I AM HERE TO TAKE YOU HOME

SALEM’S POV

I froze.

And not in the standing still for only a few seconds, no, I was completely immobile. I could not move, I could not blink, heck I could not even breathe, just stood there like a god damn garden gnome.

Atlas pushed past me and walked inside with all the confidence of the man who had the entire world at his feet.

“Your house is pretty cozy,” he said.

It was like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my head and my eyes widened. I quickly closed the door and followed in after him.

“Mr. Knight, what are you doing here?”

He just stopped abruptly, turned to me wordlessly and just glared.

“…”

He kept on glaring until everything just clicked. I turned bright red and cleared my throat.

“Sorry… um, Atlas, what are you doing here?” I asked.

He smiled.

“Is this how you welcome your guest, Salem?” Then he chuckled like he just thought of something funny. “Not just an ordinary guest, your husband.”

I gaped at him.

This man, sometimes I could not just understand what he is thinking.

He snapped his finger in front of my face.

“Salem, with the way that you are going, I really think that you need to see the doctor with how much you are spacing out.”

Please, is there any way for the ground to just open up and swallow me?

Right now will be appreciated.

But as expected, it did not work.

I just had to swallow my shame and pointed towards the chairs.

“You can sit.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said and sat down, crossing his legs.

This pose made him look like all of those high emperors in C-dramas. The ones who sat around looking completely unbothered while everyone else scrambled around them trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

I shook the thought out of my head.

“Do you want anything? Water, tea, juice, rum…?”

Now at this point I was just chatting shit. My parents did not drink alcohol, and because I was a lightweight, the only times that I drank alcohol was when Rejoice insisted on it, and on those days she was stuck chaperoning me.

He laughed.

“Just water is fine.”

“Oh.”

I rushed to the kitchen and brought out a glass of cold water to him. Just to be extra, I also placed a slice of lemon beside the tray.

“I know you probably drink all of that fancy flavored water, and we don’t have that, so you will have to do with some lemon water,” I said.

He actually burst out laughing.

“Thanks, Salem, but ordinary water is alright for me.”

“Oh... that’s sounds about right.”

I stood until he was done drinking the water.

Why was I standing?

I had no idea.

My head was a mess, and my brain was scrambled with the fact that Atlas Knight, my boss and full on husband was actually here, in my house having a glass of water like it was completely normal.

And somehow, he looked completely comfortable.

“Why are you here, Atlas?” I asked again.

“Itching to chase me out already?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“No… it’s just that I am just a little confused by the suddenness of it all.”

He stood up suddenly and straightened his jacket.

“Well, wife, I am here to take you home with me.”

“What?!” I asked loudly, and he slightly leaned away.

“I am just in front of you, Salem. I can hear just fine.”

“You are joking, right?”

He arched a brow at me

“We are married, Salem. Is it not only right that we move in together?”

“I know, but you gave me until Sunday… couldn’t you wait twenty-four hours?”

“No.”

This fucking man…

I was still cracking my brain, thinking of an excuse to tell my parents as to why I would be moving out of the house for a while... and I had not even thought of that yet, my excuse bank was absolutely lacking.

 I still hadn’t even packed my stuff, and he was just here.

The only word he could say was ‘no.’

What the hell was I supposed to do with that?

I stared at him, hoping that maybe if I looked at him long enough, he would suddenly realize how unreasonable he was being.

He didn't.

Of course he didn't.

At this point, he might actually be the one that is in need of that mental check, because this entire thing was crazy.

He folded his arms.

“I was planning on waiting until tomorrow, but then I got impatient. As my wife, you should be living with me right now.”

“But… I’ve not packed anything yet.”

“I can wait,” he said.

“…”

“You can just pack up your necessities. Whatever is left, we can just get new ones.”

I shook my head.

“No, no, no. Let us take a minute here. Don’t you see how crazy all of this is?”

“It all makes perfect sense to me,” he shrugged and sat down comfortably on the couch.

“Atlas…”

“Look, I have all day. You can either pack up and we can leave, or I have no problem staying here until your mother comes home. You will have a lot of explaining to do.”

“You…”

He arched a brow at me.

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

What exactly was I supposed to say?

If he stayed until my mother came home, there was absolutely no way I could explain his presence without telling her everything. And if I told her everything, then I would have to explain why my husband was suddenly sitting in our living room waiting to take me away.

That would be messy for many reasons, but the most important one, she did not even know I was married yet!!

No.

Absolutely not.

I was not emotionally prepared for that conversation.

I rolled my eyes without thinking too much of it.

“I am going to pack a bag.”

“Take your time, wife,” he said.

The smugness in his voice made me want to throw the nearest cushion at his head.

Instead, I turned around and walked towards my room.

I took a few steps before stopping.

I glanced back at him.

He was already sitting comfortably on the couch, one arm resting against the back, looking like he had just settled into his favorite spot.

I narrowed my eyes.

He caught me staring.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

I turned around and continued walking.

Once I was sure that he could not see me, I turned around and flipped him off.

That actually made me feel slightly better.

Then I remembered that I actually had to pack.

My mood immediately dropped again.

“God help me,” I muttered under my breath.