Lily (4)

As Iris hid in the corner of the sofa, somewhat mortified, she heard a familiar voice from the door. She couldn't help but curse its owner from the bottom of her heart. If there was any good evaluation of him within her, it was gone now.

"I need help," Gale said without any preamble. "And our company is gonna suffer some backlash soon. Sorry."

Kyro didn't say anything to him, just pointed at the living room, and Iris forcefully calmed her breathing. Nothing happened, so there was no need for her to look like it had. They just almost kissed. What did it matter.

Feeling her breath catch the moment Kyro came closer, Iris rushed to her feet and off the sofa. "I'll leave the two of you to talk."

"Did I interrupt something?" Gale asked in a careless manner, throwing a questioning gaze back, but Kyro said nothing. "Whatever. Stay. You might be able to help as well."

"I?" Iris stared at him, forgetting for a moment her dislike for him. "How could I possibly help you?"

He and Kyro were owners of one of the largest corporations around, and she was a total nobody, someone who missed her last exam to get a degree. So in what world could she be of any assistance to these two men?

Iris came closer, but didn't sit back down. That seemed enough for Gale, though, and he plopped down with the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. "I screwed up. I took Lily from that damned house, but now I don't know what to do. Can't take care, but can't abandon either. What am I supposed to do now?" He looked pleadingly at Kyro, as if expecting some kind of words of wisdom.

"Start from the beginning," Kyro said instead, also sitting down.

"No need, it's a freakin' mess. I just need to find a place to stash Lily somewhere, and somebody to take care of her." He then turned to Iris. "Will you take it up? I—"

"No." Iris didn't even bother hearing all his explanation before refusing. Annoyance appeared on Gale's face at that, but she ignored it. "I have enough troubles of my own to add yours."

First, she didn't know Gale that much, and what she knew didn't endear him to her. As charming as he looked, his personality was too crooked. At times, he even scared her a bit. Second, she needed to figure out what to do with her future, and helping strangers would only delay that.

Gale swiftly turned to Kyro. "Then you, I'll leave my sister with you."

"And in what way will that be better? You know I'm an only child and have never dealt with young girls. She's what, ten years old by now?"

"Seven. She's to start going to school this September," Gale said in a voice filled with annoyance. His fingers curled into a fist, and he hit the sofa with force. "I stole her away from hell, but at this rate, I'm going to land her in a place little better."

His anger so obviously directed at himself surprised Iris. She watched him for a moment more before shifting her gaze to Kyro. He looked pensive, thinking hard about something, probably a way to solve Gale's problem.

Crossing her arms, she said, "Then why don't you start sharing so I might want to help you? Your relationship with Kyro is your business, and I won't speak of it, but you won't gain my assistance by being all secretive."

"Who are you for me to tell you anything?" Gale looked at her with mockery in his eyes, his lips curling into a sneer.

"Clearly your only way out."

She also put a smile on her face. It wasn't as strong and magnetic as his, but she wasn't going to be intimidated by him. Not while in this house where she was as welcome as him.

Gale turned to Kyro, fury in his eyes, but Kyro just shrugged at him. "I can't help you, we established that already. Me taking care of her until you find someone else will be no better than you watching over her yourself."

Silence reigned in the room for a good few minutes after that. No one spoke, and Iris decided to leave. If Gale couldn't be bothered to tell her what happened, then she couldn't be bothered to help him. In her life, she went by a simple logic of giving only as much as the others were willing to give back. And what could be expected of a person that didn't even trust you enough to share what happened when asking for a lot of your time and effort? It wasn't a game to take care of a child.

The moment she took her first step away, Gale stopped her. "Wait." He then turned to Kyro, a strange expression on his face. He seemed as if he was in pain. "Can she be trusted? Unconditionally?"

Iris met Kyro's gaze and saw him incline his head. "She won't hurt Lily, of that I'm certain."

"Well then," Gale said in a fake cheerful voice, leaning back against the backrest. "I just disowned my parents, wrecked my dear father's sports car collection, sold all my beloved mother's favorite villas, and stole Lily from right under their noses. Oh, I also changed their computer passwords just because I could." He grinned at them. "Anything else you want to know?"