Page 22 of The Devoted Husband

Atlas squeezed the back of his neck. “I haven’t been fine. Not without you.”

“Atlas—”

“Nothing matters to me without you. What my mom and aunt did...That was wrong. I promise I’ll never put you in a situation like that again. We can leave the city, and you never have to be around them again. Just...please...Let me fix this between us.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Atlas. We’ve never been in a relationship. We agreed we’d try once the dust cleared, but what is even clearer is that we don’t need to be together. I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me and were willing to do for my baby, but what we had is over. Please...Make this easier for both of us and just stay away.”

His expression hardened, causing Sade to push herself off the door and prepare to close it. As she did, he said, “I’ll be seeing you,” and unfortunately, Sade knew that was the truth.

Just Under One Week Later . . .

Since it appeared Sade would be staying in Memphis indefinitely, she decided to make arrangements. The first thing on her list was finding a gynecologist, then an apartment. Going from owning her own home to renting an apartment felt odd, but because she didn’t have to worry about maintenance, her lawn, or anything else, Sade was looking forward to having less stress renting instead of owning. Plus, the apartment she’d chosen was close to her grandparents. She’d be able to move in at the start of the next month and planned to stay in her suite until then.

A part of Sade wanted to tell Ava that she was pregnant so she could accompany her to her appointment. Before things with Atlas’s family caused a rift between them, Sade expected to do this with him. Now, she felt even more alone. Since she’d changed her number, she hadn’t seen or heard from him outside of that one pop-up a week ago. He watched her stories on social media but didn’t engage, for which Sade was grateful.

Imani had been taken out of the medically induced coma, but currently, she was still unconscious. Her doctor assured Reggie that it was common for people to remain in a vegetative state and that she’d wake up when her mind and body were ready.Though the swelling had gone down almost completely, her doctor stressed it was imperative she rest. That gave Sade hope.

When her alarm sounded, Sade ended the voice memo she was recording and headed inside for her twelve-week checkup. The fact that she’d be able to hear her baby’s heartbeat was bittersweet. Dante should’ve been there. Would he forgive her for keeping him away?

Before she could get lost in her guilt, the sight of Atlas waiting for her by the front doors caught her by surprise.

“What in thehellare you doing here?”

Atlas

“What in thehellare you doing here?”

Sade was beautiful—even when she was mad.

Atlas’s eyes scanned her frame. She didn’t look like she was pregnant. Bloated, maybe, but not pregnant. She looked tired, though, as if she hadn’t been getting as much rest. That angered Atlas. He was supposed to be there, helping her, making this pregnancy as easy as possible. Instead, she’d shut him out, but that wouldn’t be the case for long.

“Why did you change your number?” he replied.

“How did you find me?”

“I followed you,” he admitted. “Had you not changed your number, I could simply call you to make sure you’re okay.”

Sade released a low hum of laughter and licked her lips. “You know you’re crazy, right?”

“About you? Absolutely.” He took a step in her direction. She lifted her hands, and he saw the moment she held her breath. Her reaction to him made his heart ache. “Are you scared of me? You know I’d never do anything to hurt you, Day. I love you.”

“You’re stalking me. You don’t think that’s hurting me?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I promised you I’d be there for you and the baby and—”

“I told you that was no longer needed. Stop following me, or I will get a restraining order.”

“Damn, it’s like that?” When she didn’t respond, he laughed. “Is this about Dante?”

She released a low breath. “No, Atlas. We can’t be together. There’s no reason for you to try to keep tabs on me. Now, please, leave me alone.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “But if you change your mind, I’m here.”

Not bothering to respond, Sade headed into the doctor’s office. He watched through the door as she talked to the receptionist, then went to take a seat. Atlas made his way to her car, casually putting an AirTag on it. He’d grown tired of waiting outside of the hotel all day for her to make a move. When he was done, he headed back to the hotel.

He was in luck—the front desk receptionist was the young girl who liked how he looked. Every time he came, her eyes would widen, and she’d smile and stumble over her words. It was cute to him in the past. Now, he’d use her crush to his advantage.

“H-hi. I haven’t seen you here in a while.”

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