and said nothing, letting the younger lady and the granny lead them to a table. Once everyone settled in, the small restaurant quickly filled with members of the Zorken family.

Shouldn’t we help her? Lola wondered, darting her gaze between Atlas and Allen.

Why?

"When I heard you’d be eating lunch here, I immediately got out of bed and prepared this meal for you," the granny said with a warm smile. "Do not worry. It’s for free."

"I don’t want free."

"Master, please."

"Take them away."

They bantered for nearly a minute—Atlas sounding like an ungrateful customer, and the granny like a pushy restaurant owner. In the end, Atlas conceded with a shallow exhale.

"I am not paying for these, then."

The granny’s smile widened. "Of course! Enjoy the meal, Master."

With tiny steps, she walked away, leaving Atlas shaking his head before picking up his cutlery.

Allen leaned toward Lola and whispered, "Don’t worry. He knows she won’t relent. That’s the only language they speak to each other." He winked. "It’s always like this."

"Oh..." Lola nodded, then glanced at Atlas again.

This wasn’t her first time in the main town, but it was her first time seeing it through Atlas’s eyes. He’d been busy for the past month, so they had preferred staying home instead of traveling. Now, Lola wasn’t sure if she was simply learning the culture... or being completely culture-shocked.

*****

Meanwhile, on the other table, Scarlet sat with a few others. But even as she ate, her eyes swept to where Atlas and Lola sat.