Chapter 3

“She comes home tomorrow.” Atlas whispered against my ear when I asked where his daughter was.

He still had his hand inside my shorts, his fingers grazing my opening. He actually enjoyed watching me get this frustrated. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my thighs together because of the sharp sensation building between them.

“Why are you doing this to me ?” I muttered, slowly losing it.

I was just seconds away from relief, my breath hitched as I prepared for him to finally finger fuck me.

And of course, he didn’t respond. He just slipped his hand out of my shorts.

He stood up, forcing me to find my own balance.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have an important call to make," he told me, his voice perfectly professional.

I had just stood there, frozen. I couldn't even find the words to argue or tease him back.

He walked out of his office without giving me a single glance.

“Fuck you!” I let out a frustrated scream as soon as the door shut.

The next day, I decided to ignore Atlas entirely. I left the house early, and I was just glad my car had finally been delivered.

I had my first day of senior year to deal with, but when I checked my student portal, my heart dropped. Two of my required credits were marked as incomplete. I didn't even have to guess. I knew exactly who was behind it.

Instead of going to class, I drove straight to the administrative building to find my ex, Marcus. I didn't bother knocking. I just shoved the door open and slammed my bag onto his desk.

"You’re pathetic, Marcus," I snapped. "You really think failing me is going to make me come crawling back?"

Marcus leaned back in his chair, a slow, amused smirk spreading across his face.

"Take a seat, Leslie. You look stressed," he said.

"Those grades? They’re just a reflection of your recent... lack of focus. But you know, everything in this office can be reversed. All it takes is one phone call from me to the registrar."

"And let me guess," I retorted, leaning over the desk. "The price is me moving back into your apartment?"

"It’s a small price for your future, don't you think?" He stood up, walked toward me. "We were good together. You’re just being stubborn."

"We weren't good, Marcus. You were a predator," I snapped. "I broke it off because you were cheating on me with girls in your department, blackmailing them with their results just like you're trying to do to me. You’re disgusting."

Marcus’s face hardened for a second before that smug look returned. He stepped closer, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You always did have a big mouth," he whispered.

“And it doesn’t matter because I still want you. I’ve missed you so fucking much, Les.”

He leaned in, his thumb almost grazing my lower lip, but I turned my head away. I tried getting out of his grip but couldn’t.

“Don’t you miss how I made you feel? Because I do. I missed how hot your mouth was around my cock,” he whispered, burying his face in my neck.

I didn't hesitate. I shoved him off with everything I had and slapped him so hard his head snapped to the side.

“Don’t you ever fucking touch me again, you disgusting piece of shit!” I yelled.

I grabbed my bag and walked out, my heart racing with pure rage.

I found Maya in the campus coffee shop twenty minutes later. I was still shaking.

"I just slapped the Dean’s son."I said, dropping into the chair across from her.

Maya stared at me pushing a latte toward me. "Finally. Tell me everything."

I spent the next hour venting about Marcus, the grades, and the chaos at Atlas's house. Maya listened, her eyes wide.

"So Atlas is a dad, Marcus is a blackmailer, and you're stuck in the middle of a war zone," she summarized. "Babes, if you want to win this, you need Atlas to do more than just eye-fuck you across a kitchen counter. You need him on your side."

"I know," I said, my voice finally steady. "I don’t even want to go home right now. Can I stay at your place for a while?"

Maya didn't even hesitate. She just reached over and squeezed my wrist. "Of course. I literally begged you to move in with me three weeks ago, but you refused."

I rolled my eyes, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through the stress. "Yeah, because I didn't want to be the third wheel to you and your freaky-ass boyfriend. I’m not trying to be stressed out by your loud sexcapades almost every night.”

Maya let out a loud snort. "First of all, it’s only Saturday nights. And second, we are not that loud."

I stayed at Maya’s place way longer than I should have. We sat on her floor with a huge pizza while the TV hummed in the background.

"He isn't going to let that slap go, Les," Maya said. "Marcus is petty."

"I don’t fucking care," I muttered, chewing on a piece of crust. "I’m tired of being scared. He can do what the fuck he wants. I don’t care."

"But you do care about Atlas," Maya teased. "Don’t you think he can do something about this? I mean, he’s rich."

I only shrugged, checking the time and realizing I had stayed well past when I was supposed to be back.

"You know what? I gotta go home right now," I said, packing up my things as Maya stood to escort me to my car.

I drove off immediately and almost got lost. By the time I finally pulled into the driveway, lights were on in the living room. I walked in expecting to see Atlas working, but the sound of a cartoon caught me off guard.

I froze. His daughter was really here.

I walked further into the room and my heart dropped. A woman was sitting on the sofa.

She was young, probably in her late twenties, and she looked expensive, composed, perfectly at home. She was leaning over a small girl who was focused on the screen, brushing a stray hair out of the child's face.

There was another woman in his life.

Just when I was about to step back, she turned.

"Who are you?" the woman asked

She looked me up and down like I was a delivery girl who got lost.

Before I could answer, Atlas appeared on the stairs looking lethal as ever.

"Leslie," he said. "You're back late."

The woman didn't take her eyes off me, until the second Atlas spoke. She looked back at him, her eyebrows raised in a way that suggested she was waiting for an explanation.

"I stayed late at a friend's house," I said, finally finding my voice. I kept my eyes on Atlas.

"Clearly," Atlas remarked. He reached the bottom of the stairs and finally turned his gaze toward me. It was unreadable.

The little girl on the sofa finally looked away from the cartoons, staring at me with the same dark eyes as the man on the stairs.

"This is Leslie," Atlas said to the woman. "She’s my guest.

"Leslie, this is Elena and this our daughter Sophie.”

I only offered a small smile.

Elena only glared. It felt awkward, but Sophie broke the tension immediately. She ran over to hug me, squealing and tugging on my top.

"You're pretty!" Sophie shouted, looking up at me with wide eyes.

I looked at Atlas, expecting him to pull her away or at least say something, but he just watched the interaction.

“Thank you, angel. You are prettier,” I said, bending down to her height to play with her cheeks.

Our eyes met, his expression unreadable again.

“There is food in the kitchen. You can ask Carlos to fix you something,” Atlas said.

I could feel Elena’s gaze on me even though she hadn't said anything.

I shook my head and stood up. “I’m good. I’ll just freshen up,” I said, clearing my throat. I turned to Elena. “It was nice meeting you.”

She only nodded, not hiding her dislike.

I quickly got into my room, exhaling sharply the breath I didn’t know I was holding in.

Well, that was fucking awkward.

I had expected a secret, but a whole family was a different level of complication. And Elena, she looked like she owned the place.

This isn’t how I pictured my stay here with the man I wanted so much.

I let out a frustrated sigh and headed straight into the bathroom.

I dozed off and woke in the middle of the night because of my stomach. I was hungry.

I strolled downstairs in just my shorts and a crop top. I literally gave zero fucks if his wife or fiancée was here.

As I warmed food in the microwave, I had my AirPods in, humming along to the music. I was leaning against the counter, then I felt a presence in the room.

I turned around, expecting to see a sleepy Sophie or maybe a judgmental Elena. Instead, Atlas was standing by the refrigerator. He was shirtless, with his grey joggers hanging loose, revealing the deep lines of his waist. His eyes were fixed on me.

Well, this was not how I expected my night to end.