Chapter Seventeen: What the Truth Costs

The boardroom doors opened without ceremony.

Nathaniel stepped out first.

For a fraction of a second, Iris couldn’t read his face. That terrified her more than anger ever could. His expression was carved into calm, into something unnervingly controlled. The kind of calm that came after devastation.

The board members followed, murmuring among themselves, already moving on as though they hadn’t just decided the fate of real lives.

Iris pushed off the wall, her legs trembling as she stood.

“Nathaniel,” she said softly.

He stopped.

Slowly, he turned to her.

“What did you do?” he asked.

Her breath caught. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t look at me this morning,” he said quietly. “You lied badly. And Selena’s complaint vanished overnight.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes like a storm breaking.

“You went to her.”

Iris swallowed. “I didn’t have a choice.”

His laugh was short and humorless. “You always have a choice.”

“They were going to destroy you,” she said, voice breaking despite herself. “Your career. Your name. Everything you worked for.”

“And you decided I wasn’t worth trusting with my own fate?”

The words cut deeper than any accusation.

“I was trying to protect you,” she whispered.

He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, not angry but wounded. “Do you know what they decided in there?”

Her heart pounded. “No.”

“They accepted my testimony,” he said. “Partially. Enough to launch an internal investigation. Selena’s influence is under review.”

Hope flared briefly.

Then he added, “And they demanded a public example.”

Her stomach dropped. “An example of what?”

“Boundaries,” he said. “Consequences.”

He held her gaze as he delivered the final blow.

“They terminated your placement.”

The world tilted.

“No,” Iris breathed. “That’s not possible. Selena promised”

Nathaniel’s eyes hardened. “She promised you safety in exchange for silence. And then she took more.”

Tears spilled down Iris’s cheeks before she could stop them. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t.”

“I know,” he said softly. That somehow hurt worse. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t be standing here.”

Her knees buckled slightly, and instinct took over. Nathaniel caught her, his hands firm on her arms, grounding her.

“Don’t,” she whispered. “Please don’t touch me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I still belong here,” she said, voice cracking. “Like I still belong to you.”

Something dark and dangerous flashed in his eyes.

“You don’t get to decide that for me either.”

He released her slowly.

“They offered me another condition,” he continued. “I retain my position. The investigation proceeds quietly. And I publicly distance myself from you.”

Iris nodded weakly. “That’s what you should do.”

He stared at her. “I refused.”

Her head snapped up. “What?”

“I told them if you leave, I leave,” he said flatly. “No compromise.”

Her breath came in sharp gasps. “You can’t”

“I already did.”

Silence swallowed them.

“They gave me forty-eight hours,” he added. “To reconsider. Or to submit my resignation.”

Her heart shattered all over again. “Nathaniel… I never wanted this.”

“I know,” he said. “But wanting doesn’t change consequences.”

He stepped back, creating distance that felt unbearable.

“You should go home,” he said. “Spend time with your grandmother. I’ll arrange for security. Selena isn’t finished.”

“What about us?” she asked, the question slipping out before she could stop it.

Nathaniel looked at her for a long moment. “Us is the problem,” he said quietly. “And the solution.”

That night, Iris sat beside her grandmother on the worn sofa, pretending to watch television while her mind replayed everything on a loop.

“You’re quiet today,” her grandma said gently.

Iris forced a smile. “Long day.”

Her grandmother studied her the way only someone who had raised her could. “Your heart is heavy.”

Iris’s chest tightened. “Grandma… do you ever regret loving someone?”

Her grandmother chuckled softly. “Love itself? Never. But the timing? The circumstances?” She sighed. “Those can wound.”

“What if loving someone costs them everything?” Iris asked.

“Then you ask yourself,” her grandma replied, squeezing her hand, “whether love that demands silence and sacrifice is truly love.”

Iris blinked back tears.

Her phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

You think he’ll choose you over blood?

Another message followed before she could respond.

Over legacy? Over a lifetime?

Her fingers trembled.

Then one final message appeared.

Meet me tomorrow. Or I tell the board everything you offered me.

Iris’s stomach dropped.

She looked at her grandmother, peaceful beside her, unaware of the storm closing in.

Across town, Nathaniel stood alone in his office, staring at his resignation letter on the desk.

His phone buzzed.

A message from Iris.

We need to talk. Tomorrow. Please.

He closed his eyes.

Because he already knew.

Whatever she was about to do next… would either save him

Or break them both.