Chapter 174: Can’t Let It Pass
"Ahh!"
Derek yelped as he was thrown out of the building, carried on Baby’s shoulder like a sack. No one stopped him, despite the many witnesses to this humiliation. Worse, some even chuckled at the spectacle.
"What the—" Derek scoffed, landing on the concrete outside the building. He glared at the gigantic man, who was still wearing a pink apron.
"You!" He forced himself upright, wincing at the growing pain in his shin. Derek raised his chin, pointing at Baby, who stood before him like a mountain.
"You—" His breath hitched again, his finger trembling at the unmoving giant. His mouth opened and closed, but all that came out was a broken "you."
His mind was full of things to say, but his mouth wouldn’t let him say them all aloud. It was as though his body was rejecting his will as part of his survival.
Seeing more people from inside the building peeking at them, Derek swallowed the tension in his throat and mustered what little courage he had. There was no way this bear in human skin would actually beat him up in front of witnesses, right?
"Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Do you know who I am!?" Derek barked. "Why are you even inside my grandfather’s place—no! I mean, aren’t you afraid of the consequences—"
SNAP!
Derek almost choked on his words as the wooden spatula in Baby’s hand snapped in half. His eyes widened as Baby slowly looked at the broken utensil. The two halves fell to the ground, and when Baby opened his hand, the remaining wood had turned to dust!
Derek gasped, his face paling. Did that guy really snap a spatula in half with just one hand?
Baby’s gaze shifted from the destroyed spatula to Derek, and for some reason, landed on Derek’s leg, making the latter instinctively hide it.
"What consequences?" came Baby’s deep, monstrous voice—like something straight out of the ninth circle of hell. Yet, it fit his physique so perfectly.
"Co— con— the—" Derek stuttered, stepping back. When he finally put enough distance between them, he yelled, "You will regret this! You didn’t know who you just offended! Mark my word!"
Without waiting another second, he hailed a cab and jumped in. The taxi disappeared almost instantly.
Baby stared at it in confusion. The onlookers were equally bewildered, heads cocked in silent question marks.
All they could do was watch the cab speed away as if on some urgent mission. Meanwhile, the group of aunties conveniently stationed in the lobby shook their heads.
"Haha. What’s wrong with that guy?" one snickered. "Baby is usually so gentle and kind."
"You’re right. He always gives us snacks and cookies," another nodded. "Serves him right."
"He sounded so arrogant. Didn’t he see how he ran away?" another snorted. "Pathetic."
"Baby, are you alright?" one of the aunties stepped out worriedly. "Did that guy hurt you?"
All eyes were on him. Baby sighed, shook his head, and flatly said, "He did scare me, though."
"Aww..."
*****
Moments later, in the penthouse, Atlas sat casually on the couch as his children crawled over to him. Slater followed closely, leaning in just enough to be suffocating.
"Father Sir, do you know—" Second whispered into his ear, buzzing like a tiny bee, before Chacha elbowed her way in to report next.
Slater, on the other side, added his own stream of "first this, then that," buzzing like another fly in his other ear.
Atlas’s face remained flat, stoic. He listened, though all he seemed to hear was buzzing and incomprehensible "this and that." One thing he was sure of: they were talking about someone.
Lola, rushing home after being late, stopped in the living area. Her steps faltered as she caught Atlas slowly averting his dead gaze toward her. Meanwhile, the twins and Slater held him hostage with their chatter.
Help me— his dead eyes seemed to plead.
"Uhh..." Lola bit her tongue, reluctant to intervene in whatever this was. After all, she had given him the same look countless times, and he always ignored her. She raised her brows briefly and considered sneaking past to get changed first, but then Slater’s voice buzzed into her ears.
"Oh, Sis, you’re here!"
Lola winced. The twins looked at her now, too, while Atlas smirked.
"Mommy~!" the twins chimed, their faces lighting up.
"Heh." She sighed. "What are you guys doing?"
The twins’ joyful expressions instantly fell. Their smiles flipped upside down, and their round eyes glistened with tiny tears. Lola was almost in awe as this was faster than Melissa’s mood swings. Slater huffed, marched over, and grabbed her arm. Before she knew it, she was seated beside Atlas.
The twins quickly climbed over their father to sit between them, while Slater perched on her other side.
Please don’t tell me...
"Mommy, buzz... buzz... buzz..."
"Sis, the thing is... this and that, then that, then..."
Lola listened, glancing at Atlas. His smile was faint, as if relieved someone finally shared his burden. Even as she squinted at him, Lola stayed attentive to the trio.
"What?" she finally asked, eyes darting between them. The three nodded as if revealing juicy gossip.
"Derek—babies, are you alright?"
"Mommy, Second protected me!" Chacha raised a hand. "And he kicked the bad guy before we ran away!"
"I incapacitated him first, so even if we ran, he wouldn’t reach us!" Second added proudly. "Mommy, see? I can protect you and Chacha!"
Lola’s eyes softened, but guilt gnawed at her. From what she understood, the twins had been playing hide-and-seek when they bumped into Derek. The guy recognized them with their costume because they’d tried to copy her disguise out of boredom.
That jackass...
Her jaw clenched quietly, not pleased to hear this at all. But then, Atlas suddenly spoke.
"Will it cause a problem if I get him removed from the project?" His calm, soothing voice contrasted sharply with the chaos around him.
The twins, Lola and Slater, stared at him, stunned. His eyes, meanwhile, were locked on Lola.
"Will it?" he asked again.
Her heart and mind eased at his composure, and a small smile crept onto her face. "Even if it does, I can’t let this pass."
"Good."