The Billionaire Twins Need A New Mommy! - Chapter 454

Chapter 454: Heart’s Into A Starry Sky
“What in the world…?” Justin’s face squeezed as he looked around the private lounge in the nightclub. There was only one person inside, yet the place looked like the aftermath of a party.

His eyes landed on the empty bottles on the table before eventually catching the man slumped in the corner. It was Derek.

“Shit,” Justin breathed out, ruffling his hair. “Dude, what the hell?”

He walked up to Derek, studying his wasted cousin. Shaking his head with a heavy sigh, hands on his hips, he muttered:

“What now, Derek? I thought things were getting better for you. Why are we back here again?”

These past few days, everyone thought things were finally going back to normal—not just for the company, but for Derek too. He was doing better than before. He was handling a project from Celestine, slowly rebuilding himself and his position in the company.

Even Justin was amazed that Derek could actually pull off something so impressive. The board and shareholders were pleased with him.

But now… here he was again.

Derek forced his eyes open, lifting his gaze toward him. He opened his mouth, but only a scoff escaped him. In the end, he chugged the remaining alcohol straight from the bottle. As he dropped his hand to his side, he leaned back and tilted his head.

“It was Lola,” he finally said.

Justin’s brows twitched. “Lola?” He frowned. “What about her now?”

But Derek didn’t answer. He kept his eyes on the ceiling, his mind too occupied with every little memory he had of her.

Lola and Derek never truly hated each other in the beginning. If anything, they got along just fine. That was why he was always with her. They were friends. They were too young to be bothered by their arrangement.

And everything changed because of that pool incident… and hanging out with Melissa more often.

Tears formed at the corners of his eyes, his neck growing taut as a lump formed in his airways.

“She…” His voice broke, almost choking with deep regret. “… she’s the one who saved me.”

Hearing that, Justin’s breath hitched. His eyes widened, staring at Derek in pure shock as he swallowed nervously.

He found out? he wondered. How did he find out?

Lola was not in Novera, and knowing her, she wouldn’t want to take credit for that. If Lola wanted to, she would’ve done it a long time ago. Derek wouldn’t have believed her, but she would’ve at least tried.

“All this time, she was the reason I’m still alive,” Derek continued, still unaware of his cousin’s reaction. His mouth quivered as a tear rolled down his cheek, his nose flaring as he tried to hold it all in.

“But what I did in return was make her life a living hell.”

His chest tightened. The reality of it all hit like a bullet. It would’ve been better if Melissa had saved him and manipulated him later. But Melissa had manipulated him from the beginning—and the most painful part was… he let her.

He believed every single lie Melissa told him, defended her fiercely, and deliberately hurt Lola in the process.

All this time, he believed Lola was the villain. All this time, he believed hurting Lola was the right thing to do.

He was wrong all these years, and the realization was harsher than a slap.

Turns out, he was the villain. He was the bully. He was the ungrateful one.

“How do I…” he trailed off, heart pounding against his chest, moving his teary eyes to his cousin. “She will not forgive me… will she?”

Justin pressed his lips together, his eyes softening with worry. “I’m sorry, man.”

Derek studied him, his brows knitting together at Justin’s reaction.

“You… you knew?” he stuttered, watching Justin lower his head. For some reason, this gave him enough energy to stand and confront him. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me?”

“Derek, I only found out after your engagement party,” Justin explained. “And it wasn’t even that long ago. If you hadn’t told me about the pool incident, I would’ve forgotten about it.”

Derek’s entire body shook. “Who told you?”

But Justin didn’t answer immediately.

This made Derek stomp toward him. When he stood a step behind him, he grabbed Justin’s collar.

“Who told you about this?!”

“Bro—”

“Who?!”

“Aunt Celes!” Justin yelled, grabbing Derek’s wrists and pulling them away. His force pushed Derek back, causing him to stumble. “It was Aunt Celes. I mean—almost everyone knew. Travis knew, Caullen knew, the chairman knew it was her. But none of us ever thought the reason you were dating Melissa was because you believed she saved you!”

He huffed sharply. “If the chairman had known sooner, he would’ve told you himself. But you probably wouldn’t have believed him anyway. Melissa’s control over you was too deep.”

Derek’s eyes shook, helplessness filling them. For a moment, all he could do was stare at his cousin blankly.

“Derek, get yourself together, man,” Justin clicked his tongue, sighing heavily. He was getting tired of babysitting his cousin. He loved Derek—saw him as a brother. But he couldn’t keep doing this.

Derek also needed to help himself.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Derek whispered. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Because Lola asked the chairman not to tell you,” Justin said, irritation blending with frustration. “She didn’t want to burden you with it. She almost died that day. You two were close back then, and she knew you’d blame yourself. She didn’t want you to feel guilty for her—that’s why.”

Justin paused, releasing another deep breath to calm himself. “And I didn’t tell you when I found out because… the damage was already done. Even if you knew, nothing would change anymore. And I didn’t want you to end up like this—exactly like this.”

He already saw it coming. He knew Derek’s reaction would be disastrous. That was why he didn’t say anything. Celestine had made the same choice when she realized Derek and Melissa’s relationship was founded on a lie; she chose not to tell him.

“Man…” Justin stepped closer, giving Derek a light squeeze on the shoulder. “Lola is already married. She already has children. She already has a family. I know this is hard, but… you have to move on. Not just from Melissa, but from the entire Young Family.”

He nodded to himself. “Just let the woman live.”

“What about me?” Derek whispered as another tear falling. “What about me, Justin? How am I supposed to live?”

How was he supposed to live when his heart was shattered into a starry sky?