Chapter 8

Hugh wanted to strangle the life out of her. However, he soon realized he did not have the heart to do so. Iris stared at him with a pallid look. Then, she tucked the check into Hugh’s suit pocket. With that, she turned the other way and began to hobble out of the room. Every movement she made continued to tear at her flesh, and the pain was growing sharper at this point. Her sweat seeped into the wounds on her torn flesh, aggravating her pain and resulting in more sweat. However, she could not care less now. The only thing that mattered was that she had the money, and that was all she needed. After the door closed, Hugh’s expression turned even frostier. He clenched his fists tightly, blood drained from them. He picked up the phone and dialed Claire’s number, “Was it you who set up Iris with that sort of man?” “Yes,” Claire answered cautiously. “Who permitted you to do that?” His voice became completely icy. Claire could not grasp what was on Hugh’s mind at all when it was he who looked like he wanted to destroy Iris initially. The reaction he displayed was completely unfounded. Hugh had never been one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Claire had been working for him for a long time, but this was the first time she saw him flaring his temper openly. With a certain tenseness in her voice, she began to explain, “I told Vermouth to drink with the man and entertain him. I was not expecting her to agree to go with him. I’ve already warned her, but the thing is, she…” She stopped as she was wary of telling Hugh the truth. If she revealed Iris’ circumstances, it would cause Iris to lose all leverage. Hugh asked, “What about her?” “She wants money, that’s all.” Hugh snapped, “Take her to the hospital… Who else am I supposed to torment if she dies?!” With that, he swiftly hung up. There was still a fire burning inside him. D*mn it. Did Iris show up again just to piss him off every day? Then again, why was he so upset? Iris might have once been his sister, but that was not the case anymore. What was he doing? What the hell. After being hung up on, Claire was very confused. Perhaps Hugh cared about Iris? Maybe it was just as he said that he was only bothered because he needed Iris alive so that he could continue to torment her. One way or another, the current priority was to attend to Iris. Judging by Hugh’s tone, she must be in a terrible state. With this in mind, she called Iris. Shortly after, she found out that Iris was on her way to a clinic nearby. She promptly sprang to action and insisted on taking her to the general hospital instead of a measly clinic. - After the hospital attended to Iris’ wounds, she was admitted into a ward and hooked to an IV bag to help reduce the inflammation. Claire was with her. Iris was dressed in a clean hospital gown that was large enough to conceal most of her wounds. Leaving only her neck and hands exposed, she was all wrapped in layers of bandages, looking terrifying… It was enough to make Claire feel like crying and difficult for her to fathom how Iris, someone who was spoiled like a princess growing up, could endure so much pain and suffering. Iris lay calm and motionlessly on the bed. The IV bag provided a numbing effect to manage the throbbing pain. That way, she could at least be spared from feeling endless pain. Upon noting Claire’s expression, she assured, “Claire, don't cry... I'm fine. That man paid me three million dollars, and I already handed the check to Hugh. Please wire me my share of three hundred thousand if you don’t mind.” "Three hundred thousand... that’s only a ten percent cut! How could Hugh be so cruel to you? You had to go through so much torture all just for three hundred thousand…” The more Claire thought about it, the more disconsolate she became. Iris remained silent and closed her eyes. Was Hugh cruel? Certainly quite so. However, she could not deny that her father had blood on his hands as well. He had killed Hugh’s parents and altered the trajectory of Hugh’s life. In a way, Hugh was justified in taking it out on her. Therefore, she had no right to fault him for that. She thought of it as Iris paying retribution in her father’s place. “Make sure you focus on your recovery now. I’m sure he won’t force you to return to work now that you’re in such a state,” Claire remarked. “Okay,” Iris answered in a low voice. She was covered in all sorts of open wounds which could easily become infectious. If she was forced to return to work in this condition, it was a recipe for disaster since she would be exposed to all sorts of bacteria. She was afraid of dying, only because she had to stay alive to fulfill Rei’s dying wish. Claire was relieved to see that Iris was compliant. “I need to go back to the club to deal with something. I’ll get a nurse assigned to you later on. Don’t worry, you don’t need to spend a cent. We’ll write this down as a work-related injury so you will be reimbursed. I’m sure Boss won’t have any problems with this arrangement as well,” Claire informed Iris. Claire said all this in hopes of offering some comfort. She did not want Iris to get herself discharged early to cut down on her spending, knowing well how desperate Iris was for money. “Alright,” Iris answered. Claire gently stroked her forehead before getting up to leave. - Every single blow had cut deep into Iris’ flesh. Her condition was quite severe. Coupled with her already poor health, she had to stay in the hospital for nearly half a month before scabs began to form on her wounds, signaling a track to recovery. With that, she was discharged. That night, she showed up on time at Royal Palace just like before. She went to the employee lounge in the public relations department. During working hours, the girls would have their makeup done before gathering in the lounge where they would wait for assignments handed down to them by their managers. All of them, except for Rose who was the main draw in Royal Palace. She had a dedicated room for herself to rest in. Every organization operated on some form of hierarchy, and the same applied even among a network of party girls. Whoever could rake in the most profit would naturally be favored above the others. When Iris entered, Bianca, the manager, was in the middle of a conversation with Rose. She could not take her hands off Rose, and the two seemed like they got along very well. It was no surprise at all since Rose was the main draw here. She was exotic because she was mixed-race and stood at a hundred and seventy centimeters tall with an hourglass figure to boot. The moment Rose saw Iris, the disgust spilled out of her eyes. As for Iris, she did not think much of it at all. She was used to drawing this sort of reaction from people. Ever since she ended up in this state, people had always looked at her that way. “Manager, Rose,” Iris greeted them. Bianca smiled faintly and informed her, “Hey, Claire isn’t around today because something came up. She told me to take care of you so I will make sure to source some clients for you, don’t worry.” Bianca was aware that Claire had taken in Vermouth; this meant she could not risk offending her. Rose overheard the interaction. She flicked her red-painted diamonds-encrusted nails that she had just gotten done. “Claire is starting to get full of herself lately, she’ll assign just about anyone in the department,” she uttered with disdain in her voice. She was annoyed at the sight of the ugly girl. Yesterday, she had witnessed the boss dragging Iris out of the room. She remembered how dark his expression looked… The boss had slammed Iris against the wall. Due to the distance, she could not make out what they said to each other. However, she could more or less make out what the episode was about. Iris must have offended the boss somehow, which was why the boss was so furious at her. It looked like the boss hated her guts. Naturally, she would take the boss’ side. “Rose, you’re going to be entertaining those businessmen on a business trip from the south side later, aren’t you? Could you bring Vermouth with you? Just have her help you serve at the table,” Bianca requested politely. Rose was quick to oblige, replying, “Sure. You’re coming with me then, Vermouth.” Iris was glad to have a task assigned to her at all. “Thank you, Rose.” Rose did not respond. She shot a look at Iris before turning away. One thing to know about Rose was that she loved Hugh more than anything. The way she saw it, Vermouth offending Hugh was the same as having offended her as well. Therefore, she was not going to make things easy for Vermouth later!