Semua Bab Let Me Go Daddy, I Am Engaged To Your Son!: Bab 1 - Bab 8

Iris’s POV The drive home felt longer than it should have. Marcus had the radio tuned to that low jazz station he likes, humming off-key while he scrolled emails at red lights. I stared out the passenger window, watching streetlights smear past, but my brain was still stuck on the terrace. I could still feel Victor’s thumb brushing my wrist slowly like he was testing how fast my heart would race for him. I could still hear he way he said my name like he’d already decided how it would sound when he whispered it in the dark. That single, polite touch at the small of my back as I walked ahead of him, nothing overt, just enough pressure to remind me he was there, and that he knew exactly what he was doing. I pressed my thighs together under my sundress and tried to breathe normally. Marcus glanced over. “You okay, babe? You’ve been quiet since we left Dad’s.” I turned and gave him the soft smile I’ve perfected, the one that says everything’s fine without me having to lie out loud.

Iris’s POV We ate slowly, trading bites back and forth while our conversation drifted over nothing particularly important, the kind of lazy morning talk that felt like an extension of sleep itself. Every so often he leaned across the small space between us and kissed the corner of my mouth, his tongue flicking out to catch a stray drop of syrup before it could slide down my chin. I leaned into him each time, opening my lips so he could feed me another soft date, feeling the gentle pressure of his thumb as it brushed across my lower lip, lingering just long enough to send a quiet shiver through me. When the plates were finally empty he gathered them without a word, stacked them neatly on the nightstand, and pulled me firmly against his chest. I rested my head there and listened to the steady, reassuring rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my ear, letting it anchor me for a few more peaceful minutes. “I should probably get dressed,” he murmured after a while, his voice low and reluctant

Iris’s POV The café on Fourth was the kind of place that made you want to be a better person. Exposed brick walls, hanging ferns, mismatched vintage chairs that somehow looked intentional rather than chaotic. The smell of fresh bread and lavender drifted through the air, and every table had a tiny vase with a single white flower.I got there early, claimed a spot by the window, and ordered coffee just to have something to do with my hands. The barista brought it over with a smile, something lavender-infused that Maya would roll her eyes at and then drink half of anyway.I was stirring it absently, watching the foam swirl, when Maya slid into the chair across from me."You look like shit," she announced cheerfully.I laughed at myself. "Thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel special.""I'm serious." She shrugged off her jacket, draped it over the back of her chair, and studied me with those sharp brown eyes that had been seeing through my bullshit since we were sixteen. "You'

Victor’s POVShe left with my son, and I stood at the window watching them drive away. I should have felt guilty because he is my son, the only good thing I ever made in this life, the boy I held when he cried and the man I watched grow into someone decent and kind and nothing like me. I should have felt guilty, but instead I felt nothing but hunger.I watched the taillights disappear around the curve at the end of the long driveway. The red glow faded and then there was nothing but darkness and the reflection of my own face in the glass. I did not recognize the man staring back at me.I turned away from the window and walked back to the sitting room. The wine glasses still sat on the table where we left them. Hers was half full because she barely drank, the smart girl knowing she needed to keep her head clear around me. I picked up her glass and held it, thinking about the rim where her lips touched and the warmth that had long since faded, though I imagined I could still feel her th