Chapter 05

Kylie

I sat by the pool, lost in thought, mulling over the things I had overheard earlier. I didn’t know how I would tell Dad about it; he never listens to me anyway, especially when it comes to matters I deem important.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.” Atlas’s voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up at him and sighed deeply. I didn’t understand why he kept coming around, especially when he knew I couldn’t reciprocate the feelings he had for me. But he continued to approach me, undeterred.

He took a seat beside me, but I didn’t acknowledge him, too preoccupied with my own thoughts. “Are you really not going to talk to me?” he asked gently.

“Why are you here, Atlas? Haven’t I been clear enough about my feelings toward you? Why do you still want to marry me?” I asked, my voice tinged with frustration. “I know you’re genuine, but we don’t feel the same way about each other,” I added. I didn’t want to avoid him anymore; there was no point. I needed to be honest about how I felt.

“So, that’s why they told me the other day that you didn’t want to go out with me?” he asked, his tone inquisitive. I swallowed hard and averted my gaze.

“You know, Vaness told me the other day that she saw you with another man. She even dragged me to the room where she claimed you had gone, but you weren’t there.” His words made me freeze. I couldn’t believe Vaness would actually say that.

But then again, why was I surprised? She wanted me out of the picture, so of course, she’d do anything to make me look bad in front of everyone.

“Is it true? Were you really with another man that day?” Atlas asked, his voice soft but probing. I hesitated, guilt washing over me as I thought about the secrets I was keeping from him.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “How can you say that when I wasn’t even there?” I replied, my voice calm but my heart racing.

He smiled faintly and looked at me. “But I saw you,” he said, making my heart skip a beat. “When Vaness left, I went to the CCTV room. I know the people who work there. You were in that building, but you just entered the wrong room. When I reviewed the footage, I saw a man enter that room before you did.” His revelation left me speechless.

I didn’t know what to say or how to explain myself. This was exactly what Vaness would use against me.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” I pleaded. The last thing I wanted was for Dad to find out; I’d be in serious trouble.

“Why? Is Uncle going to be mad at you if he finds out?” Atlas asked, his concern evident.

“I just want his love back. Aunt Celeste has been clouding his mind, and even the slightest mistake I make becomes a big deal to him. I don’t even understand why he wants me to marry you when we both know it won’t work,” I confessed.

Atlas nodded, understanding dawning on his face. Rejecting him wasn’t easy for me, knowing I was hurting someone who cared deeply for me. But I knew it was better this way; we’d only end up hurting each other more if we went through with this.

“Don’t worry, I have already deleted the footage. If Vaness tries to find it, she won’t find anything,” Atlas said. I looked at him, stunned by what he had done. It was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time, a pang of sadness hit me.

“Why did you do that? You could have used it to force me into marrying you,” I said, genuinely curious.

He smiled and shook his head. “How could I do that? I love you; why would I want to hurt you?” he replied. His words sent a shiver down my spine, not from fear but from the sincerity in his voice. I couldn’t believe Atlas would do something like that just because he loved me.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. “I know you’ll never love me back, and I’m not going to force you to. But please, just let me love you in the only way I know how.” His words made my heart ache.

If only I could teach my heart to love Atlas, I would, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t force myself to feel something that wasn’t there. To me, Atlas was a friend—nothing more, nothing less.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine. Your secret's safe with me,” he assured me.

He was right. All the secrets I had, he kept them, even back when we were teenagers. Not once had he ever betrayed my trust. And now, even as an adult, he was still protecting me, still keeping my foolish mistakes hidden.

I felt a pang of guilt. I didn’t know how to repay him for everything he had done for me. Atlas was genuine, almost too genuine, to the point where it sometimes annoyed me. There were times when he would push himself into my life, trying to get me to notice him, and I’d get irritated. But other times, I found myself craving his attention because he was such a caring person. The problem was, I couldn’t give him back the same kind of care he showed me. I cared for him as a friend, but that was as far as it went. I couldn’t match the affection he had for me.

Days and months passed, and Atlas and I spent more time together. He was persistent in courting me, but I kept reminding him that my feelings hadn’t changed since the day he first asked if I felt anything for him.

But as we continued to go out, sometimes on friendly dates, I found myself getting closer to him. Perhaps this was a good thing, getting to know him better. We became even closer, maybe because of the help he gave me after what happened with Rage.

As we grew closer, I noticed Vaness’s anger toward me intensifying. I’d lost count of how many times she had tried to set me up to get me in trouble with Dad, but Atlas had always defended me.

“Are you alright? I can’t believe that girl. Is she seriously going to keep doing this?” Atlas asked, frustration lacing his voice. I sighed deeply and shook my head.

“You shouldn’t be surprised. She likes you; that’s why she’s so angry with me. I told her I’d step aside,” I said. Atlas shot me a disapproving look. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, confused.

“You’d really push me toward someone like her? If it’s not you, I’d rather stay single for the rest of my life.” His words made me frown, but I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at my lips. I have to admit, Atlas was growing on me more and more each day. Every time he visited, I got to know him better. I felt like I was eating my words because I never expected to like him. I had been so quick to judge him without seeing his true worth.

“What are you talking about? If Uncle hears you, he’ll be mad. Besides, don’t you like Vaness?” I asked, trying not to let my feelings show. I didn’t want him to jump to any conclusions; I needed to be sure of my feelings before I acted on them.

“You’re the one who introduced us. I never liked her, but since you said she was your cousin, I thought I’d be friendly.” I shook my head at his words.

“That’s what she told me. She said that when she saw you, she wanted to get to know you, but she didn’t want to approach you because you weren’t paying attention to her. So she asked for my help.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have helped her. Now it’s hard to get rid of her.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his response.

“I didn’t know she’d turn out like this. If I had known, I wouldn’t have helped,” I said, laughing.

“Anyway, let’s not think about her. Let’s focus on the food I brought. Weren’t you craving this?” he asked, pulling out a container of beef steak. I didn’t know why, but I had been craving his beef steak for days.

He handed me the food he had prepared, and I took it close to my nose, wanting to savor the aroma of Atlas’s cooking. But as soon as the smell hit me, my stomach churned, and I had to rush to the sink to throw up.

I didn’t understand why I reacted that way, but the smell of his beef steak had turned my stomach.

“Are you alright? Why did you throw up? Is something wrong?” Atlas asked, his voice full of concern. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

“No, it’s just that the smell of your beef steak was off. What did you put in it?” I asked.

“The usual. I didn’t add anything new,” he replied, sounding worried.

A wave of anxiety washed over me. I was feeling a bit dizzy and slightly nauseous.

“Hey, I think we should go to the hospital. It’s better to find out why you’re feeling this way,” Atlas suggested, his voice laced with concern. The thought of going to the hospital made me nervous. I wasn’t seriously ill, so why was I feeling like this?