Chapter 66
Chapter 66
IRIS
“I can’t keep doing this dad, I have to get out of this state. I want to go far away, far away, where no one knows who the Flower is.” I stood there, body shaking, eyes watering, and a burning rage in my body. I told him I was going to school in California. He knew. Now he wants to refuse to let me go. To take back the funding. As his words hung in the air, my legs felt heavy with the weight of defiance, but my heart raced with the urgency to escape the hold of his dominion. My father’s gaze was sharp, unrelenting, a force that had bent men to his will, yet I stood unmoving, the fire in my chest searing hotter with each breath. I knew he wouldn’t let me go without a fight, without reminding me of the legacy he believed I was born to uphold, but there was no room left in me to carry the weight of his empire. My voice broke through the tension, firm but trembling, as I told him I wasn’t asking for his permission—I was taking my freedom, no matter the cost. His expression shifted, a flicker of something like pride mixed with fury crossing his features, and for a moment, we stood locked in a silent battle, two forces unwilling to yield. The room seemed to shrink, the walls pressing in with the unspoken truth that this confrontation would mark a turning point, a severing of ties that had bound me for too long. Turning on my heel, I left before his words could tether me again, the echo of my resolve lingering behind me as I stepped into the unknown, determined to forge a path beyond the shadows of the life I had left behind. My father smiled at me, for the first time letting his guard down just alittle. “Okay, Iris. You need to do this. You need to learn on your own of the world. I love you little bud, so if you really need this, go!” He walked over and kissed my cheek, “But Iris, you can’t go as my daughter. You can't be some kind of criminal attorney and my daughter too. I can let you go, but then you are gone.” He hugged me tightly. I turned around, grabbed my bags, and left his compound.
I jumped awake, those words echoing in my mind. Those were the last words I can remember my father saying to me. He hasn't called since I left. He told me I couldn’t be his daughter, and I didn’t look back. I contacted Becker, he gave me a new identity, and helped me get financially capable, and I left Ohio. I never wanted to see them again. I wanted to be free of Ohio, of the past, of what was happening there. I didn’t know Ryker had this life, this darkness, when I met him. I was a college student; he was just some professor. How did we get here? How am I heading down the same path. Is it destiny? Am I meant to be mixed up in this world? Was there really no way out? I walked out into the dining room; the pain returned from my healing wounds. I walked over to the window. The sunrise danced faintly on the glass, it's cool touch grounding me as my fingers brushed against it. I stared at the reflection staring back—a woman torn between defiance and the weight of choices that sometimes felt too heavy to bear. My father's words echoed in my mind, each syllable sharp and demanding, threatening to pull me back into a world I had fought so hard to escape. Was that world ever truly behind me? Or had its shadows simply morphed, waiting for their moment to emerge again? As my gaze shifted, it found Ryker, he looked so tired, yet his steady presence in the room carried a quiet strength, a promise of solidarity even in the chaos that surrounded us. I could see it in the way he moved—his resilience, his unspoken assurance that we could withstand this storm together. That thought brought a flicker of hope, fragile but persistent, lighting up the corners of the dark labyrinth my mind had become.
I turned away from the window and truly felt the weight of my choices. Every sacrifice and hidden piece of myself surfaced demanding acknowledgment. It was overwhelming but liberating. I realized that strength wasn't in avoiding my shadows, but in embracing them and becoming unbreakable, even if the world around me unraveled. I walked over to Ryker, sitting down beside him. He looked over at me and smiled, but his smile seemed different, distant. “Good morning, Daddy.” My voice was as sweet as I could bear, trying to break through whatever the distance was. “Good morning, Babygirl.” Though his body screamed strength, his voice sounded weaker. Strained.
Ryker’s eyes searched mine, his resolve flickering in the quiet space between us—a mix of unspoken determination and an exhaustion not easily shaken. I placed my hand on his, letting the warmth of the contact speak volumes where words felt inadequate, grounding us both as the gravity of our shared reality pressed against the fragile serenity of the morning. The sunlight spilled across the room, delicate yet insistent, illuminating the layers of complexity we carried—his quiet strength, my lingering doubts, and the shadow of looming threats that neither of us could ignore. “Daddy,” I murmured, my voice dipping into the vulnerability I rarely showed, “I know you’re carrying so much for me, for us, but I need you to know—I’m not afraid. I am much tougher than you know. Whatever comes, I’m ready to face it with you.” His lips curved faintly, the burden in his expression momentarily softened by my words, though the weight of the day ahead remained palpable. The silence stretched between us, thick with unspoken promises and fragile truths, until the sound of my phone vibrating on the counter shattered the spell, pulling us both back to the reality we could no longer hold at bay. He looked at me, placing his hand on my cheek. “You know I love you Iris, right?” I smiled and nodded, leaning my face into his hand. “And you trust me? Right?” Again, I nodded. “Iris, tell me who the Flower is?”