I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 116

10:15 Fri, Jan 23

Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Atlas POV

零

I once read about the salmon that swims back upstream to the river that almost killed it… despite how brutal the current is, they still go. Like they’re pulled there. Like it’s coded in their blood to return. No matter how

much it hurts.

Mom…yeah she was that salmon.

And Ron… he was the river.

The one she couldn’t quit.

Even after everything…the bruises, the apologies, the hollow promises, some part of her still… gravitated toward him. I thought moving far away would help. New city. New life. Clean break.

She told me this was her fresh start. Said she was done for good.

And I wanted to believe that. I needed to believe that.

“Was he her…no” I said pinching the bridge of my nose to try and calm myself down but it wasn’t working.” Don’t tell me his still here mom.”

“Atlas…”

I didn’t wait for her answer. I couldn’t. The sound of blood rushing in my ears drowned her out. That wardrobe…I don’t know why, but it felt wrong. Off. Like the air around it was holding its breath.

“Atlas, wait-”

I moved. Fast. Rage curling in my stomach like a damn fist ready to swing. My steps were heavy. I reached for the handle, yanked the door open—

Empty.

Nothing.

I exhaled hard, chest rising and falling like I’d just run sprints. My eyes dropped to the carpet. No signs of him. No scent. No shadow.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to cool the hell down.

Then I felt it….Mom’s hand on my shoulder. Gentle. Shaky.

“Atlas…” she said, her voice softer now.

I turned to her, and shit, guilt hit me like a truck.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I…I don’t know what I was thinking. I just… I can’t…”

10:15 Fri, Jan 23

Chapter 116

“It’s okay, baby.”

02

She cupped my face the way she used to when I was ten and had nightmares. Her hands were smaller now. Or maybe I was just bigger.

“You have nothing to worry about…your father…I mean…Ron… he’s not going to be part of our lives anymore. I promise you that.”

I held her gaze for a second. Then nodded, slow.

“Yeah,” I said.

She gave me a soft smile.

“Now let’s get this tie fixed up. Shall will?”

“Yeah” I stepped back, opened my legs slightly so she didn’t have to tiptoe, and bowed my head.

We both chuckled.

“There,” she said, tightening the knot and smoothing it down. “Handsome and all done.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime, sweetie. Now go, go. Macy’s almost here and I’m behind schedule, again. Rory’s probably pacing and giving himself a stomachache right now.”

“Classic Rory,” I chuckled.

She leaned up and kissed my cheek. “I love you, my sweet boy.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Love you too, Mom.”

I turned to leave, glancing back once at the wardrobe. Still closed. Still quiet.

Maybe I was just being paranoid.

Ron wasn’t gonna show up.

He couldn’t.

I’d paid him off. More than I should’ve. Told him to stay the hell away. And for once, I hoped the man had a shred of decency left in him to take the money and disappear.

I was still in my head as I walked down the hallway, thoughts circling like vultures. I didn’t even hear the soft creak of the guest closet door until…

“Shit….”

A hand yanked me by the collar, fast and smooth. I stumbled into the small dark space before I could even react. The door shut behind me with a soft thud.

10:15 Fri, Jan 23

Chapter 116

“What the…”

Then I saw her.

Emery.

8

Pressed against the wall. Hair curled, lips slightly parted, a mischievous spark in her eyes. Her finger was on her mouth.

“Shh,” she whispered, grinning like she just pulled off a crime.

I blinked. My brain blank for a second.

Then I smiled. Slow. Real.

“Well, damn. If I’d known closets came with surprise kisses, I would’ve opened every one on this floor.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my tie.

“Couldn’t resist,” she said, tugging me closer. “You looked too good to let you roam around unsupervised.”

I leaned in, hands finding her waist as my forehead brushed hers. “So what’s the plan here, Miss Collins? Closet makeout before the ceremony?”

She grinned. “Something like that.”

“That’s so naughty.”

“You make me naughty Lawson.” She said then her lips connected with mine and just like that, the world tilted.

Her hands were in my hair. Mine slid around her waist, pulling her flush against me. She tasted like peppermint and trouble. Good trouble no great trouble…Like the one I’d sign up for again and again.

She pulled away, smiling…breathless and so fucking beautiful I couldn’t help myself.

I leaned in and kissed her again.

She moaned softly, her arms wrapping right back around my shoulders like she never wanted to let go, kissing me with the same urgency I felt in my chest.

Having her in my arms made the rest of the world disappear. Had I been mad earlier? Stressed? I couldn’t even remember. All that mattered was her. My Emery. Mine. God, she was really mine.

I deepened the kiss, not even caring that her lipstick was probably all over my mouth by now.

“Atlas,” she whispered between kisses, “we’ve got to go… the wedding…”

“I know,” I murmured, brushing my lips against hers again. “Just a little more. Please.”

I kissed her again like a man starving, and God knows I would’ve kissed her even longer if my lungs didn’t

10:15 Fri, Jan 23

Chapter 116

finally scream at me for air.

We pulled away, both of us breathless, grinning like idiots,

And now that I could actually see straight, that’s when I took her in.

The soft floral dress hugging her just right. Her hair half-pinned, two strands framing her face perfectly. And her eyes, those goddamn green eyes, they sparkled even in the dim closet light.

She looked… breathtaking.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she said suddenly, face flushing pink.

I smirked. “Like what?”

“You know what I mean, asshole. Don’t make me say it.”

I laughed, sliding my hand back to her waist, tugging her in close again. “Last one. I promise.”

Then I kissed her one more time…slow, gentle. Perfect…So damn perfect.

****

The church bells rang, the massive door opened, eyes turned as I walked Mom down the aisle, her arm hooked through mine, her face glowing like she was living in some fairytale. I should’ve felt nothing but happy for her… and I was. Mostly. But there was still this ache in my chest I couldn’t shake. A quiet, heavy kind of ache.

Still, I was glad…glad she was marrying Rory. He was a good man and he loved her genuinely. He made her laugh, he never made her cry. He wasn’t Ron. That was enough.

After the ceremony, we danced. Me with Mom, and Emery with Rory, I swear, the second her eyes found mine from across the room, all the noise faded out. She smiled small, soft, just for me, and I smiled back like a total idiot.

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