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Releasing a growl, Sade grabbed a knife and tossed it at Samantha. She shrieked and ducked, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“That bitch just tried to kill me!”

“Oh, hell no!” Vanessa yelled, frantically trying to close the space between her and Sade.

With haste, Atlas picked up Sade and carried her out of the restaurant. Sade fought against him, swinging until he put her on her feet.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t know they would do that.”

“I’m done! That was the final straw. Anything could have happened to me and my baby, and it would have beenyourfucking fault!”

“Sade, I—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Atlas. I can’t believe you thought it would be a good idea to have me in the same room as the two of them, regardless ofwhatyour mom said.”

“Look, I really thought I could trust what she said.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. I told you this wouldn’t work because they hate me. I’ll never ask you to choose between me and them, so we have to be over.”

Atlas stared at her for a while before laughing. “Choose?” His jaws clenched, and he closed the space between them. “I already chose. I chose when I came to you with Adam’s plan. I chose when I told the Feds the truth, so ya boy wouldn’t have to serve time. I chose when I agreed to be the father of another man’s baby. What other choice could you possibly want me to make?”

“Maybe the one where you don’t put me in a room with your crazy-ass aunt.” Sade pulled in a deep breath as he looked toward the sky. “Baby, you won’t be happy with just me and the baby. Your family means too much to you. But I’m telling you right now, if I ever see either one of them again, I’m going to try my very hardest to beat their ass. So...” She shrugged and looked away, squeezing the back of her neck. “I think it’s best if we end this now. We tried, but it just won’t work.”

Atlas massaged his chin as he released a hard breath. “We can pause while I figure out how to fix this, but it’s me and you for life now, Day. I’m not sure what part of that you don’t understand.”

“There’s no way to fix this,” she muttered. “Either you never deal with them again or let me go.”

“How are those the only options?” he asked with a bitter laugh.

“You set me up. You put me in a position to be attacked. I don’t feel safe with you.”

“Stop with the dramatics, Sade. You act like I knew they planned this.”

“How did younot? You know your family far better than I do, and evenIknew what time it was when I saw your aunt. They will disrespect me when they see me and talk about me when they don’t. I’m not dealing with that. So unless you can standhere and tell me you won’t have anything to do with them ever again, we’re over.” Atlas stared at her, his eyes growing weary.

Chuckling, Sade shook her head. She grabbed his wrists and stood on the tips of her toes to give him a tender kiss. “Goodbye, Atlas.”

When she tried to walk away, he grabbed her hand. “It ain’t gotta be like this, Day.”

She pulled her hand away. “It does. I will not subject myself to this drama while I’m pregnant.”

“And what about after? Can we try again then?”

Her eyes rolled as she pulled her phone out to call an Uber. Gripping her arm, Atlas pulled her side into his chest.

“Atlas—”

“After you have the baby, I’ll have them together. We can try again then.”

Shaking her head, she looked toward security as they escorted his family out. “Go with your people, Atlas. Please. You can get your things from the hotel today. I will go to my grandparents’ house to give you time.”

“Day, please. Don’t do this.”

Ignoring his request, Sade put distance between them as she busied herself to get a ride. A part of her was scared shitless to go through her pregnancy alone. The other part of her felt a little peace, no longer being attached to Atlas. As happy as she was to be with him after she left Dante, that feeling subsided quickly with each passing day. Atlas had some great qualities, but being with him felt like settling compared to Dante. Maybe she’d be better off alone.

Atlas

The Reveal of Imani and Adam’s Plan