Swallowed by the Flames of Regret

Atlas sat by the hospital bed and chatted with me for a while. He was unusually patient, but I did not want to listen to him anymore.

Seemingly sensing my perfunctory attitude, Atlas did not say any more. He stood up, walked to the window, and lit a cigarette. "Naomi, Jasmine is pregnant."

The pungent smell of cigarette smoke spread through the room.

I did not expect him to say it so brazenly. "Yeah, I know."

Hearing my words, he seemed to forget to breathe. It was not until he choked slightly that he came to his senses. "You don't mind?"

"It would be useless even if I did, right?" I gave him a bitter smile.

Atlas was taken aback. He turned around, extinguished the cigarette butt, walked up to me, and gently cupped my face. "Naomi, don't get mad, and don’t act like I’m treating you badly. Don't worry! Once this child is born, I'll break up with her once and for all. We'll raise this child together."

Having said that, he lowered his head and kissed my lips. The kiss was aggressive, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction with my nonchalance.

I did not know how much time had passed before he let go.

Seeing my dazed look, he smirked in satisfaction. "But don't mention the wedding ceremony before she gives birth to the baby. It might complicate her pregnancy if she finds out."

He turned around and left, tossing a black card onto the table. "There's no spending limit on this card. Use it to have some fun next year. Consider it your compensation."

I heard the door close. I threw back the covers and went to the window to watch him disappear into the snowstorm with a red bag. He was heading toward a black car in the distance.

The car door opened, and a petite girl rushed out and threw herself into his arms.

Atlas immediately took off his coat and wrapped it around her, afraid she would get cold.

The pair looked as sweet as newlyweds.

I watched from the window for a long time, until the car lights disappeared into the distance, before turning back to my room. I turned my head to look at the oil lamp on the table. It was a small antique that Atlas had specially bought. I imagined it falling to the floor and bursting into flames.

While I was deep in thought, my friend from Buldaria, Felix Green, called. "Naomi, your new identity is registered, and the house has been purchased. I'll be waiting for you at the airport in two days."

I hummed in reply. "Thank you, Felix."

A silence fell across the other end of the line. He suddenly sighed. "Naomi, are you sure you're giving up on Atlas? There's no turning back after you leave. After this, Naomi Lindell will cease to exist."

"I really don't want him anymore." I sent him a screenshot of Jasmine's recent social media post.

The photo showed them sitting in an incredibly romantic restaurant. She raised her right hand as Atlas slowly put a diamond ring on her ring finger.

I realized then that Atlas had only returned to retrieve the diamond ring worth tens of millions of dollars.

Below the picture was a caption.

Jasmine: [This is the best day I've ever had. It’s been full of surprises after surprises!]

Seeing this, I smiled bitterly. Today was truly the worst day of my life.

"You saw it, didn’t you? It's not that I've given up on Atlas, it's that we don't want each other anymore."