LOGIN"Hey Iris" Chase Winston greeted her with a bright smile. He is the younger son of the reputed Winston family and her senior in law school. He is handsome and charming. He is the dream guy of the entire Houston university in Chelsington. The Winston's are the second generation rich family. The Knights are from the first generation. The Knights are in a completely different league from other families.
Iris felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. She doesn't know if she loves Chase or not, but she truly likes him. When he proposed to her an year ago, she was hesitant. She told him that she doesn't love him. But he was adamant and requested a chance from her as her boyfriend. After that, he didn't leave any stone unturned to make her feel special. Sad that she can no longer stay with him. After what happened last night, its not fair for Chase to stay in a relationship with her. She can neither come clean with him, nor stay together. So she is forced to breakup. "Chase, I want to break up with you" she whispered, trying not to cry. Chase looked stunned. "What do you mean? Is this because Giana was rude with you the other day. Iris i will bring her to apologize to you. Don't talk like this" he tried to coax her. Giana is his childhood friend and has feelings for him. But Chase choose Iris, so Giana always causes trouble to Iris. The other day she tripped Iris and almost made her fall down the stairs. "Chase, if you cannot understand why Giana is doing all this, then its time you did. She has feelings for you. I think it would be better for all of us if you consider her feelings and leave me alone" Iris told him softly. Chase grabbed her by her elbow. "Do you think this is a game Iris? Can't you understand that I like you? Instead of asking me to consider her feelings, why don't you consider mine?" he demanded. Iris pulled her hand back forcefully. She doesn't want to hurt him. But she doesn't have any other option either. "Please leave me alone" with that said, she walked away from the guy who openly declared his affection for her. She rubbed her chest to ease the ache in her heart. Leaving Chase felt like a hard pill to swallow. "Iris? What was that all about? Didn't you tell me that you like Chase? Then why break up with him over Giana?" Iris's best friend Sara asked with confusion. Iris met Sara in high school. While Iris is calm and gentle, Sara is loud and outgoing. If not for Sara, Iris might never do anything fun. Sara is tall like Natasha. She is 5'5 with a lean built and legs for hours. With her long legs and beautiful face, Sara is very hot. Iris couldn't explain anything to Sara. Instead, her eyes filled with tears when she remembered everything that happened in the last 24 hours. "Iris? What's wrong? Did aunt Candace said something again?" Sara inquired with concern. Iris shook her head, too scared that she might end up crying if she opened her mouth. "I know aunt Candace favors your sister and keeps comparing you both. Did she said anything about your birth parents again? Is that why you are upset?" Sara pressed. Candace keeps passing on unpleasant remarks about Iris's birth parents. 'Why would they leave you in an orphanage?' 'You are so dull, no wonder they got rid of you sooner' 'You are so short, looks like your parents genes was not that great' Remarks that were passed on casually, but still they make Iris sad. "Can I hug you?" Iris asked feeling so vulnerable, that it broke Sara's heart. She hugged Iris tightly, offering comfort. Iris used to be sad every now and then, but today she looked vulnerable and fragile, as if just a push is enough to break her. As if she was pushed to her limits. "Iris, you are scaring me. I told you to stay in my apartment. But you insist on living with the Jones. They show favoritism and never treated you fairly. Then why?" Sara never understood that. "They gave a roof over my head and gave me an opportunity to study. They gave food and didn't let me go hungry. They are not bad. How can I blame them for loving their own daughter more than me?" Iris replied sadly. Sara sighed. She never understood why Iris never blame the Jones. "Fine, lets go to my apartment. You don't look that good" Sara suggested. .... In the hospital, Natasha woke up from her sleep. "Natasha, you woke up? How are you feeling?" Candace inquired with concern. Natasha looked around feeling confused for a moment. "Mom, my wedding. Is it got canceled? Mom you know how much I like Xavier Knight. I didn't know i was pregnant. Mom, what should we do now?" Natasha inquired anxiously. Candace patted Natasha on her head. "Don't worry Nat, your wedding is the talk of Chelsington. Now you are Mrs. Knight. Its alright that you messed up this time. But now you are Xavier's wife. So don't make these kind of stupid mistakes again" Candace told her daughter. Natasha's eyes widened with surprise. "You mean, Iris actually married Xavier in my place? That Nerd actually did that? I thought she might back out with fear" she said with a bright smile. "She is too loyal to us. Ofcourse she wouldn't let us down. Especially when we made it look like we are going bankrupt. All the issues with your marriage are cleared now. Just don't get intimate atleast for two weeks. Your body is not ready after that miscarriage" Candace suggested. Natasha nodded in agreement."Mr. Knight," Adil and James rushed to greet Xavier. But Xavier's eyes searched and landed on Iris, who was standing beside Adam. Her eyes were on him, too. A myriad of emotions played on her face until they settled between relief and longing. Xavier thought he had imagined it. Because recently, Iris hasn't wanted to do anything with him. She blocked him on every social platform. What made it worse was the revulsion in her gaze in the hospital that day. That hurt Xavier as nothing else could. Xavier forced his attention to Adil, the groom Iris is getting engaged to. He hates Adil and is even jealous of the man because Iris chose him. "Congratulations," Xavier murmured coldly. He sounded more like he wanted to be anywhere but here. But Xavier is a glutton for pain. So he came to increase his pain by watching his wife slowly slipping away from him. "Thank you, Mr. Knight," Adil beamed. James leaned closer to Adil to whisper in his ear. "Get engaged to Iris. I don't want to lose fac
"Fine, this engagement is off. I don't want to marry a snob like her, either. Now, based on the agreement, half of your Starks group belongs to the Morgans," Adil declared angrily. "Adil, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Don't say things like that," Laila chimed in. Adam is pissed, while Iris looks calm. "Laila, didn't you see their attitude? I am their son-in-law. If they treat me this way before marriage, then what respect will they give me after I marry her?" Adil replied angrily, as if he were the one wronged here. Iris smiled sarcastically. "What? Are we being unreasonable? Is that what you are saying here? You have me serve Champagne to your friend, saying it's a custom. He touched me without my permission, and you didn't care. She came here flaunting the dress you bought for her, mocking my choice. But you still wanted me to apologize to her, and I don't want to participate in that conversation. Now you want to cancel the engagement, saying we are unreasonabl
The next evening, Iris is seen standing beside Adil, who was chatting away with someone Iris doesn't recognize. He didn't bother to introduce her; she didn't bother to ask. She is wearing the silver dress she liked, and Adil is wearing a blue tux. He barely acknowledged her since she arrived. If not for Mr. Morgan, she would not be willing to stand by Adil's side like a prop. Adil and the entire Morgan family look happy. Benjamin and Catherine kept glancing at Iris. They both look guilty. Naomi is flirting with Adam, while Tasha is yet to arrive. "Adil Morgan, long time no see," a man in his late twenties greeted Adil with a huge grin. He looked like an Italian with a French beard. Adil smiled brightly. "Neil, how have you been?" Adil shook hands with his friend. "I am great. Finally, you are getting hitched. Will you not introduce your fiancée?" Neil looked at Iris with interest. "Of course, this is Iris Stark, my fiancée." Adil wrapped his arm around her waist, as if he were
In the Stark residence, Iris didn't bother to greet anyone in the house. Catherine, Benjamin, and even Adam stood there, waiting for her. But she didn't spare them a glance. She walked straight into her room. She doesn't want to be rude to anyone. Especially not her parents. But the fact that they decided her happiness with a man who feels that a wife should always compromise on everything to the point of what she would want to wear. Her impending marriage is making her feel suffocated right before it starts. 'What if I don't get engaged to Adil tomorrow? Will Dad be able to cancel their agreement without losing the shares?' she wondered. Xavier's face flashed in her mind. The unmasked pain in his gaze when he heard about her engagement is still making her feel guilty. 'You are a good man. Too good to be true' she thought, thinking about what kind of relationship she might have had with him. That's when a knock sounded on the door. "Iris, can I come in?" Adam's voice rang fro
"Come with us," one of the men who looked like a foreigner snapped at Iris. But she didn't move. She just stood there, dazed. "Ahh.." Naomi's panicked scream came a second later. "Shut up, I will shoot you if you scream again," one of them snapped at Naomi. Iris's heart is pounding with fear. She is wondering what she did to deserve this misfortune. "If you want money, I will give you. Let me go," she tried to bargain with them. But one of them stabbed his gun near her temple. "Move," he snapped while the other man grabbed her by her forearm and started dragging her towards the black vehicle, which was parked not too far away. "Brother, save her. They are." Iris vaguely heard Naomi's panicked words. Her heart is pounding too loudly, so she didn't hear the rest. "Do you want me dead? They have guns," Adil's reply came a moment later. Iris felt her eyes sting with unshed tears. The perfect man her father chose for her. He didn't hesitate to abandon her when her life was on th
Iris was discharged from the hospital. Adam, Catherine, and even Benjamin arrived to take her back home. Catherine was fussing over her, while Adam was there, watching, waiting, for what, Iris doesn't know and doesn't have the energy to find out. Benjamin, on the other hand, is a whole different story. He had been bad-mouthing Xavier since the moment he arrived. "He is an opportunistic ba*tard and a murderer. He is not trustworthy. He killed a guy and was said to have abused his grandfather. The Knights are a violent lot, and their business is failing. They will go bankrupt sooner or later. Xavier had affairs with so many women that he was seen carrying a woman in his arms a week ago. He also took another woman on a private cruise the next day. He is a womanizer. Adil is not like that. He is a good guy...." After some time, Iris stopped listening to him. She plugged in her earphones and pretended to listen to music. The car drive home was tense. After reaching home, Iris was rea
"Mind, body, and soul," Xavier replied as if that's a normal thing to say. His response scared her. She realized that she was playing with fire. The kind of fire that doesn't seem to burn her, but everything else. "You are being unreasonable. I..." Suddenly, she started to feel like a fly trapped
That evening, Iris looked tense. "Relax, why are you coiled so tightly? It's just Mr. dark and handsome. No worries. If you feel uncomfortable, send us an SOS message. We will come and rescue the princess in distress," Naomi joked. Iris giggled. She is wearing a lilac-coloured sundress with a spa
Xavier just finished finalizing the details of his cooperation with James Morgan. He was busy with back-to-back meetings since that morning. He made sure to finish his work by 5. He is eager to see his Iris again. She doesn't know that it was he who forced Benjamin to go back to Nashville. Two da
Iris walked out of that guest room in a daze. She could barely come to terms with what happened last night. She slept with Xavier Knight. And she would be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy it. She could feel her face turning hot just thinking about last night. She practically begged him for i







