I Swear I Still Hate Him (Atlas Lawson) novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160

Emery’s POV

I’m grinning so hard right now I probably look like an overexcited emoji.

ས . 63%=

55 vouchers

I swallowed hard and forced my expression back into something neutral… just as Gia cleared her throat. Oh, right, I had forgotten she was here with me. I looked up. eyebrow cocked like she’s reading my damn diary, her arms folded tight across her chest, pushing up those curves she knows how to work.

“What?” I snapped, but it came out all flustered, my voice cracking a little as I shifted on the stool, trying to ignore the insistent throb between my legs.

“Nothing,” she purred, leaning in closer, her eyes dancing with that wicked gleam, lips twitching like she’s holding back a full-on cackle. “Just want to make sure you aren’t gonna get an orgasm just from texting.”

“Gia!” I yelped, my cheeks flaming even hotter, but fuck, she nailed it, my nipples were hard, my bra wasn’t doing much in hiding it, and down below, my clit was swollen, pulsing like it has its own goddamn heartbeat. “It’s…it’s just a text.”

“Yeah, right,” she shot back, straightening up with a dramatic eye roll, her hips swaying as she planted a hand on the counter. “And your face says you’re seconds from stripping off and flipping that lady beam.”

“Lady beam…really?” I gave her the look, eyes narrowed, lips pursed in like I was disgusted, which was false because I was far from disgusted…The truth? I really did want to flick my bean, right there, fingers diving into my soaked panties to rub out the ache. I mean, it was just a text, but I could feel my clit getting swollen, begging for attention, and don’t judge me, okay? I haven’t had sex in a long damn time, and I’m probably ovulating okay, not ovulating, just very much turned on. I mean, have you seen Atlas? The man could walk in with mud caked all over him and still look sexy as hell, that rugged jaw, those beautiful eyes, one could get lost in, broad shoulders…great, I’m turning into freaking Shakespeare but a lesser version.

I looked back at Gia, and I swear her expression said, Oh, I know exactly where your mind just went.

I lifted my middle finger at her without breaking eye contact. She laughed like I’d told the best joke of the year.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding at my phone, voice dripping with amusement, “why don’t you channel that energy to the person you really wanna fuck.”

“GIA”

Gia chuckled, folding her arms like she was settling in for her favorite show. “I’m just being honest. I can feel the tension on you.” Her eyes flicked to my phone, then back to my face. “Just admit you still love him and go for it.”

I let out a sharp breath through my nose and looked away, like staring at the wall would make the problem disappear.

“We can’t.”

Gia’s brows lifted. “Why?”

Why. She said it like she didn’t know the whole story. Like, there weren’t landmines buried under every sweet moment Atlas and I stole.

I turned back to her, giving her a look. “Because he’s my stepbrother. Surprise.”

I said it sarcastically, like the word stepbrother wasn’t enough to make my stomach twist and my pulse spike at the same

time.

Gia didn’t even blink.

“And?” she asked, completely unbothered.

1/3

16:17 Wed, Mar 4

Chapter 160

I stared at her. “Okay… are you high?”

03%

55 vouchers

She put a hand on her chest like I’d insulted her bloodline. “Honey, you know I don’t get high when I’m working.”

“Really?” I said, leaning forward, voice dropping. “Because it feels like you’re high, considering you’re encouraging me to…” I motioned vaguely between my phone and my face, heat climbing up my neck, “…to hook up with my stepbrother.”

Gia’s mouth curved into a slow smirk. “I’m encouraging you to do whatever the hell

you

want.”

“But our parents…”

“Oh my God,” Gia groaned, rolling her eyes like my parents were personally ruining her day. She leaned closer, lowering her voice, but it was still sharp. “Em. You are both adults. Grown. You pay taxes. You can legally rent a car without extra fees.” She pointed at me like she was presenting evidence in court. “And you keep saying you don’t want anything… but you’re living in his penthouse.”

My lips parted, but no sound came out. She kept going, because of course she did.

“You see him every day,” she said, ticking it off with her fingers. ou melt every time he breathes near you. You two have been stuck on each other for ten years.” Her eyes narrowed like she was offended on my behalf. “And you keep rejecting every blind date I offer like you’re allergic to moving on.”

She tilted her head. “So what’s the plan?”

My chest felt tight. My throat felt hot. Like my body didn’t know whether to fight or surrender.

I looked down at my hands, fingers twisting together, nails digging lightly into my palm.

“I hate you,” I muttered.

Gia smiled like she’d been waiting for it. “I know.”

And the worst part?

I didn’t even mean it. I never could. I was grateful Gia showed up in my life when I really needed a friend, and one thing I loved about Gia was that she didn’t sugarcoat. She didn’t pat my head and tell me everything was fine while I was quietly falling apart. She said the truth out loud and let me deal with how it tasted. I swallowed, blinking hard. She was right. I was still very much in love with Atlas…Always have. And I knew, deep in my bones, that he felt it too. Not just because of the texts. Not just because of the way he looked at me. But because of the way he showed up, over and over, like he couldn’help himself.

My mind tried to drag me back to Rory. To Daisy. To the word family hanging over us like a threat. But how long was supposed to juggle everyone else’s comfort while my own heart stayed on pause?

How long was I supposed to pretend I didn’t want him, when my body reacted like it belonged to him the second he got close?

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to sit up straighter, like I could physically pull myself together. At the end of the day, I had to choose. And this time…

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify