Page 26

Atlas

I remember once, Kairi told me—while we were arguing about a book, I can’t even remember which—that fury lives in love.

She was meant to be a writer. She knew how to use words. She could make shit sound beautiful with them. Cut deep with them.

Now, surrounded by the life she built without me, all I could think was... she was right.

Fury lives in love.

It also lives in the bones.

In silence.

In the wait.

My leg bounced with two weeks of barely contained fury.

Ms. Shirley was back at Kairi’s father’s place. I knew they were keeping Dion for the night, and Kairi would be returning home alone. I had begged Ms. Shirley not to let Kairi or her father know what I knew until I had all the answers.

While no one was looking, I swabbed Dion’s cheek. I felt sneaky and underhanded doing it, but I couldn’t let Kairi lie her way out of this. I had gotten the results earlier.

As much as I’d prepared myself, seeing the words in black and white hit me harder than I expected. I had a son. Three years of missed birthdays. Three years of first words and first steps I hadn’t been there for. I’d been robbed of all of it.

I was here to take it all back.

Kairi’s front door clicked open. She reached for the light switch, and when the room brightened, she saw me sitting there. I saw a brief flash of fear, of guilt, before she tried to mask it. I had seen it before and just thought she was uncomfortable around me, but now I knew it was because she was lying. Her hand froze mid-air.

“What are you doing here?” There was guilt in her voice. In her posture.

I stood up slowly. Her eyes darted to the door, then back to me. I took a step toward her.

“You want to explain to me,” I said, my voice low, “why you didn’t tell me Dion was mine?”

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She looked caught—like a deer in headlights. I watched her try to pull herself together, but I wasn’t giving her the chance.

“And don’t lie. I have the results,” I said, and she dropped her head.

“All that time, Kairi. All the times I called you,” I continued, stepping closer, invading her space, “you listened to me grieve, to my misery. And you didn’t think to tell me you had my son? That I had a fucking son?” My hand shot out, grabbing her arm before she could retreat any further.

Her body stiffened, and she looked up at me, eyes blown wide and breathless.

“Atlas, I—”

“No. You don’t get to explain.” I tugged her closer, feeling the heat radiating off her, my anger pulsing. “You don’t get to make excuses after keeping my son from me for three fucking years. Three years, Kairi. You took that from me.”

Her lips parted like she wanted to speak, but I tightened my grip, bringing her face inches from mine. “You couldn’t have said something when I called you after the second miscarriage? You couldn’t have told me then? Maybe we wouldn’t have even gone through a third if I’d known the truth.”

“I was trying not to make things worse for you. To protect you,” she finally snapped, her voice shaky.

“Protect me?” I laughed, the sound dark and bitter in my own ears. I pushed her back just enough so I could see her face. “That’s what you’re going with? You think you were protecting me by keeping my son a secret?”

She pulled her arm free, her face flushed. “I didn’t think it was the right time! You were going through so much with Ashlen, and I—”

I cut her off, stepping even closer until she had no choice but to back up against the wall. “Fuck Ashlen. You listened to me cry. You listened to me fall apart. And you didn’t say a damn word.”

My hand pressed flat against the wall next to her head, trapping her in place. I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly, could see her eyes flicker with anger. But I didn’t care. I was done playing nice with Kairi. I leaned in, my lips brushing against her ear as I spoke. “You owe me, Kairi. You took three years of my life—three years I should’ve spent watching my son grow up.”

Her breath hitched as I pulled back just enough to look at her. “And now,” I continued, “I’m taking three years of yours.”

She flinched, her brow furrowing in confusion. “What does that even mean?”

“You made decisions—huge decisions—for both of us that I wasn’t a part of. And now, I’m not playing games. I want three years of your life,” I said, my voice low and dark. “Three years, you’ll do whatever I say. And after that, we’ll set up a co-parenting agreement for Dion—and for any other kids we have.” I let the implication hang in the air between us, knowing exactly how it sounded.

Her face twisted in disgust. “You’re fucking insane,” she spat. “Kids? You’ve lost your damn mind. You accosted me in the bathroom and practically made me have sex with you while your wife was in the other room. Now I’m the bad guy? You played as big of a role as I did in how badly this has turned out.”

I chuckled, though there wasn’t anything humorous about it. “No, I’m not insane. I’m a father. A scorned father, Kairi. You took three years from me, and now I’m taking them back. I don’t care how you try and manipulate the situation or how it happened. And don’t try to insinuate what you’re insinuating. Your pussy soaked my pants when you creamed for me—you weren’t a victim.”

She shoved me, trying to push past me, but I blocked her path, my hand grabbing her waist and pulling her back. “It’s either that,” I said, voice dark and steady, “or we fight this out in court. And trust me, I’ll make you a weekend parent.”

She tried to laugh, but it came out hollow. “You really think you can fight me in court? You lost all your money during COVID, remember? You called me, practically crying. How are you going to win a custody battle?”

I chuckled. “I have $3.6 million in the bank right now,” I said, my eyes narrowing as I watched her confidence waver. “And I’ll spend every single penny of it if I have to. Every cent, Kairi. And the best part? I can make it all back in a short amount of time. IT pays well.”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. I could see the gears turning in her head, trying to figure out her next move.

“You think about it,” I said, my voice cold. “You’ve got two choices. Give me what I want, or we go to court and I take my son from you. I’ve pleaded with you, begged you, cried for you. Now I’m using force.”

I released her, stepping back just enough to give her room to breathe. She looked up at me, her eyes begging me.

I almost cracked, almost.

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the house, leaving her standing there, drowning in her own mistakes.