LOGINIris’s POV His fingers tightened around my throat. “I know.” The words came out low, steady, and far too calm for the way his hands were pressing into my skin. I clawed at his wrists, my nails digging in, my body twisting beneath him as I tried to pull free. “I know what you’ve been doing.” My lungs burned. Panic surged through me, sharp and immediate. I tried to speak, to say his name, to deny it, but nothing came out except a strained, broken sound. “Marcus…” “You think I wouldn’t find out?” he cut in, his grip tightening just enough to make my vision blur at the edges. “You think I wouldn’t see it?” I shook my head frantically, tears spilling from my eyes, my fingers slipping against his skin as I tried to push him away. “I didn’t…” “Don’t lie.” His voice cracked then, and that scared me more than the anger. “Not after everything you’ve done.” My chest heaved uselessly. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. His weight pinned me down, his knees trapping my legs, his bod
Iris’s POV We stayed like that for a while.Just standing in the middle of the living room like the night had not just tried to unravel everything around me. Marcus held me close, his hand moving slowly along my back in a way that to soothed me and settled me at least on the surface. I pulled back first, brushing a hand lightly over his chest as I stepped away. “I should change,” I said softly. “I feel like I’ve been in this all day.” Marcus smiled, relaxed now, the tension from earlier completely gone from his face. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll lock up.” I nodded and turned toward the bedroom, my steps steady even though my thoughts were anything but. The second I closed the door behind me, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. My reflection stared back at me from the mirror.I look composed for a girl who had just survived a night that should have exposed everything. I stepped closer to the mirror, my fingers brushing lightly over my lips without thinking. That was
Iris's POVI could feel my heart beating so fast I feared Marcus would hear and I schooled my features into a calmness I clearly did not feel. My fingers curled slightly in my lap as I turned to look at him but his eyes were fixed on the road calmly and unaware of the war inside of me.I racked my head for an answer that would not break anything. I forced a small breath out, steadying myself before I spoke.“I went out for air,” I said, keeping my voice soft, natural. “It got a bit crowded inside.”That part was true although it was not the whole truth, it was close enough to stand on.Marcus nodded slightly, like that made sense.“And he was there?” he asked.I swallowed guiltily, my gaze drifting briefly to the window before returning to him.“Yeah,” I said. “ He was on the balcony. I didn’t expect to see him there.”My heart was beating too fast again. I could hear it in my ears, loud and insistent, like it was trying to betray me.I kept going.“I thought about leaving,” I added,
Iris’s POV After that narrow escape, I stayed beside Marcus for as long as I could after that. I am definitely not finding myself in a precarious position this evening. I smiled when people spoke to me. I nodded at the right moments and laughed when I was supposed to. But inside, I was still in that hallway still feeling the press of Victor’s mouth against mine. I could still feel the trepidation that washed over me when I heard those footsteps. As I waited for the moment everything would fall apart. Every time Marcus stepped away, even for a second, my chest tightened. I did not want to be alone again where Victor could find me or where I might forget myself again. So I stayed close. Too close, maybe. At one point, Marcus wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me gently into his side as he spoke to one of his uncles. The warmth of him, the ease of it, should have grounded me. Instead, it made something twist inside me. Because I knew what I had done just minutes ago and I wa
Iris’s POV For one second, I could not breathe. Marcus’s voice came too close, too sudden, cutting straight through the moment like a blade. My heart slammed so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest. I stepped back without thinking, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. I forced my face into something calm before I turned, even though my pulse was racing and my lips still felt warm from Victor’s kiss. “Hey,” Marcus said, stopping just short of us. His eyes moved between the two of us, not suspicious, just curious. “Are you both hiding back here?” I let out a small, breathy laugh, hoping it sounded natural. “I needed some air,” I said quickly. “It got a bit crowded in there.” Victor did not miss a beat. He stepped slightly to the side, giving me space, his expression composed in that effortless way of his. “She looked overwhelmed,” he added calmly. “I was just making sure she was alright.” I nodded, a little too fast. “Yeah. That’s all.” Marcus studied me
Victor’s POV I saw her before anyone announced her and that was the problem. No matter how many people filled the room, no matter how carefully I kept my distance, my eyes found her first. It had always been that way. From the very first moment. And tonight, it was worse. Because she was not mine to stand beside. She was on my son’s arm. Laughing softly, tilting her head just enough as she listened to someone speak, her fingers resting lightly against Marcus’s sleeve like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like she belonged there. Publicly, she did but we both knew that she belonged to me. I lifted my glass slightly, more out of habit than desire, my gaze steady even as I battled with jealousy. I had spent three years away in Singapore building control into every part of my life. When I came back and met her, all of that fizzled away. I remembered the first time I saw her, I had walked to the door to welcome my son and his fiancée but when I saw her, there was nothing i
Iris’s POV The day before the engagement party felt like a quiet performance.Marcus had been acting strange since morning, though he clearly thought he was being subtle about it. He moved around the apartment with a kind of careful energy, checking his phone more often than usual, stepping out to
Iris’s POV The next day, I woke up with a strange kind of clarity sitting quietly in my chest.The kind that settles in after you have already crossed a line and realise there is no point pretending you are still standing safely behind it.I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, replaying
Iris’s POV I kept my eyes closed, my breathing slow and even, willing my body to settle into the role I had chosen. Every small movement felt calculated, every pause deliberate. I could hear Marcus shifting beside the bed, the soft rustle of his clothes as he moved closer, and I braced myself with
Iris’s POV I kept the takeout on the table before bolting to the bathroom. I slammed the door behind me, locking it with a trembling hand. The tiles were cold beneath my bare feet, grounding me slightly as I turned on the shower. Hot water sprayed over me, washing away the sticky weight of sweat,







