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."

continue to be Stella?” That was something I

Atlas said casually, showing no sign

the world, the Pierce family, and the old ministers at the time. So they had

could they pass her off as the

not she died was a mystery. The attendants who saw Annalise's appearance all died in accidents. What people knew was that

Outsiders think Annalise didn’t die in the cliff fall.” Atlas’s explanation was complicated, but I finally understood it. I stared at him, somewhat stunned. “So, they made it seem like

correct.”

the real Stella,

put it that way.” Atlas nodded

me to eat. "Finish your food.

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

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

you say ‘ back then?’