Beyond the Divorce

Atlas remained composed as he set down my phone and said, “Let's eat the pasta before it gets cold.”

“Atlas, are you... hiding something from me? Well, maybe I shouldn't know too much,” I said cautiously.

He explained, “It’s not that I'm afraid you'll know too much. My family’s just complicated. I'll tell you about them gradually, not because I’m hiding anything from you. You'll need to know a few things first before you can accept more details.”

Atlas’s reasonable explanation eased my mind. I looked at him and asked, “Don’t you hate me for investigating you? I honestly didn’t mean to.”

“No, I don’t. On the contrary, you did well in your investigation. It shows you're actively trying to understand me, which is a good thing. It means you love me,” Atlas spoke frankly with a hint of teasing.

I blushed as I ate a mouthful of pasta to hide my embarrassment. I muttered, “I knew you'd tease me.”

He smirked and said, “Do you even have a good reason to argue? If you didn't like me, why would you investigate me?

Okay, okay, let’s eat.”

After a while, I asked him, “So, you already knew the current Stella isn’t the real one?”

“Mhm."

be Stella?”

that time,” Atlas said casually, showing

was difficult to explain to the world, the Pierce family, and the old ministers at the time. So they had the current Stella replace the

don't look alike. How could they pass her off as the

a mystery. The attendants who

I stared at him, somewhat stunned. “So, they made it seem like Annalise hadn't died but only went to Hennesia for plastic surgery for her disfigured face. When she returned, Celine adopted

that's correct.”

real Stella, has

put it that

to eat. "Finish your food. We can chat into the

his hint and couldn't help but blush, muttering softly, "Here we

"You can't let my craftsmanship go to waste, right? You don't even know how often I practiced to get the perfect onion ring size, fry,

was amiss and asked, "Why did you say ‘ back then?’ Have you cooked it for someone