Chapter 54 What if it’s true?
IRIS
The afternoon sun beats down on my back, and honestly, I’m too tired to care. School was brutal, and spending a full hour lecturing Adrian afterward didn’t help my mood. He kept cracking dumb jokes like I didn’t just have the longest day of my life. I’d barely made it out with my sanity intact.
Daisy promised me lunch, saud she’d make it up to me for dragging me into her chaos earlier this week. But the second Zeus showed up in his smug glory, offering her lunch and a shopping spree, she practically evaporated from existence.
I huff and keep walking, backpack slung over one shoulder, earbuds in but no music playing. I just need the illusion of peace.
Then I hear the soft hum of an expensive engine. A sleek black car rolls up beside me like something straight out of a movie. Tinted windows. Glossy finish. Not the kind of car you see on these roads.
I freeze.
The window rolls down, and my breath catches.
Darian.
My heart kicks up in my chest. “What the hell…” I mutter, mostly to myself.
He lifts a brow and tilts his head. “Get in.”
I hesitate. It feels like one of those scenes where the girl makes a terrible decision and gets kidnapped. But this is Darian. And if he wanted to hurt me, he wouldn’t need a car to do it.
So I open the door and slide in. The leather is soft, warm from the sun. The scent hits me instantly, something uniquely him. Sharp, smoky and familiar.
He starts driving before I even get a chance to process.
“You’ve been MIA,” I say. “No calls. No texts, well I don’t think you have my phone number but, just vanishing into thin air after that night isn’t ideal either. Didn’t you think it necessary to try to even reach out? Did that night change nothing? Did…”
He smirks like I didn’t just unleash a tidal wave of questions. “I see you haven’t changed.”
“Excuse me?” I blink.
“You ask a hundred questions before I can even answer one.” He throws me a quick glance.
“You left me with a hundred questions,” I shoot back.
He leans over, suddenly, and presses a hand gently over my mouth. My heart stops.
“Shh. One at a time,” he says calmly, the pad of his thumb brushing my cheek. It’s unfair, the effect he has on me. Like he knows exactly how to disarm me. His touch is brief, but it lingers in my skin long after he pulls away.
I swat his hand. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re loud.” He grins. “Anyway, I’ve got time on my hands now. Figured I’d spend some of it with you.”
That makes me pause. “What do you mean, you’ve got time?”
“Suspended. Temporarily,” he says, nonchalantly, like it's no big deal.
I blink at him. “Wait, what? Suspended from what?”
“Everything.” His jaw clenches slightly. “Duties, training, decision-making. All of it. Zeus is taking over for now.”
My eyes widen. “Why?”
He doesn’t answer. He just stares at the road, jaw tight, eyes unreadable.
“Darian,” I press.
“I’ll tell you later,” he says, voice clipped. “Where do you want to go?”
I frown. “Why do I feel like you’re avoiding the subject?”
“I am.”
The air feels thick, like there’s something big sitting between us that neither of us is ready to touch.
“Fine,” I sigh, “Just drive. I’ll tell you where to turn.”
We fall into silence for a few blocks. The city hums around us. My eyes flick to his knuckles, bruised. Swollen. The faintest hint of dried blood clings to his skin.
“You’ve been fighting,” I murmur.
His grip on the wheel tightens, but he doesn’t respond.
“With Zeus?” I guess. “
He still says nothing. But the way his jaw ticks, I know I’m right.
“What happened, Darian?”
“You don’t want to know,” he mutters.
“Try me.”
Another long pause. He sighs, then says, “Everyone thinks I beat Adira.”
My stomach drops.
“I didn’t,” he adds quickly. “I shoved her off me. She came to my room, tried something. I told her no. She didn’t take it well.”
I stare at him. “That’s not what the gossip says.”
“I know.” His voice is bitter. “That’s the problem.”
The words ring in my head.
He beat her. She’s injured. I didn’t want to believe it. Still don’t. But hearing it from him doesn’t make the knot in my chest loosen.
“I’ve been suspended because of it,” he continues. “Adira ran to my father. Told him I hurt her. She had marks to prove it.”
“Did you leave marks?” I ask quietly.
He looks at me, eyes burning. “No. Not on purpose.”
That’s not the comfort I wanted.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I say softly. “All of this, it’s too much.”
He doesn’t respond, just keeps driving.
The silence stretches. Until he finally murmurs, “I didn’t come to see you because I didn’t want you looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
P
“Like you are now.”
I bite my lip. “And how is that?”
“Like you’re afraid of me.”
I look away, eyes stinging. “Maybe I’m afraid for you.”
Neither of us speaks for a while. Then he glances over and asks, “Left or right?”
“Left,” I whisper.
And we keep driving. Together, but still not close enough.
He takes the left, one hand resting lazily on the wheel while the other taps against his thigh. The silence now feels different. Not heavy or cold, just hesitant. Like we’re both balancing on a thread we’re scared to tug too hard.
“Why are you really here, Darian?” I ask softly, not looking at him this time. “No riddles. No charming lines. Just the truth.”
He exhales through his nose. “I needed to see you.”
“Because you had free time?”
“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I turn to him slowly, his profile caught in the golden hue of the setting sun.
I open my mouth to respond, but my breath catches. The walls I had started rebuilding around my heart shake a little.
“We’re here,” I say instead, forcing a smile.
He looks out the windshield and blinks. “Tell me you’re joking right now.”
I push open the door. “Nope.”
“Ice cream?”
“You said you had time to burn,” I say over my shoulder, laughing.