CHAPTER 117: 117-HE IS NEVER GUILTY

Iris:

Lara started to wake up. Her hair was messy.

Her makeup was smeared, and her mascara marked her cheeks. Her lipstick was off too, rubbed across her lips.

My stomach twisted.

Lara shifted, trying to get comfortable in his arms, and I swallowed hard.

Suddenly, Kash stirred awake, probably because of the sound of my foot brushing against the carpet.

He blinked a few times, looking confused as he tried to focus.

His hand tightened slightly on the blanket as he turned his head and looked at me.

"Iris," he whispered, sounding tired and unsure.

His eyes stayed on me for a while, as if he did not know where he was, until Lara moved closer.

He looked down and seemed to realize she was in his arms. Then he snapped his head up, as if he understood it was too late to pretend.

I had seen everything. And I did not know why it mattered to either of us since we were not together, yet it felt painful in a way I could not hide.

"What are you doing here?" he murmured, trying to sit up.

I tried to look at him, but Lara was pressed so closely against his chest that speaking to him felt pointless.

"I came here to speak with you, but I guess you are busy," I replied.

He frowned again, still acting like he had no idea what had happened, until he looked down once more.

I watched him freeze for a moment.

But I had no time for this. He saw her in his arms. Why was he pretending he was too out of it to understand?

Of course he was. This was what he did. He had lied to me about not being intimate with her all these years.

He was such a liar. And then he used the incident from the other day to make me look guilty.

I turned around and briskly started to leave.

I pushed the door open hard and then slammed it shut again, just so they could continue whatever they wanted.

I was done with them.

I walked away quickly, almost stumbling a few times in my high heels, but I managed to get out of the hotel.

I tried to spot my car, but when I could not find it, I called my driver.

He told me he was stuck in traffic. So I decided to wait a little farther from the hotel.

It was early in the morning, but the streets were already busy with school buses, cars, and people heading to work.

I crossed the road and walked to the nearest bus stop, hoping I could sit down and catch my breath.

As soon as I sat on the bench, I held the edge tightly and rocked back and forth.

"Why," I whispered to myself, biting my bottom lip. "Why does it hurt so much?"

"Had I not seen them together before? Had it not always been this way, that when I was not around, he slept with her?" I spoke softly to myself, not understanding what this pain meant.

Maybe it was because we were marked mates. He had marked me in the past.

We had accepted each other once.

I swallowed hard, missing the feeling of having a lycan. If only I had one, maybe I would not feel this much pain.

That was when a car pulled up in front of me. I did not even have to think twice.

I knew whose car it was.

I hissed under my breath, straightened my posture, and folded my arms across my chest.

Kash stepped out of his car in last night’s suit, though he was not wearing his tie anymore.

I could tell he had rushed into his clothes.

"Come on, I will drop you home," he said, offering me a ride.

I noticed Lara sitting in the passenger seat. It only angered me more.

"My driver is arriving," I replied, trying to keep my tone neutral.

"You will have to wait a long time. Just get in the car. The kids will be waiting for you," he stated, not explaining anything about last night, not apologizing, nothing.

He did not even seem guilty. Anxiety rose in my chest.

"What?" he asked once he noticed the way I was staring at him.

"So you lied when you said you were not sharing a bed with her?" I questioned.

I did not know why those words came out.

He narrowed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

"Who are you? Why would I explain my relationship to you?" he replied.

My jaw clenched, and my chest tightened.

"Things are over because of you, Iris. You did not want to stay, and it was your decision. Besides, I have noticed lately that you have been hiding things from me too. So I am not going to look guilty for doing something I am doing after we are done."

His words made sense. Yet I was angry. I nodded, feeling foolish for asking him that question.

"Okay," I muttered.

He raised an eyebrow.

"You are right," I added. "By the way, I did not come into your room to see what you were doing with her. I came to tell you that my mother told me Colin had another fit last night."

His body language changed immediately.

The difference in how he reacted to me and how he reacted to his child made me realize something.

Maybe it was truly over. Maybe I was behaving immaturely. I did not want him, yet I was hurt. I did not even understand myself.

"And you are telling me now?" he asked.

I tilted my head and gave him a look.

"Fine then. Let us get in the car. I will grab the blue box and give him a dose."

Just like my mother suspected, Kash was putting too much trust in that herb that was not going to work.

I stood up and began walking toward the area where my driver was stuck.

Kash must have thought I planned to get in his car because he opened the back door, then slammed it shut once he saw I had walked away.

"Seriously?" he whistled.

I knew I was giving the wrong impression, making it seem like I was reacting this way out of jealousy.

And yes, I was bothered. But I kept walking until, a few minutes later, I saw my driver reaching me.

He stopped the car, and I got in the back seat. He began driving us back to the guest house.