244 Test of Strength (16)
Iris spent most of the day just lying about, watching Kyro's parents as they discussed what could have possibly went wrong. Their main concern was the company, but they couldn't figure out how it could send their son back. All his assets weren't attached solely to Dioscuri.
When Kyro returned in the evening, he didn't say much, just went straight to his room. His mother tried to stop him, but he said it's nothing he can't deal with and that she should leave since he hadn't forgiven her yet.
It wasn't taken well by his mother, but she acquiesced. There was genuine worry on her face. Iris felt bad for her, but right outside the room, she heard father comfort her. "If he's still focused on that, it really must be fine. Maybe he just had an argument with that Iris girl and want to be away from his place for a time."
"She kicked him out of his own house?" mother asked in disbelief, mirroring Iris' thoughts.
"Why act? You threw me out of my apartment once, too."
Mother laughed, hitting him on the shoulder. "I had almost forgotten, you cheating idiot. Now I'm angry all over again. How could you possibly go on a date with that hooker?"
"She wasn't a hooker, and it wasn't even a da…" father complained in a low voice. The two had been walking away as they talked, so Iris didn't catch the rest, but it was clear that they had some interesting stories to share.
Kyro was busy for the evening, checking some graphs and writing emails, so Iris didn't bother him, just stayed by his side. Out of habit from before, he would pat her head once in a while while thinking about some problem.
It was an unconscious action, and Iris treasured it all the more for that.
The next morning Kyro left in a hurry, and Iris was left by herself. It had been fine the day before, she just rested and reacquainted herself with the house, but that was already done. She didn't feel like repeating all of it again.
The parents left at around ten o'clock, and Iris decided to take care of some stuff. She jumped on the chair then the table and woke the computer up. From before, she knew the password and swiftly typed it in. The action took her three tries, but in the end she was ready.
Online, she found a scary video and watched it. The first few minutes didn't change anything, but upon a jump scare she felt something within her shift. It was barely noticeable, almost like a figment of her imagination, but somehow she was certain that it was the change, and she could have stopped it if she had wanted.
Her breathing quickened as she sat on the table, her mind running through what she'd felt. Was she coming to understand how it worked? Could she finally change at will?
She closed her eyes and tried to bring back the feeling, but it was gone. No matter how she tried to replicate it, the sensation was gone. Not discouraged, Iris went to pick up a blanket and covered herself for the time being. She was gonna turn back a bit later, hopefully.
Online, she checked her emails and answered her friends. They were ecstatic about her replies, barely believing it was really her. She assured them it was her, and then said that she hadn't yet decided on the day of return. It wouldn't be far away though.
Once that was done, she just surfed the web, reading various posts and news. There was nothing new about Kyro and her, which was a relief. She had no wish to be in the center of attention.
Gale had taken the spotlight instead. As Kyro had said, on more serious websites, the speculation about what his return meant was rampant. Every analyst had a different opinion regarding whether he would get a seat in Dioscuri, let alone what his presence would mean for other companies, especially those under his parents.
There were no two matching opinions, so Iris just decided to ignore all of them. Who knew if even one of them was right? Gale didn't seem like someone playing by the rules, so figuring out what he would do was close to being a mission impossible.
After a few hours, Iris decided that Kyro's parents might be returning soon and opened the tab with the scary videos. She was kind of getting used to them, but her innards still rolled over when quite a realistic looking corpse fell in front of the main character.
A kind of spark alighted within Iris, and she grabbed onto it, trying to trace it. But it was like trying to catch hold of a word that's at the tip of one's tongue, but might as well not exist at all. No matter how much she searched for the origin of the spark, it seemed like it was just there.
If she grasped it with her mind, she would change. If not, she would remain a human. Yet how had the spark come to be? How could she bring it out of her own volition?
Before she could find answers, the spark began flickering, about to wink out of life, and Iris grasped it to change. Whatever was the reason, she had to be careful. She wasn't home, and Kyro's parents might not be too happy with finding her standing around naked in their son's bedroom.
'Then again, with his mom…'
-
Unbeknownst to Iris, there had been a drone flying a distance away from the house. And it had a camera on it.
Jane got the feed from it, and her eyes couldn't help going wide at the sight of the hated woman sitting wrapped up in a blanket at Kyro's computer in his parents' home. Disbelief was the first to rise within her, but then it was soon drowned by a stream of loathing.
Who did she think she was? Jane gnashed her teeth in disgust. That leech got hunted, but instead of running away, she attached herself even closer to Kyro. How could she even be that despicable?
To not be conspicuous, Jane moved the drone a bit farther away, so it could see all the entrances of the house. This time that slut wasn't going to escape.
With a self-satisfied smirk on her face, Jane made a call. After a few words, the recipient ended the conversation. For half an hour, Jane sat in her office brimming with satisfaction. Soon she would get rid of that eyesore.
She should have worked on forming a proposition for the deal her father wanted her to secure, but it was impossible to concentrate. 'I'll do it once that eyesore is gone. There'll be plenty of time then,' she thought with a grin.
Thirty-two minutes and forty-five seconds later, two blacks cars approached the house. Jane sat down to watch, forcing herself to remain calm. Her fingers rapped on the table with nervous energy as she anticipated that slut to be dragged out of the house.
Maybe even half-dressed, for all the officers to see.
Jane laughed at that thought. If that really happened, she should take a few photos for Kyro to see. After his toy was sullied like that, there was no way he'd ever care for her again.
Before the officers could enter, Kyro's parents returned. There was a short argument between them, but soon everyone went inside the house. Jane couldn't see what was happening there, but she didn't worry. That slut had nowhere to hide, or run. All her options were cut off.
Time passed, and officers started coming out one after another, but none of them were dragging out the eyesore. There was no commotion to speak of whatsoever. It was as if the house had been empty.
Worry started to raised within Jane, but she pushed it down. There was no way they couldn't find her. They were professionals, they wouldn't be tricked. Everyone had to be coming out because they already found her, just on the other side of the house so it was taking some time.
But even as Jane thought that, her clasped hands became white. She held her chin up with them, almost biting on the top finger to chase away the unease as her eyes didn't move away from the screen.
In ten minutes, the cars left. The officers had returned—all twenty-two of them, she had counted—but the despicable woman hadn't been among them. It was as if she had never existed.
The next moment, a call came, telling Jane that it was over. The force had made fun of itself twice already, and even became enemies with some troublesome people. They were going to catch that criminal without her assistance.
Jane listened to the short speech in silence and said goodbye in a pleasant voice. Then flung the phone at the wall with all her strength.
"But I saw her!" she hollered at the top of her lungs, fisting her hands by her sides.
