Page 52 of Atlas Uncharted

Chapter 37

Atlas

I couldn’t stop thinking about Dion’s upcoming birthday. It wasn’t just that he was turning three, though that milestone alone was big enough. It was the fact that nobody in my family even knew he existed. I kept replaying that in my head. It wasn’t just Kairi’s fault, as much as I wanted to place the blame somewhere else. I had made choices, mistakes, and those choices had left my own son in the shadows of my life.

It was time to change that.

I took a deep breath and dialed my mother’s number. She picked up after a few rings, her voice as crisp and elegant as ever.

"Atlas? Is everything alright? I’m in Paris, darling," she said. I could hear the clinking of glasses and soft chatter in the background—no doubt another one of her gatherings. All she did was travel and spend money since my father had passed. Sometimes it felt like she'd been waiting for him to go. She'd left me without any help, just to make sure she could sustain the lifestyle she lived. Sometimes that made me resentful.

I closed my eyes for a second, then forced the words out. "Mom, I need to tell you something. You have a grandchild." I rushed the words out.

There was a moment of silence, and then her voice softened with surprise. "A grandchild? Atlas, what are you talking about?"

"I have a son," I said, feeling the weight of it hit me again. "His name is Dion, and he’s going to be three soon."

I expected her to be angry, to demand answers, to ask why I hadn’t told her sooner. Instead, there was a long pause, followed by something I didn’t expect—laughter. Not mocking laughter, but genuine, happy laughter.

"Atlas, I... I can’t believe it! A grandchild!" she said, her excitement palpable. Then her tone shifted slightly. "How come I didn’t know earlier?"

I sighed. "Because I just found out. I cheated on Ashlen. Dion’s mother is the woman I cheated with."

Her excitement dimmed a little at the mention of Ashlen. She and Ashlen had been thick as thieves before the second miscarriage. It hadn’t bothered me at the time—the way my mother seemed to turn her back on Ashlen, as if it were her fault—but now it did. If she would do that to Ashlen, how would she reaction to Kairi and Dion?

"Who is she?" my mother asked cautiously. "Who’s the mother?"

"Kairi," I said firmly, loud and proud. "She was one of Ashlen’s friends."

There was another pause, and then my mother’s tone turned sharp. "Kairi? You mean that... that fat girl who was always so jealous of Ashlen?"

I clenched my jaw, feeling a flash of anger. "Mom, enough. You only know what Ashlen told you, and most of that was lies. Besides, you’re too old to be doing this mean-girl thing. If youwant to meet your grandson, you need to unlearn all the bullshit you were taught. My son will not be subjected to any of it."

Silence stretched out on the other end, and then she sighed, her voice softer, apologetic. "You’re right, Atlas. I’m sorry. I just... I didn’t expect this. But I want to meet him. I’ll be on the next flight home. I love you, darling."

I was surprised she was coming back. It wasn't even a month earlier that I'd called to tell her the twins didn't make it, and she'd been dismissive.

"Alright," I said, feeling a knot loosen in my chest as I hung up.

I heard a noise behind me. Turning around, I found Kairi standing there, holding Dion in her arms, eyes wide and glassy. She had clearly overheard at least part of the conversation. She stared at me for a long moment, then mouthed, "Thank you," her eyes soft in a way I hadn’t seen in a while. My heart sped up. If I'd known that was all it took to bend her, I would've called my mother the day I found out—in front of her.

She handed Dion to me and walked away quickly, leaving me standing there holding our son, feeling like maybe, just maybe, we were finally moving in the right direction.

But I knew this was only the beginning. Telling my mother was the first step. The real challenge would be what came next—balancing and incorporating Kairi and Dion into my life, and hoping to hell I didn’t make things worse. Still, for the first time in a long while, I felt like I was doing the right thing. And that was a start.

Chapter 38

Kairi

Atlas slipped into bed, smelling freshly showered. Whatever he scent he was wearing made me want to lean closer and breath him in. but I held back. This was all so weird and overwhelming. Sometimes just having him next to me was enough to turn me on, and I hated myself for it. I’d catch myself wondering when sex would become part of this twisted arrangement, and then immediately chide myself for even thinking about it. We didn’t need to complicate things further—but damn, I was horny.

I lay there quietly, waiting for the right moment to speak. The words felt heavy on my tongue, but I didn’t know how to express them in a way that sounded emotionally mature, so I just let them out.

“I heard you on the phone. Thank you for what you said to your mother,” I finally said, keeping my gaze fixed on the ceiling, unable to look at him yet.

There was a pause before he responded. “I know,” he said cautiously. “I figured you might have heard, and you don’t have to thank me. It’s something I should have done a long time ago.”

“I was never jealous of Ashlen,” I said slowly. “And I was never as naive about her as people assumed. I knew she wasn’t a real friend most of the time. But when my mom died, she wasthere for me. She helped me when no one else did. That meant something to me, even if the rest of it was a mess.”

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