151 Parental Pressure (18)

The weekend passed in the background of a cold war. Kyro did not speak with his parents, while his parents did not leave their room for the most part. Iris could sometimes hear them whispering among themselves or watching something on tablets, but she didn't come closer to listen.

Her hands were full while dealing with Kyro. He was acting like normal, but not really. It was clear that the current situation bothered him, but he wasn't going to be the first to bridge the gap.

And like that, Monday came. He left for work, and his parents left their room for the first time. Mother went out to get some ingredients and cooked lunch while father helped her with the minor tasks of washing and cutting vegetables.

Iris watched them throughout it all, a bit surprised about the fact that they were cooking themselves. Weren't they too high class to know how to do that? She hadn't thought about it before, but with their money, they should have more than enough to hire some maids and a cook.

After lunch, father went to rest while mother cleaned the plates. She washed everything and then came to sit on the sofa, her legs drawn up to her side. Like that, she looked really lonesome on the huge sofa.

"Hey, foxy, won't you come to me? Foxy," the woman called, and Iris hesitated. "Your name's Iris, right? Iris, come, Iris."

'It can't be too bad, right?' Iris ventured closer, jumping on the sofa with carefulness.

In truth, Iris wasn't certain what to think about this woman, this mother of Kyro. She was cheerful and kind, easy to get along with, but there was a scheming bone in her, and she wasn't apologetic about it. If she decided that a person needed something, she was gonna make sure they got it even if they didn't want it themselves.

"Good girl," mother said, patting Iris' head. "You're not afraid of me, right?"

Fear was the last thing on Iris' mind at the moment. If she got really scared... It was a dangerous train of thought.

"Come, let me hold you." Mother picked Iris up and brought her close. "You're so small, I can barely feel you! How can Kyro even notice such a small thing as you? Quite amazing."

'Excuse me?' Iris had come to give the woman comfort, but instead was receiving insults. She hadn't signed up for that, and she shrieked as she started struggling to get free.

"Shh, calm down. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just miss Queen. I hope she's doing well in our absence. Petersens should be making sure she's fine, but I can't help wishing she was here."

Mother then stroked Iris' fur, smiling down at her. "I really wish you could talk and tell me how my son has been these last few years. He never talks to us anymore, you know. Magazines and tabloids are our main sources on how he's doing. Isn't that pathetic?

Her words were very melancholic, and Iris perked up. She wanted to learn more about what was happening here, why one side was pushing so hard, while the other stood like an immovable monument, not budging in any direction.

Knowledge was powerful. With it, she could understand the situation and maybe help, instead of just trying to alleviate the coldness level in the house. All she had been doing so far was treating the symptoms instead of being able to grasp the cause.

"It took us so much time to earn his trust. We spent years on that, doing all we can, but when I recall it, maybe we didn't do enough. Do you think he ever actually came to love us?"

Iris cooed in answer, swearing that this was true. Why else would he be so patient and caring for them if not because he cared about them? They were his parents! The moment he heard that something had happened to his father, he rushed out of his company without care for anything else.

Mother chuckled a little. "You know, pets have always been our way to reach him. At first it was Duke, then Marquis and Lady. We may not have been able to talk to him, but we knew he was in good company when he played with Duke or Lady.

"Yet I couldn't say the same about his life outside. We were rich, you know, not as he's now, but not the dregs of society, either. We could've been big fish in a small pond, but we wanted the best for him and brought him out, into a large pond."

Her fingers on Iris' fur trembled a little. "It was a mistake, a horrible one. I'm certain it was what pushed him away from us." A droplet fell on Iris' back, and she looked up to see mother's face all red and scrunched up. "We pushed him away ourselves, by putting too many expectations on him. We did it… ourselves…."

Mother's voice broke then, and she raised both hands to clear away the tears, but she was bawling by then. Tears streaked down her face in rivulets, unable to be held back.

"I don't want him to live alone. I can't let that happen!"

There was a sound from the distance, and Iris jumped out to check it. Father was coming from their bedroom, leaning against his cane as he hurried over.

"Jess, enough. Crying won't solve it," he said.

"But I don't want him to hate me," she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "He's all we have."

Father came over to sit by mother and hugged her close. "I know, but we can't let him continue as he has. We won't live forever, and what then? We have each other, but what about him? He doesn't deserve to live out his life without anyone by his side."

"He'll hate us for interfering, might already be thinking that…"

"So what? It's just a few years. I certainly won't live much longer, and I'd rather he hate us than live alone. His whole life is still before him."

"Don't talk like that!" mother shouted out, hitting him lightly. "You're gonna live forever, alongside me."

"Sure," father agreed with a wry smile. Neither of them was fooled by it, nor was Iris.

Still, she softly landed on the ground and went to Kyro's bedroom to leave the two parents alone. It would be wrong to intrude on their private moment, and there was a lot for her to think about anyway. Since she had never had parents, she found it hard to understand their logic.