Atlas took a step back as his eyes travelled from Aveline, to Nelson.
"Explain to me what is going on," he chose his words carefully, but with an undertone that projected urgency.
Seeing that little freedom as a window of opportunity, Aveline's eyes flew open.
She abruptly began to walk towards the door.
"Hey, I didn't ask you to lea—" she was gone before Atlas could complete his words.
With a sigh, he returned his listening ears to Nelson. "Explain." He nudged his head.
"Sir, the thing is, Miss Faiza's clothes are still in the room," he said carefully.
"Obviously. That explains why Aveline was wearing one. I want to know why. If my memory serves me right, I specifically asked that all of her things be taken away from my house, so why are they still here?"
"Sir—" his fingers intertwined, while his toes twisted in odd angles. "Sir—"
"Nelson, one more sir from you without an actual explanation as to what the hell is going on, and we'll have a real problem," he warned in an irritated voice.
Nelson took a deep breath, and prayed swiftly.
"Your mum asked that Faiza's things remain in place because she was going to be returning soon as your wife."
"What?!" His eyes widened in absolute disbelief.
"I swear sir, we had already made plans to take everything out, but she threatened our jobs if we went behind her back and got rid of Miss Faiza's things."
Atlas scoffed and shook his head at the same time. "So let me get this straight. First, mum brought Faiza to my house without my permission, because allegedly, her life was in danger and she needed an undisclosed location to hide. Then I gave clear, concise instructions for her to leave with her things before I return from my trip, and now you're telling me she left but her belongings never did?"
"Sir—" his lips quivered into silence.
Atlas kissed his teeth. "I'll deal with you later." He walked out of the kitchen.
Atlas went straight to his room, where he grabbed his phone and began to dial.
"I love you mum, but I've had enough of your meddling," he said as soon as Nadia Sinclair picked up the phone.
"Good morning to you too, my dearest son. Now tell me what has you all bent out of shape."
"Why are Faiza's things still in my house?" He went straight to the point, pacing back and forth in irritation.
Silence that stretched into minutes ensued, but was finally broken by a pretentious cough.
"I guess you found out," she said, not bothering to cover up her sneaky actions.
"You thought I wouldn't? I snapped at Aveline for wearing Faiza's clothes because I didn't know better!"
"Who is Aveline?"
"Mum?!" Atlas gritted.
"Oh, that little fake fiance of yours? Common, son. Besides, how is it my fault you're snapping on your fiance over another woman? How did you recognize Faiza's clothing? Maybe it's because your brain has her registered deep in you," she laughed in an instigating tone.
Atlas, who has tried to control his disgust up to that point, flared up a little. "To answer you, mum, I recognized Faiza's clothes because it reeked of her desperation. Get this straight into your head, I will do anything for you. Heck, I'd give my life for you. But what I'll never do is be with Faiza. You better start accepting that." He ended the call, and tossed the phone to the wall.
The shattering sound that followed surprisingly calmed him down enough to leave the room, and return to the kitchen.
When he stepped out again, it was with a plate in his hand, and a plan in his head.
"Hey, open up." He knocked on Aveline's door.
"I can't," she replied in a surprisingly audible voice.
His head doubled back. Just a few minutes ago, she was trembling like a windy forest.
"Why can't you? Are you forgetting this is my house?"
"I know it's your house. I just can't open the door because I'm naked."
"Then put on some fucking clothes and open the door!"
"You said I can't wear any clothes in the closet, and I don't have my clothes yet," she explained.
In the middle of her explanation, it fully dawned on Atlas what she had actually just said before.
"Naked," his perverted thoughts whispered.
As if it wasn't enough that she had shown up to the kitchen damn near halfnaked with her nipples calling his attention. Now she had gone ahead to plant some very vivid images in his head.
"Hello?" Aveline called out when he didn't immediately respond to her.
Her voice brought him back to reality, and he shook his head to clear off his wandering mind.
"Fine. There's breakfast for you at the door. I'm stepping out now. When I return, I'll be bringing you to the Sinclair mansion. That's where the wedding will take place, so you have to be there until the wedding day."
"Wait, what?!"
Atlas had already left before Aveline could find a towel long enough to cover her body, and run out of the room.
"Oh no," she thought, panicking.
The last place she wanted to be in was back at that mansion with all very piercing gazes resting solely on her.
"Please God no," she prayed silently, and fervently as she bent to pick up the plate of food, and bottle of water.
She shut the door behind her, but the creases on her forehead remained apparent.
"Why do I have to return to that place?" She began to talk to herself as she sat in front of the mirror.
"Any other place in the world, even that evil hotel where I ended up forgetting my purse, I'll take. But his family house? God forbid I make a mistake which I'm bound to make. What if my clumsy hands break something expensive? How do I even begin to re—"
"There's nothing like asking for too much." That rule trickled into her head, making her pause.
She dug her fork into a piece of the pancake, and brought it to her mouth.
"But we're not married yet," she said as she chewed with a mouthful. "What if he changes his mind after I get in trouble? How do I pay my debt?" She gasped.
"Well you'll just have to do everything you can not to mess this up," another voice in her head said.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Don't mess this up, Aveline." She looked at herself in the mirror. "You may not be the prettiest, or the most mentally stable, but you have something others do not have. And what is the thing?" She did a little drum roll with her lips. "Heart! A lot of heart!"
"Remember, you can't fall in love," that same voice whispered.
"I won't. I'll make sure the marriage goes as planned, but I won't break any rules. Cross my heart." She bobbed her head confidently.
In that same moment, a soft rapt sounded on the door, followed by Nelson's voice announcing her clothes had arrived.