Chapter 6 Chapter 6
Iris
Who needs enemies when your own father is against you?
I couldn’t find my voice but Vickie did.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped, shooting to her feet so fast her chair screeched across the floor. “Are you sick in the head? How could you do something like that?”
Father didn’t flinch. Not even a blink. He only folded his hands behind his back like she’d asked him about the weather. “I did it for the family.”
“For the family? Of course” Vickie repeated. “You can do as you please and throw in those words like they could justify your malevolent actions.”
Father’s gaze shifted to me, then back to her. “Tony was not an Alpha. The relationship was foolish from the start. If Iris followed a man like that, people would look at her as valueless. I was protecting her.”
“I don’t need your protection!” I muttered, finally finding my voice. “You went too far,” I continued, my tone rising.
“You were ready to break my heart just to protect your stupid reputation.”
He scoffed. “You look fine to me.”
I blinked in utter disbelief. He really believed he was in the right.
He went on, completely unbothered. “And I didn’t break anything. I only set the bait. Tony chose to fall for it because he was sensible, he understood the social standing better than you did. It was never going to work.”
I shook my head slowly, like my body couldn’t keep up with the shock. “You don’t get to decide that,” I whispered.
Vickie suddenly pushed away from the table, her jaw tight. “I can’t even stand to look at you right now.”
Father didn’t react to that either. He simply smoothed the sleeve of his shirt, like brushing off her disgust. “You can pour all you want. As long as you do it on the premises. And you will be on your best behavior until the wedding.”
Vickie didn’t answer him. She didn’t throw another jab. She just turned and walked out, the door slamming behind her.
“I’ll have to keep an eye on her.” Father frowned.
My legs felt stiff when I stood. I bowed my head more out of habit than out of respect. “Father… May I leave?”
He stepped toward me as if he wanted to touch my shoulder, reassure me, or pretend he was capable of that. I pulled back before he could.
“You’re more sensible than her, just be on your best behavior and you’ll marry a charming Alpha like her.”
For a second the temptation to spill that his actions led me to sleep with said husband but I pushed it aside, it would never end well.
“I just want to go.” I said simply, my eyes fixed on the floor, unable to hold eye contact.
His expression hardened for a second before smoothing again. “You are dismissed,” he said. “In time, you will see I only wanted what’s best for you.”
I didn’t say a word. I didn’t nod. I didn’t breathe until I was already walking away.
As I closed the door softly I noticed Vickie was leaning against the wall outside the study, arms folded, foot tapping like she’d been firing insults at the door the whole time I was inside. The second she saw me, she pushed off the wall.
“You were way too lenient,” she said. “He literally admitted to being a real pain in the ass and you just stood there like a statue.”
I closed my eyes for half a second. “Vickie, please—”
“No.” She planted herself in front of me, close enough that I felt the heat radiating off her frustration. “You didn’t even react. If it were me, I’d have flipped the damn desk.”
“I’m not you,” I muttered.
“Clearly. Was I the only one who got the backbone from the womb?” she demanded.
I shook my head, rubbing my forehead. “I’m angry. But what do you want me to do? At the end of the day Tony still… gave in. If he fell that easily, maybe he wasn’t right for me.”
She took a pause, her brows knitting as she considered my words.
“That’s true,” she admitted, though it came out grudgingly. “But it doesn’t make what Father did any less disgusting.”
A breath escaped me, feeling the weight of everything pressing against my ribs. “I know.”
“Good,” she muttered. “Because I’m going out.”
My head snapped up. “Vickie—don’t do anything stupid.”
She rolled her eyes so hard I thought they’d get stuck. “I’ll do whatever I want. Someone in this family still has to teach him a lesson.” She waved a hand dismissively and started walking. “I’ll be back whenever I pretend to be me while I’m gone.”
And just like that, she was gone.
I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty hallway before dragging myself to my room. The second the door shut behind me, I peeled off my clothes. A shower wasn’t going to fix the mess in my head, but training… maybe.
I changed into workout gear and headed toward the gym. As Alpha daughters, Father insisted we “maintain peak performance.”
As I made my way to the gym, I wondered if things would be different if my mother had given him boys instead. I knew in some way he loathed us because she died giving birth to us, I felt bad too but I didn’t take my anger out on anyone.
We would never be his ideal heir, his warriors or bear his last name and maybe that would be enough karma.
The gym smelled like rubber mats and old sweat—familiar, grounding. I tied my hair back and got on the treadmill, hitting start before my brain could talk me out of it.
Cardio usually helps. Today it didn’t.
Despite the anger, every thought slammed back into the same place.
Darius.
His hands on me.
His mouth.
His voice in my ear.
The pull between us that made no sense and too much sense at the same time.
I clenched the treadmill handles, willing the memory away. “No,” I muttered under my breath. “No more.”
He was about to marry my sister. That was the reality. The only thing I could do was to avoid him.
Avoid him during preparations.
Avoid him until the wedding.
Avoid him after.
And forget this stupid bond in the process. It would be a secret I take to the grave.
I finished my run breathless, sweat dripping down my back. My legs shook as I stepped off the treadmill, but it felt good. Solid. Like I had control again, even if it was just over my own body.
I grabbed my water bottle and headed back to my room.
The second I opened the door, a small object was in front of me.
My cap, the one I wore three nights before. I thought I lost it in the heat of the moment and I was certain I hadn’t left it there.
I crouched low and picked it up and found a small folded paper sitting inside it.
A cold prickle climbed up my spine.
I picked it up with trembling fingers and unfolded it.
Only one sentence.
I know about your affair.
My breath punched out of me. The room tilted. Everything in my chest seized at once.
I stared at the handwriting, my heart climbing into my throat.
And I froze.