Page 33 of Atlas Uncharted

Chapter 22

Kairi

Ashlen stood with her arms crossed, her voice dripping with contempt after threatening me in my own house. “You were always so jealous of me, Kairi,” she sneered. “I never thought you’d actually stoop so low as to fuck my husband. But I guess I underestimated just how desperate you are.”

I stared at her, barely able to believe what was coming out of her mouth. The girl was delusional—just yesterday, she’d practically begged me to sleep with Atlas. Now, she was spinning some twisted narrative in her mind where I was the one after her husband, not the other way around. I didn’t say a word, though. I let her talk her shit. I needed to see how far she was willing to go with this, so I could go further.

“I want money for a surrogate,” she said, her voice firm, as if this were some kind of business negotiation. “One hundred thousand dollars, upfront. And then, I want you to take your son and leave Florida. Don’t talk to me, don’t talk to Atlas, and stay the hell away from both of us. If you do that, maybe we can all move on.”

I blinked. The audacity was astounding. She was trying to bribe me?

My nails dug into my palm, and I welcomed the pain. It was grounding, keeping me from losing my mind. Ashlen thoughtshe had me cornered. She looked so damn smug, like she’d won. But she was wrong. This wasn’t college or high school, and I wasn’t playing the part of her loyal sidekick anymore. She wanted to drag me back into that toxic cycle, but I wasn’t going.

“Okay, Ashlen,” I said. “Tell him.” I shrugged and meant it. “Go ahead. And while you’re at it, maybe I’ll tell him about Mason. Or how you got an abortion in college that led to an infection—probably the reason why you can’t keep the babies you so desperately want.”

Her face drained of color, turning nearly green as the shock registered. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

“I didn’t—" she started.

I cut her off. “Don’t lie. I can call Mason right now. He told me years ago that I should write a story about you and him. Said y’all were fucking before Atlas and continued all through college and up until you got married.”

She blinked at me, processing. I took a step closer, then stopped myself from getting any closer. “Whose baby was it in college, Ashlen? Mason’s or Atlas’s?”

She recoiled, her mouth opening and closing, grasping for something to throw back at me, but she had nothing.

“I don’t know why you thought coming here and pulling your mean-girl act was going to move me. I don’t feel guilty enough to play your games anymore,” I continued. “And I can guarantee you, Ashlen, that telling Atlas anything won’t work out the way you want it to.”

I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out all the things I wanted to—like how many times Atlas had practically begged me to be with him. How I could have him still, to this day. But that wasn’tthe point. I wasn’t trying to break the bitch. She already had so much going on.

“Get out of my house, Ashlen,” I said, annoyed with the entire situation. This what I get for showing pity for two selfish people.

“I suggest you go home, grieve the loss of your child, help your husband with his drinking, and leave me the hell alone. Whether you tell Atlas or not doesn’t matter. I always planned to tell him, just not while you were going through your tribulations. I was willing to take the blowback to save you the heartache. I would’ve let him be mad at me. But now?” I shook my head, feeling my anger flash across my face. “Now, it’s fuck you.”

Ashlen took a step back, and then another, eyes on me like she was afraid I would attack her, before storming out of my house. The door slammed behind her.

I heard Dion wake up in the other room. I closed my eyes for a second, letting the tension drain from my shoulders. I had to take care of my son and my daddy. That was my focus.

As for Ashlen? She could do whatever she needed to do.

Chapter 23

Kairi

A few days had passed since Ashlen had confronted me, but her words still crept into the back of my mind when I least expected it. At the time, I felt like I had handled her—stood my ground, and showed strength that I usually didn’t. But the more I thought about it, the less confident I felt. I hadn’t told Atlas about Dion yet. I wasn’t ready to face him—not yet. I knew his anger would be big. But I also knew I couldn’t dodge him forever.

Today would be the day. As soon as I heard him talking to a nurse just outside the door, panic flared in my chest. Ms. Shirley and my father were talking as I quickly gathered Dion’s things, slipping his blanket into the diaper bag with one hand while balancing him on my hip.

“Time to go,” I whispered to him, and he babbled back—a few words mixed with gibberish, but I understood he wasn’t ready to go. I could have left him with my father, but I didn’t want to give Atlas a chance to look at him too hard and see what his wife had seen.

I turned to my father and Ms. Shirley, forcing a smile. “I’ve got to run. I need to find somewhere to live so you two can have privacy again. We’ll visit again tomorrow,” I said, kissing Ms. Shirley’s cheek and giving my dad a quick hug. They barely had time to respond before I was heading for the door.

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, I glanced back, hearing Atlas’s voice get louder. He was getting closer. I moved quickly in the opposite direction, keeping my head down, slipping out of the hospital exit. My heart was pounding.

I thought I’d made a clean getaway. Dion was strapped into his car seat, content and quiet, as I pushed the ignition to start. I was pulling out of the parking space when the back door flew open, and Atlas slipped into the back seat next to Dion. My heart jumped. His sudden presence filled the space, making it hard to think clearly.

“Get out,” I said, not looking at him.

“Kairi, wait,” he replied, his voice calm but firm, like he wasn’t going anywhere until we talked. “I just want to help. I also want to apologize for the way I spoke to you.”

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