CHAPTER 104: 104-MAKING IT HARD FOR ME TO TRUST HER

Kash:

"So what? You are her children’s father. Luca was not around. Maybe she had..." her mother started, rushing into a ramble to defend her daughter, but I lifted my palm to stop her.

"She came in, and we made out, and then she landed in my bed, cuddling with me. After that, once she was certain she had controlled my emotions and I had fallen asleep, she snuck out and stole the box," I stated.

The color drained from Iris’s face as Luca snapped his head toward her.

Now we were finally addressing the truth. They wanted to act like a team in front of me.

I wanted to see how they would deal with it. Good for Luca if he ended things and she was left alone.

"And not only that. She came back and found comfort in her boyfriend. What a joke," I hissed.

I guess what hurt me the most was that, after last night, I did not expect her to be in Luca’s arms.

It made me feel strange and hollow.

She came to me because I was someone she could use, someone anyone could use in whatever way they wanted for whatever purpose.

But because I was an alpha king, I was expected not to take it seriously and instead understand them, when none of them ever tried to understand me.

"Okay, wait a minute," her mother snapped as she rushed out.

I kept glaring at Iris, who refused to look me in the eye.

Then her mother returned with the box.

"Here. Take it. But I will not allow you to question my daughter’s character," she whispered, making me clench my jaw.

I snatched the box out of her hand, but then noticed it felt much lighter than before.

"Where is the rest of it?" I asked her mother.

She took a deep breath, and I already knew whatever she was about to say would be a lie.

"It was accidentally spilled on the ground," she replied.

As soon as she said that, I clenched my fist and stepped toward her, but I forced myself to step back. I did not want things to become worse.

Enough had already happened, and I needed her to understand what mistake she had made.

At that moment, my anger felt justified.

"This is the medicine for my son, and you spilled it?" I questioned, showing her the box. Then I turned to Luca.

"And you were talking to me about how you got it for her. This is what she does with the cure. She hands it to her mother, who drops it," I scoffed before looking at Iris.

"You are not going to say anything, huh? Where is your ’I am such a lovely and distraught mother who wants comfort’?" I mocked, repeating her behavior from last night.

My anger grew worse as I thought about how she had not only stolen it from me but had also handed it to a woman careless enough to drop it.

Were they even taking this sickness seriously? They already had so many inconsistencies about it.

Amy told me that Colin had never felt the symptoms they claimed he did.

And whenever Amy talked about it, the mother and daughter looked worried.

I did not want to see Iris in that light, but she was making it difficult to believe she was honest at all. The signs pointed the wrong way.

First, she told me lies about having no family and surviving alone in the woods. And now this, involving my son’s sickness.

"Okay, it was a mistake, and we will speak with her. But what else do you want us to do?" Luca said again, though his voice no longer carried the confidence it had earlier.

"You will know what I want now," I replied, and I finally saw Iris look at me for the first time in minutes.

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"My children will be allowed to come into my mansion and spend time with my family too," I stated.

As soon as I said that and Iris began shaking her head, I clicked my tongue.

"No. You will not argue. Your mother is dropping the medicine on the ground, but your children are safe with her. My family has done nothing except want to meet them. So when they wake up today, I will take them with me and introduce them to their grandmother and their aunt. If you can allow them around a stranger and a reckless grandmother, then I am allowed to take my children with me as well," I finished, realizing I had bent backward for Iris far too much.

I knew it was because of the guilt I felt for betraying her, but it did not justify her risking my children’s lives by letting a woman like her mother live with them.

"You are accusing me of all sorts of wrong things," her mother spoke, her voice shaky.

"Do not use those emotions on me, woman. I have been watching you. You show no interest and no concern for the children," I warned, pointing the box at her.

She looked shocked. I was angrier with Iris for allowing this woman to live with her.

"You did not even care about my daughter when you left her for another woman. I was the one who took care of Iris when she was pregnant, and the children too, for so long in the woods," her mother argued.

As soon as she threw that at me, I wagged my finger to stop her.

"That was your duty as well, and I did not ask her to leave. She left on her own. Besides, when Iris was young, you let her be around the woods alone, did you not? Because she never mentioned you throughout our entire year of marriage. Not once. So do not act like a good mother," I hissed.

For the first time, I felt a bit calmer, as if letting it all out had drained the pressure inside me.

The three of them finally went silent, and Iris looked at me as if I had betrayed her all over again.

"I am sitting in the living room. I will wait for my children to wake up, then I will take them with me," I decided, slamming my hand on the side table before turning around and walking out of the room.

Once I reached the living room and breathed the fresh air, I felt my lungs expand.

But the anger remained. Too much was happening in my mind.

I began to question everything I thought I knew about Iris.