147 Parental Pressure (14)

There were too many emotions to count in Iris' head for her to make any real sense of them. Kyro had gone to his cousin's party, which was perfectly normal of him. He'd even held a small party at his own house.

However, they served a different purpose: one was a meeting between friends, and the other was a hunt for a wife. Although Kyro seemed reluctant to do the latter, Iris didn't feel safe. He'd said that she could stay only as long as he was alone.

So if he found a partner, wouldn't that mean that she would have to scram? Even if she was unwilling.

The idea of him finding someone bothered her for hours, and she couldn't even fall asleep. What if he was already spending his time with the chosen one? Some woman that was meant just for him?

Luckily, she didn't have to fret about it alone. His father had went to sleep around nine, but his mother stayed in the living room with the light on. The TV was going with World News, but his mother payed little attention to the screen. As if it was a tick, she kept looking at the outside door, waiting for Kyro to show up. She even murmured encouragements under her breath.

It was quite a comical view.

The bad part about this was that Iris was too worried to enjoy the sight. She couldn't help imagining Kyro standing with some woman like that Sheila who just oozed a type of mature charm. If he fell for her spell, Iris' life would be over. Without a fight, without any struggle, it'd be over just like that.

It frustrated her that she could do nothing besides sitting in the living room like a good pet and waiting for him to return. Whether he met someone that would ensnare him or not, she couldn't do anything about it.

Many more hours passed, and after midnight, the door opened up. Kyro stepped in looking like a charming devil. He was dressed in a casual suit he put on before leaving, but the jacket was now in his hand, his shirt's top buttons were undone, and his hair was tousled into a delectable mess.

Iris suffered almost fatal damage at the sight of him. First, he was as handsome as ever, and second, he most likely had found someone to pass the evening with. Why else would he look like this?

Strangely uncomfortable with the idea of this, she didn't rush up to him to welcome him back home. He didn't pay much attention to her, either. Nor his mother for that matter.

When she asked him how it had went, he just smiled at her while showing teeth and said, "Lovely. I had the time of my life." The next moment, he threw the bedroom's door closed behind himself.

Blinking a couple time in quick succession, Iris wondered what in the world had happened. His face was lit up with a smile, but it was a mocking one. He was clearly pissed as hell.

His mother looked stunned. She sat in her place like someone had stolen her soul. Her eyes were looking but not seeing, stuck where Kyro had disappeared.

He soon came out to take a shower, then left the bathroom and threw the bedroom's door again. The resounding bang was then finally able to wake his mother. She worried her lip, thinking something, then shook her head and went to her own bedroom where father was already sleeping.

This left Iris alone, and she stared at the many closed doors around her. Was she supposed to sleep in the living room by herself today?

That didn't sound like something fun, so she went to Kyro's bedroom and whimpered. For a time there was no reaction, but then Kyro opened the door. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't give him time and just dashed through the crack between the door and the wall.

"What do you want?" he asked, belatedly.

She jumped onto his bed and lay down by Lucy's side. The cat opened one eye at her approach, then closed it and returned to sleep without any other reaction.

"Should've guessed," Kyro murmured and turned off the light.

He lay down to sleep as well, and Iris thought to do the same, but she smelled something unfamiliar. Was Kyro drunk? She went around him to smell his breath to double-check.

As she sniffed for confirmation, a large hand lifted her up. She squealed in surprise, having been too concentrated on figuring out the scent to realize the upcoming danger. He had brushed his teeth, so she wasn't certain whether she had smelled right or it was just her imagination.

"Did you just smell my breath?" he asked, his voice ice cold, and Iris went still.

She suddenly realized that it might not have been the smartest idea to come annoy him at this particular moment. His mood had seemed pretty poor, and if he was drunk to boot, things might get ugly for her real soon.

Swiftly, her expression changed to one of an injured puppy. Her eyes went wide, her ears fell down, and she looked down at him while asking for pity.

At that moment though, she realized that it wad dark now. He probably could not see a damn thing. Annoyed with herself, she screamed lightly and struggled to get free. But the hand around her belly tightened, and she soon subsided.

"Did you try to see if I'm drunk? Or was there anything else you wanted to check out?" His voice went low, dangerously so, and Iris' blood ran cold.

'I just dug my own grave, didn't I?' she thought dispiritedly, promising herself that if she survived this, she would never come close to Kyro when he was feeling anything else than absolutely happy. This was something necessary for her heart's continued beating.

Without having received a reply, Kyro brought her closer to himself. Iris was still fearing for her life, so she didn't fight when he turned back on his side and put her next to him. His heart beat loudly in her ears, which twitched lightly, and he ordered her to stop tickling him.

'Let me go then,' she told him righteously as she made herself more comfortable against his side. It did not bother her whatsoever that her words and actions didn't match in the slightest.