The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy! - Chapter 444

Chapter 444: Family
All her life, Lola never had a place where she truly felt at home. With Loren—sure. But since then, there hadn’t been a place she could safely call her own. Not with the Youngs, where she never felt safe. She had even searched for it in the deepest hell of the underground, but found nothing.

Strangely enough, in all those places, people easily threw around the word family. Yet hearing it only made her question whether that was truly what family meant.

So it felt utterly strange to hear, “Welcome home, Lola,” and for the first time, feel that it was sincere.

It felt like home… and yet, she barely knew these people. This was her first time meeting most of them in person, but her heart knew right away. Her long search for a home was over.

She was home.

A place she knew she could go to, even — or rather, especially — on her worst days. She didn’t want to think too far ahead or make assumptions, but she couldn’t help it.

“Eat plenty!” Allison said warmly, snapping Lola out of her thoughts. “Atlas told me all your favorites, so we’ve been trying to perfect them for your taste.”

Lola smiled at her future mother-in-law, who still carried the kind of beauty that aged gracefully. Just looking at her made Lola wish she could age like that too — with grace and warmth.

“You should listen to her.”

Another voice came, making Allison and Lola turn. Across from them sat Jessa, Penny’s aunt. “If you don’t, somebody else will eat that.”

As if to emphasize her point, Jessa puckered her lips and pointed in a direction. Lola followed her gaze, and her eyes landed on Penny.

Penny frowned. “Auntie, what are you talking about? It’s not like I’m going to snatch her food.”

“You snatched mine!” Slater immediately jumped in, gasping dramatically as he tried to stab a piece of meat from his sister’s plate, only to get slapped. “Mom! Look at her!”

“Slater, Penny, there’s plenty of food.” Allison pinched the bridge of her nose. “Stop fighting.”

Jessa clicked her tongue, shaking her head at the two. “The only thing that ever changes with these two is their clothes. Throw them back into school uniforms and it’s the same scene all over again.”

“Aunt Jessa, it’s not Third Brother’s fault,” Nina — the Bennets’ adoptive daughter — chimed in with a gentle chuckle. She carried a calm, graceful smile. “Penny did take a slice of his meat.”

“See?” Slater exclaimed. “I’m not lying!”

“Third Brother, no one said you were,” Nina teased lightly. “But if I were you, I’d eat faster. Otherwise, your plate will be empty.”

At that, Slater looked down, only to find half his food already gone. Penny was still chewing and giggling diabolically.

“Penny, control yourself!” he huffed, pulling his plate away. “I’m so busy, and this is the first time I’m eating Mom and Aunt Jessa’s cooking. How could you?!”

“Penny’s actually banned from the restaurant for two months,” Kiara — the Bennets’ second daughter-in-law, married to their second son Hugo — said casually, without even looking up as she guarded her own food. “And you’re making yours an easy target for her. Didn’t you wonder why she sat beside you?”

“What?” Slater’s nose scrunched. He turned toward Jessa and his mother, both of whom ran the restaurant. “Is that true? Did you ban Penny?”

“We didn’t have a choice,” Jessa sighed. “That woman will eat our entire restaurant if we let her. How are we supposed to run a business if she devours everything in sight?”

Penny pouted. “Aunt Jessa, how could you say that?”

“It’s because Penny kept ordering so much that we were always out of stock,” Allison explained, rubbing her temple. “It was good for business, but we do have regular customers to worry about.”

It wasn’t like Penny ate everything daily, but she ordered from their restaurant so frequently that it messed up their inventory. It even started to look like the restaurant was profiting solely from her. So, they temporarily banned her to make room for their actual customers.

“They still send her leftovers, though,” Nina added with a laugh. “To keep her satisfied.”

“Auntie Pretty, you’re like a dog,” Chacha giggled.

“Leftovers are good.” Penny shrugged, unbothered. “And their leftovers are ten times better than real takeout.”

Charles, the Bennet patriarch, shook his head at his daughter. He tried ordering extra food for Penny but was immediately caught by both Jessa and Allison. With a defeated sigh, he turned his attention to Atlas, who was seated closest to him.

“Son, how was your flight?”

“Good.”

“Okay, good.” And that was it. Charles immediately went back to his conversation with the other men at the table.

Lola’s lips twitched as she glanced between Atlas and his father, watching how quickly the exchange ended. She sighed quietly, looking at Atlas, who was eating silently — calm and composed as if dining alone amid the chaos.

Meanwhile, the twins eagerly joined the men’s conversation, animatedly recounting their latest adventure to Charles and Zoren Pierson, Penny’s husband.

Lola’s gaze drifted along the long dining table. Beside her sat Allison, who kept shaking her head and sighing. Across from them were Jessa, Nina, and Kiara. On Lola’s side, after Allison came Penny and Slater.

The group wasn’t that big yet. A few seats remained empty. From what she’d heard, the rest of the family would be joining later.

“You two keep arguing over food. I’m flabbergasted,” Jessa said, exasperated. “It’s not like you’re starving. Aren’t you ashamed in front of your first sister-in-law?”

The moment she said that, all eyes turned to Lola. She flinched a little under the sudden attention before smiling shyly, her eyes soft.

“It’s alright,” she said. “I’m… kind of used to it.”

“Oh boy.” Jessa clicked her tongue. “Don’t get used to it here too.”

“Did they bother you that much?” Allison asked worriedly. “If they do, don’t hesitate to tell me. Penny and Slater are like children. They need constant discipline.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Nina said with a playful grin. “Just ask Second Sister-in-law.”

Kiara finally looked up from her food and nodded. “If you do, they’ll just keep taking advantage of it. That’s why they don’t like me.”

“Second Sister-in-law, what do you mean we don’t like you?” Slater’s face soured. Penny, wearing the same expression, added, “We loathe you.”

Kiara turned to them, utterly calm. “Good.”

Lola couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange. The duo (Penny and Slater) might claim they didn’t like Kiara, and Kiara might act cold toward them, but there was no real hostility there.

It was a strange but endearing dynamic — chaotic, lively, and full of warmth.

“You like it?”

Atlas’s voice brushed softly against her ear. When she turned, his gaze lifted from her plate to meet hers.

Lola smiled, nodding — both in answer to the question about the food and to the atmosphere around them.

“Yes,” she said softly. “Love it.”