"No way. How can that be him? Where would Ave find Atlas Sinclair?" Craig scoffed in disbelief.
His doubts drew Atlas attention. "She's stunning. Why would Atlas Sinclair not be interested in her?" He asked.
The silence that followed his words was heavy enough to cause a dent on the earth.
"Uhmmm–I—I'm—"
"You're into gossip and all sorts right?" He directed at Laura.
Her eyes widened enthusiastically, and she swiftly let go of Craig's hands. "I am." She nodded, stepping forward.
Aveline who had her head still buried in Atlas' chest wondered why he was suddenly conversing with her biggest betrayers.
If it wasn't for his scent that somehow managed to calm her nerves, she admitted to herself that she would have fled the scene already.
"Good. Look out for the next issue then. You'll see Aveline. Front page, with me, Atlas Sinclair. She'll be my wife, while you'll remain in this shithole, like the nobody you are." With every word Atlas said, the eager smile disappeared from Laura's face.
"You're still here, Ave?" Madam Alice asked, stepping out of her house.
She noticed the look on everyone's face, and grew more curious.
Still holding Aveline with one hand, Atlas reached into his pocket with the other hand, and pulled out a check.
"Here," he stretched it to Alice. "You're diamond in this rough dump. Leave before you're consumed by the vileness this place exudes."
The moment Alice collected the check, he pulled Aveline away, and led her to the car.
He opened the door for her, and stepped aside for her to go in.
"I don't know how you've managed to deceive the Atlas Sinclair, Ave. Maybe it was by playing the innocent victim like you always do. But get this, you're not his class. He's just using you. When he's done, he'll toss you out and you'll come crawling back to this dump. And when you return, you'll be left with no house, no job, no man, and no friends. Want to know who will have everything you'll lose? Me, Aveline. Don't forget that!" She screamed at the top of her voice as Aveline made to go in.
Her words travelled into Aveline's ears like a dagger, causing her stomach to flip in pain.
"Don't listen to her," Atlas muttered under his breath, but she had entered the car already, and slammed the door shut.
He wasted no time in walking to the driver's seat.
In a heartbeat, he roughly drove out of pineapple street, leaving behind the shocked faces of everyone that had just witnessed an unforgettable scene.
Aveline tried to hold it in as she had been doing so far. But Laura had hit her where it hurt the most- her nonexistent self esteem.
Unable to hold back the tears anymore, she turned to the window, and let it all out.
She was louder than she wanted, but she couldn't stop no matter how hard she tried.
Atlas listened without reacting. She had every valid reason to cry, and even him could admit it..
He couldn't imagine his best friend betraying him in such a demeaning way.
"Yeah, you should cry," he thought, and returned his focus to the road.
Aveline was in tears through the stop Atlas briefly made.
She was still unaware of her surroundings even when the car came to a final stop for the night.
Her side of the door opened, and only then did it dawn on her that her attention was needed.
Looking up, she blinked when she saw Atlas outstretched hand.
Without saying a word, she surrendered her hand to him.
"At least she isn't crying anymore," he thought as he led her into the living room.
"Welcome to my house," he simply said.
"He didn't call it a home," Aveline thought.
She looked around in awe. The living room alone was probably three houses in her street.
"It's huge," she blurted.
He shrugged. "Well I like space."
"Quiet too," she added, and continued to observe.
"Silence is good."
"Unexpected from you though." She walked over to the walls, fascinated by the contrast of the dullest shade of colours used in crafting such beautiful pieces glued to it.
"Why?" He lifted a brow.
"The hotels? Casinos? Clubs?" Her eyes stumbled on a particular piece that stole her breath away.
It was simple, yet so commanding. Exactly how her father used to paint.
Atlas scoffed. "Let me get this straight, because I own hotels, casinos and clubs, I have to live around loud places?"
"Yes," She nodded, and turned to him. "Poor people live in dumps. Rich people live in rich people's places. You live in an isolated area."
"Because I can. Anyway, I don't owe you any explanation. At least you're not crying anymore. Here, I bought food. Eat as much as you can. There's a room through the door, down to your left. It's yours. Nelson has your things in your room. Goodnight."
With an already flushed face from the embarrassment of realising he had heard her stomach ring before, she opened her mouth to complete her shame.
"Why?" She asked.
Atlas stopped just before he could disappear through the door.
"Why what?" He asked without turning to face her.
"Why did you choose me? You heard Laura. She wasn't wrong. I'm dirt poor and up to my neck with debt. I'm also not extremely good looking. Why me?" She asked, playing with her fingers nervously.
Atlas chortled dryly. "Your self esteem is in the gutters, isn't it?"
"You have to have some kind of worth to have self esteem right? What exactly am I worth?" Aveline buried her head to the ground, that familiar sinking feeling soaking her again.
"I'm not here to help your self worth. But just a piece of advice, start seeing yourself as someone worth something. If you want this contract to work so you can clear all your debts, you'll need a lot of confidence. A whole lot of it." He walked away, leaving Aveline feeling even more terrible than before.
She collapsed on the rich mahogany carpet, a single tear rolling down her eyes.
"You're so embarrassing, Ave." She covered her eyes tightly in shame.
Every self loathing word she has spewed in the past one hour, made her cringe as they replayed in her head.
Despite how deep in despair she was, her stomach rang again.
She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the bag Atlas said contained food.
"You've made a fool out of yourself. We might as well just eat." She thought to herself, as she drew closer to the table.
It took Aveline thirty minutes after she was done eating to locate a kitchen. It took her another thirty minutes to get over the fascination of how huge and stacked the kitchen was.
After she was done clearing up, she traced her steps back to the living room.
From there, she gathered her heels she had discarded into her hand, and began to find her way to the room Atlas had directed her to before.
"Did he say to the left or right?" She asked herself, as she walked along the halls.
"Right?" She did plant her gaze to the right, until the end of the hall.
When she realized she had hit a dead end, she turned to trace her steps back when her eyes stumbled on a sight that made her stomach flip.
The door to her right was slightly ajar, and Atlas had obviously just come out of the shower, seeing he was dripping with water and had just a towel around his waist.
As if sensing her presence, he looked up the same time she swallowed hard.
Before she could think to escape, he started to storm her way.