195 The Scandal (10)

The amount of time Iris spent staring at the photo of herself in Kyro's arms could not be counted. She examined every single detail of it: the way her dress fell, how she was pressed against Kyro's side, how relaxed was her own face. It all looked so magical and unbelievable.

Kyro seemed stunning as well. In the light, his handsome features were well lit, and his eyes were focused on her. Iris didn't bother to pretend that she could tell what he was thinking, but he was holding her with care, like she was a fragile treasure.

Her cheeks went red when she thought about that, but she couldn't look away from the photo. It was one thing to imagine it and a whole another to see from someone else's eyes.

'Wait! Isn't everyone seeing it now?' Mortification washed over her, and she finally moved her eyes away from the screen. Was she going to become a sudden celebrity? But no, she wasn't the only one in the compilation in this article. Just the killing blow.

Her heart soured, but she at least became certain of one thing - Kyro wasn't a womanizer. As suggestive as all the photos looked, she had been involved in two of them, and they were pure nonsense. Nothing had happened in either of the events.

If even the last, most important part of evidence was wrong, then what credibility did the others have? It all had to be part of some conspiracy to paint Kyro black for one reason or another.

'I wonder if he'd get angry if I asked him about them. Can I do it already or…'

The ambiguity of their relationship got in her way again. How close they were actually? With her skipping a good dozen steps and barging in to live at his place before they were even friends, it was hard to determine.

Iris swiveled on the chair, turning around a couple time while thinking about her situation. Due to Lily, she had forgotten about her plans to do something about her status of foreigner without an identity or education for a time. But now that she was back, the same old problems rose up before her.

Even if she wanted to return to pick up her things one day, how could she do that without a passport?

The rest of the day passed with her thinking about it and coming with few solutions. She could relearn what she'd known for the exams she missed, but it would be worth little if she couldn't return to the country.

"Lucy, do you have any ideas?" she asked the black cat walking over to sit by the window. He spared her a glance while on the way, then began to examine the situation outside.

A bell rang then, and Iris checked the time to realize that it was already dinner time. The deliverer passed her the food, and she brought it in, wondering where the time had disappeared.

What about Kyro as well? He was usually home at least half an hour before dinner. His schedule was pretty strict, and she couldn't recall many times that he had broken it.

The article rose in her mind then. Was he busy due to that? But what could he do about it… Nobody would care if he just said that it wasn't true, that all of those photos were made to look suggestive.

While she thought about that, she put the food on the table and went back to the computer. Maybe she didn't understand something and he was really making a statement? If he was, it would certainly be somewhere online.

Soon, she really found a newly uploaded interview with Kyro sitting in his suit before a reporter. The two of them were in some kind of small studio, without any audience. The reporter was smiling as wide as a cat having caught a mouse.

"So you want to say that all photos are fake?"

"Not fake, just displayed in a compromising way. For example, in the first photos I'm in Julia's, my closest cousin's, eighteenth birthday, so of course I was surrounded by young and beautiful women. The one in the balcony behind me is also Julia who caught me after I took a moment out to rest."

The reporter smirked at him. "Not able to keep up with the energy of the young maidens?"

"I don't go often to such events, so I'm not used to the bustle there," Kyro answered calmly, not looking the least bit perturbed. He was sitting in a comfortable armchair, looking like he owned the place.

"Then what about the third photo? Will you have an explanation for it as well?"

It was Kyro's time to smirk. "Of course. Those girls are good friends with my mother. She organized the gathering and I just acted the host."

"You want to say you didn't invite them over yourself?"

"You think I'd dare to do that? My girlfriend would never see me again if I did."

Kyro said those words without missing a beat, without the slightest hesitation, as if it was something natural. But Iris' heart dropped to her feet. What girlfriend? Since when? Wasn't he single?

As the myriad thoughts blasted through her head like a tornado, she missed the next question and only heard Kyro's answer. "But you've seen her. I'm doing this partly to make sure she knows I'm not doing anything behind her back, and partly to make sure I don't end up in such articles again. She's the girl in the last photo. That day, we went on a date and she fell asleep on the way back, so I carried her back to my place."

Last photo? Date?

Iris' mind short-circuited. There was a very obvious direction his words were taking, but she couldn't for the life of her understand what was in his head. That girl was clearly her, but she didn't remember them deciding on anything.

All they had ever done was hold hands, and it was halfway justified by needing to not lose one another in the crowd. From this, how did they end up in a relationship? He hadn't said a word about it to her!

Yet the whole world already knew it?!

Anger surged through her whole being. This wasn't fair. How could such an important thing be declared for all without asking her about it? What if she didn't agree?

There was no way she would have done that, but it still hurt. Her heart fluttered like a caged bird, not knowing whether to leap in joy or sorrow. She'd been thinking about this for a long while, since the night before his parents left when she realized her own feelings, but… but this was a horrible way for it to happen.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor outside, and Iris recognized them as Kyro's . She stood and went to the living room. There was no way she was going to let him off after saying stuff like that.

The moment the door opened, Iris spoke up, her hands crossed over her chest. "Since when am I your girlfriend?"

Kyro faced her demand with an impassive face, looking beyond tired. He looked worse off than yesterday, but she didn't let herself pity him. Once he answered, she would step out of his way.

After closing the door, he turned back to her. "Is it that bad? Being my girlfriend?"

His words threw Iris off for a second. "What? No! Wait… That's not the point! You didn't say a word about it, and we haven't even kissed!"

At that, Kyro took a step closer and raised his hands to her suddenly flaming cheeks. "That can easily be solved, don't you think?"

His head lowered to hers, and her breath caught. She could feel him holding her head still, but it was a light touch. If she had any thought to resist, she could pull away at any moment.

But she didn't. Not in the least.

Their lips touched, and her hands moved to his shoulders to steady her suddenly weak legs. Her heart galloped like a mad horse, but her mind was empty of any thoughts. Filled with an unfamiliar emotion she moved a little closer, pressing the two of them closer together.

Their kiss lasted for another moment, until both of them were breathless. Once they pulled apart there was a slight smile on Kyro's lips, and Iris answered him in the same manner, her cheeks blazing.

"This is not how I thought this confrontation was going to go," she murmured in a small voice.