Chapter 10

Iris stood still. The pressure Thomas was projecting at her was suffocating as if he was strangling her in silence. After a long while, he asked icily, "You were with Sean this afternoon, weren't you?" She promptly presented her phone to him, saying, "I recorded our conversation over those hours. You can listen." Thomas actually paused as he glanced at her phone right then. There was a recording that lasted hours, and he was surprised that she was that sharp. He took her hand, and with a pull, Iris fell into his arms. He could feel her body stiffen as his fingers brushed against her cheek, and he asked coolly, "Why did you have to go with him alone? Why didn't you refuse if you knew I'd get upset?" Tapping on the recording and listening to it then, he realized that there was mostly silence—he could hear Sean's mild voice, and Iris would respond with as few words as she could. Thomas could even imagine the tense look on Iris' face whenever she had to respond. Leaning beside her ear, he whispered, "Maybe you think he's a good man?" The question left Iris confused. As she stared blankly at Thomas, he grinned. "There's no good person in my family, let alone Sean!" Iris stayed silent. Thomas knew she didn’t believe him and he pinched her cheek. "Don't talk to him," he demanded. "Or I'll teach you fear if this happens again." Following his gaze, Iris spotted the large box on the bed. He said, "Go on. Take a look." Iris headed over and opened the box, and her face turned pale when she saw what was inside. She promptly leapt onto Thomas' bed and slid under the blanket, but he could see her figure shuddering. Thomas strode over and pulled the blanket downward, baring her face. He saw tears just as he expected. Pursing his lips coolly, he asked, "Why are you crying?" Iris stared at him tearfully in silence, her fingers shaking even as she held the blanket. Still, he smiled and pinched her cheek. "Trying to thank me? Remember to come over every night while I'm on my business trip this week, understand?" She quickly nodded. Thomas pulled up the blanket and slid underneath as well, putting an arm around her waist, nuzzling against his neck, and taking a deep breath. She stiffened a lot as his warm breath sprinkled over her collarbone until he asked, "Do you find that disgusting?" She did not respond and immediately felt pressure from her waist, and she winced from pain. "A little," she admitted. Thomas mischievously bit her on the neck right then, and Iris quickly corrected herself, "No." He certainly knew that she was lying because of his violent reaction, but he said, "Good. I'm giving you a few more hickeys and making sure they won't fade until I come back." Iris' eyes welled up with tears—each bite seemed to hurt more as if he was bent on leaving a scar. He only let go when he tasted blood, and he brushed the corner of her eye with his finger. "Let's go a bit lower next time." With that, his finger slid beneath her eye, lingered over her wound, and kept going downward… Iris closed her eyes right then without moving at all. Thomas eventually let go of her and snapped coolly, "Move to the other end." Iris did so—thank goodness he was not hugging her to sleep just yet. - On the fifth day of Thomas’ business trip, Iris received a call from a number she did not recognize. "Hello?" Iris asked nervously. "Hey." Luke Franklin chuckled over the other end. "Did you recognize my voice? Anyway, everyone aside from Ike is back, and we're gathering tonight at a clubhouse—your Aunt Ida and Sean are coming too. Join us—I'll introduce you to the rest of the family and some of our family friends, both men and women." Iris asked, "Aunt Ida is going too?" "Yeah. I heard from her that you're working part-time—do you want me to come over to give you a ride?" "It's alright. I can get there myself—just send me the address." "Sure. I'll have someone waiting to receive you." Soon after hanging up, Iris received the time and address for the gathering. It would be held at Lee Country Club—Iris checked the address and saw that it was just a fifteen-minute drive from Lunar Peak. The gathering was supposed to be at 8 PM. She arrived punctually and found in shock that the person waiting for her was Josh. He was smiling nonchalantly and tapping on his cigarette with a finger. He stared at Iris, who looked like she wanted to get away from him, even more so than the first time they met. Iris nodded right then. "Hello, Josh." Josh chuckled at her sudden show of manners. "Hmm. And here I thought you regarded me as some sort of pervert." "I'm sorry if I caused offense," Iris replied. "No, you didn't." Josh continued to smile. "How about I educate you from now on?" Iris ignored his flirting right then, taking two steps back and keeping her distance from him. Josh simply turned and headed inside the clubhouse, and Iris followed. There was a polite distance between them until they entered the elevator—Josh pulled her into his arms before Iris could react! She immediately smelled the scent of his perfume—it was a completely different smell from Thomas’, who never applied perfume and always carried the faint smell of cigarettes. Although Iris stiffened and her face paled, she pressed her knife against his chest. Feeling the sharp prick, Josh was caught by surprise by Iris' violent reaction—she might have turned pale, but there was a defiance in her eyes. "Let me go." Josh chuckled but let go of her waist—she was so slender that he felt like he could snap her in two if he applied a little too much pressure. Iris backed away, keeping her distance even as she said coolly, "I don't want any trouble in Franklin Manor, so please don’t make things difficult for me. But if you consider me amusing, I don't mind taking you down with me—I mean, if you're dead, your brother will inherit everything from Stanford Media to the Franklin family estate." Josh glowered—she was threatening to kill him and mocking him that everything that was his would be inherited by his own brother?! Still, he sneered as the elevators opened with a beep, and Iris quickly fled. She soon found the private room and entered—there were many inside, including Sean, but not her aunt. "Come sit with us, Iri—Ida just received a call from work, saying it was urgent," Sean explained with his mild voice. He then introduced her to two boys who looked like university students. "They are your cousins, Zed and Dan." Dan smiled at her and poured her a glass of wine. "I've heard a lot about you, Iri." However, the crowded room was a little suffocating for Iris, and there were only men save for the two girls sitting nearby. Iris worked hard to calm herself as she picked up her glass. "Thank you." "Try it—Uncle Sean picked that for you," Zed said. Iris let down her guard when she heard that it was from Sean. She took a sip—it was actually fruit wine, and the taste was not that strong. Things were exceedingly lively, and everyone seemed to come over to offer her toasts. She soon finished her glass, and her body started to turn hot.