156 Parental Pressure (23)

Although Iris had expected to never fall asleep, it happened in a little while. Her emotions were a riot, but the situation was simply too familiar. She had slept here for a hundred times, and exhaustion soon overtook her.

It was unknown how long she would have slept on her own, but at some point, she heard someone knocking. Through a haze of sleep, she wished that it would simply go away, but it didn't. Again and again, someone knocked on the door in a pointless attempt to wake Kyro up. There was no way that something like that would ever get him up.

That someone would simply have to leave, or enter the room and take more drastic measures. With that thought, she relaxed once more, ready to fall back asleep, but right when she was about to do that, the thought really sank into her mind.

Enter the room? Didn't that mean that they would see her sleeping in Kyro's bed? As if struck, she rose up, and had to stay still for a moment while the blackness in her eyes dissipated.

Kyro was sleeping an arm's length away from her with only a corner of the blanket over him. He seemed to be having a good dream, based on his relaxed expression, but her hand was forced. She quickly shook him like there was no tomorrow.

His eyes opened with sleep-filled confusion, and this time it was her who covered his mouth before he could say anything. His gazecleared swiftly , and she put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence, then pointed at the door.

As if on order, another knock came.

"What is it?" Kyro asked after pushing Iris' hand away.

"Why did you lock your door?" his father asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Mom made breakfast, but I couldn't even reach you."

Without missing a beat, Kyro said, "I was afraid mom would send some girl straight into my bed next time." At these words, he gave a pointed look to Iris, and she covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a nervous laugh. It wasn't her fault that she had turned into a human…

There was a choked laugh from the other side, and his father spoke up again. "Would it have worked?" He sounded amused.

His gaze still on Iris, Kyro smiled. "We'll never know now, will we?"

She punched him in the shoulder and wished she could move away, but her movement might catch the attention of the person behind the door. And as fun as it would be trying to explain herself to Kyro's parents, she'd rather do it some other time.

His father laughed. "Just come out, we want to talk."

Kyro grimaced at that, while Iris grinned at him. Last time it was him who destroyed her mood with those words, and now fate was giving him a taste of the same medicine. Life was quite fair.

"Laugh while you can, I'll be dealing with you in the evening," he whispered into her ear, and she almost fell off the bed as she tried to get away from him. Only him catching her by the shoulder saved her from landing on the cold ground.

After that, he quickly stood up and changed into his everyday clothes. "Go into the study and don't make a noise. I'll try to get them out of the house as soon as possible."

She nodded, and Kyro waited for her to do it before leaving for the living room. He greeted his parents and ate at record speed, drinking the coffee while it was scorching hot. The faster they were done here, the faster they could leave, and his secret could remain a secret.

It was just his luck that the girl returned to her human form on the last day before he sent his parents away. If someone had asked him what would be the worst timing, he would have certainly chosen this one, when not counting the events that she changed right in front of them.

Before leaving, he had planned to show his parents some photos on his computer as a peace offering, but now it was out the window. He couldn't have them enter his study, while showing the photos on his phone would seem too suspicious. His parents would instantly ask to go to a larger screen.

Without this, he didn't know what else he could show or tell them. They wanted to know more about him, but what else was there? He simply worked in his company, attended meetings and galas, then returned home and relaxed. It was the same for the last couple years, so what new could he tell them?

The girl had brought a change into his routine, but it wasn't like he could talk about her to his parents. The fox was something he could touch upon, but it would be too random to just start talking about her. After all, they already knew that he had saved the fennec, and they might even decide to call the fox to come, which would result in plenty of trouble for him.

"Have you packed?" he asked. Without any better ideas presenting themselves, he decided to deal with it later. He'd go visit them soon or something, maybe bring some gift.

His parents shared a glance, and he knew that they had planned something. And it couldn't be anything good.

"Kyro, you know that we wa—" mom started, but he didn't let finish.

"If you want to say that you were doing it for me, then you don't need to do that. I know, but I don't agree with you and am tired of your interference."

"Son, can you be any less blunt?" Dad's words were reprimanding, but his intonation betrayed that he didn't mean it. This was mostly a show for mom, who was currently looking like she'd swallowed an egg.

"I tried, and then you ignored me."

"You have to know that you're our son and—"

"And I'll always be one, but you don't get to dictate my life. Is it so hard just to be happy for me?"

That silenced his parents for a time. He knew that it wasn't really fair to call them out like this, but he was seriously exhausted by their games. If he had wanted a girlfriend, he would have found one by now. Women weren't an endangered species that he could meet almost never.

"So you're planning to live the rest of your life alone?" mom asked, looking serious for the first time, instead of her usual playful character.

He thought about it, and his mind went to the study where the girl was probably sitting somewhere under the desk and trying her best to not move a muscle. With her around, how was he supposed to be alone even if he wanted? The question was simply ludicrous.

"Who knows what the future holds? I'm not living alone because it's the only way to live; I simply haven't found anyone I'd want to spent the rest of my life with."

"That's… good." Mom didn't seem satisfied by his answer, but this was the best she was going to get, and she knew it. Demanding anything more would be just pushing them into an argument.

Dad stood up then, and they called the family breakfast over. Mom went to pick up their things, and Kyro brought the cups to the kitchen where he quickly washed them.

When he came out, dad was already standing by the doorway. "You know, Kyro, you sometimes really worry us."

"And you two always worry me. I can't decide if you're just growing senile, or you've always been this scatter-brained."

"That's it," mom said as she came over with a bag that Kyro took from her hands. "Next time you come, I'll forget to close the door and invite all the women I know, both young and old."

"I won't come then."

"I'll come to you myself then and will tell all of them to come out the moment you open the door."

Kyro shuddered as he closed the door behind himself. "You know, mom, you're scary."

"Don't get on my bad side then. When are you planning to visit us again?"

"I haven't even said goodbye to you yet…" he muttered, and they moved toward the car while bantering about who was the most evil and when he should come back to them.

Upon sitting down at the wheel, Kyro glanced back at the building. The girl was probably leaving his room now, and he wondered what was going through her head. Would she fear his return? Or had she finally realized that he wasn't going to kick her out just because?