Chapter 109: Iris: Tension
I stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, the fluorescent lights casting an unforgiving glow across my face.
Dark circles under my eyes remind
of the sleepless night I’ve just endured—replaying the argunt with Lucas repeatedly. It had started with a simple misunderstanding, a careless mistake that had spiraled into a full-blown confrontation. Now, the thought of facing him at work fills
with dread.
Maybe I should have let all that happened to go under the mat and heard Lucas and Bella’s apologies, but fuck, seeing them together made
mad. Especially after the pictures that hinted at them being together. Then ca Lucas stopping
from connecting to the wifi.
It seed like the perfect plan to oust
from knowing whatever the two of them were cooking like I was a pawn in a ga they were playing. And I think I know that ga perfectly well...they wanted to gain enough montum to be able to make the magazine a best seller this month. Attention equals sales. The equation is perfect, but not at the expense of my brain.
Taking a deep breath, I adjust my blazer and force myself to leave the sanctuary of my room. As I suspect, my grandparents already have a rough idea of what happened last night from the way they act when they see
coming downstairs.
From what I saw on the calendar yesterday, they’re supposed to be on a trip today, they should be preparing by now. However, Grandpa is flipping pancakes for the entire family in the kitchen, and Grandma is, umm, dusting my laptop?
I can’t tell exactly what she’s doing to it but her hands are skimming over the top in what looks like a swiping motion. The mont they hear my boots clinking on the tiles, they both turn their attention to , each smiling brightly as if to let their light brighten up the darkness in .
"Good morning to our little angel," Grandma sings as she makes way for Grandpa who’s passing with his pancakes to the living room.
I accept Grandma’s hug. "Oh, so I’m a little angel today but you didn’t hesitate giving away my clothes to a few strangers last week just so you can get rid of ?"
She opens her mouth wide, faking her shock. "I thought they were your boyfriends n."
Now it’s my turn to open my mouth wide. I wonder what her reaction would be if she found out we fought last night. Better not tell her.
Faking a smile, I pass by her and head over to Grandpa who is now plating our food. "What’s the occasion that git you waking up early to cook for us, sir?"
Grandpa hums. "Just thought I’d give you a treat after a long ti away from ho. We’re about to go on vacation, so what’s a little cooking when you’re going to miss our presence anyway?"
Choosing his explanation over the thoughts in my head, I sit and let him hand
a plate. "Thank you."
We eat together for the first ti in a while and honestly, I’d rather start my morning to this every other day to calm my mind. Listening to my grandparent’s voice calms
for that mont, and by the ti I’m ready for work and going into my car, I’m feeling a bit more refreshed with a level-headed mind.
★★★★★
Each step down the hallway feels like a march toward a battlefield. I can practically hear the echo of my heart pounding in my ears as I wait for the elevator.
The ride up is excruciatingly slow, each floor marking another step closer to the inevitable confrontation I’m about to have. I feel trapped and my stomach is churning at the thought of Lucas’s expression when he’d walked away from
the night before, hurt and confused. I had never intended for things to escalate like that, but I couldn’t stop them either.
When I finally step into the office, the familiar buzz of productivity surrounds , but it feels muted like I am listening to a distant radio. Colleagues exchange pleasantries, but I can’t shake off the tension that is clinging to
like a second skin. I keep my head down, hoping to slip through the day unnoticed, to hide from the reality I had created.
But fate has other plans.
As I approach my desk, I catch sight of Lucas standing by the coffee machine with his back to . I recognize his posture—the way he carries himself with that familiar confidence, the slight tilt of his head suggesting he is lost in thought.
A pang of longing mixed with frustration surges through , but I suppress it. He’s doing this intentionally knowing exactly how I react to him because why else would he be using our coffee machine when he has another in his office?
"Iris!" Keith’s voice cuts through the ambient noise, halting
in my tracks. For crying out loud, why would he decide to call my na today of all days instead of waiting for
to sit like he usually does?
Lucas imdiately springs into action with the coffee machine, grabbing a paper cup and pouring himself a generous potion—probably to make himself look busy. Little does he know I already saw him sulking not too long ago.
I turn slowly, my heart racing. "Oh, it’s really her," Clara adds standing from her chair to hug . "How are you now? We heard you were not feeling well from you know who," she whispers the last part, glancing at Lucas who is doing a rather poor job at hiding his frustration. He’s bouncing his leg nervously now, glancing at Dion’s computer as if eye contact with
would kill him.
Then again, I’m the sa.
"I’m fine, thanks. As you can see, I’m ready to start working now."
"What do you an working? The magazine launched this morning," Keith cuts .
Oh, so they already launched it? Hell, did they want to apologize to
last night because they knew their deed would be done yesterday anyway?
I glare at Lucas. "Looks like everything was going exactly as planned and I was the only one oblivious to it all."
This ti, he raises his eyes to face
and we make eye contact. Instead of the shock, I’m waiting for him to show, his eyes show a different kind of emotion, as if I’m blaming him for sothing he didn’t do.
Brushing it out of my mind, I turn to Clara. "Hope we make it on number one this year."
"You know the drill," they all say in unison as if they’ve been told the sa thing over and over, and I’m a bit surprised to see Lucas smiling. Yes, he’s smiling at
even though he knows we’re still fighting.
Tell
how I am supposed to keep my emotions in check when he’s the one provoking .
I must be staring at him a little too intensely because Keith nudges
by the elbow, with a smirk on his lips. "Chill down, he isn’t going anywhere."
My cheeks heat up and I avoid eye contact with Lucas, turning red as I head over to my desk, clearing my throat when Keith doesn’t stop smirking suggestively at . To my dismay, when I open my computer, it’s doing the cutting-edge thing that needs a password for
to unlock it.
"Sir," Keith raises his hand at Lucas who imdiately springs into action and cos to stand next to .
"Yes?"
"She needs help."
Another plan to corner ? Not this ti honey.
I pave the way for Lucas, not about to let him smother
with his testosterone and shake
to my core. I can’t be losing my ground right now. I need to make sure he knows I’m mad or else the ssage I’m trying to send won’t be received.
Lucas notices my sudden movent and tries to hold my chair, to which I respond by swerving my seat to the side and standing.
"I’ll be back soon," I tell the others.
"Where are you going?" Lucas asks.
I run my mind in an instant, trying to find an excuse. "The restroom, then I’ll et up with Mary. See you guys in a few."
Giving him one last victorious glance, I turn around and leave him on the computer to fix the error that I’m pretty sure isn’t even an error. Maybe he planted the bug so he could co close to
and smother
with his intoxicating perfu.
Damnit. Why do I miss it and hate him at the sa ti?
"Iris?" I hear his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway and try to increase my pace. My heartbeat increases for no reason, my speed turning into a run in a mont as I try to escape from Lucas.
"Iris wait!"
To the onlookers who might be seeing, we probably look like a pair of mad ostriches going loose in the corridor. Lucas manages to catch up to
and he holds my wrist, pulling
to him and pinning
on the wall. As if I just had an epiphany, I flip around to face him.
Because why the fuck am I running away like I did him wrong?
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