CHAPTER 38: 38-IT JIGGLES WHEN I WALK

Iris:

"Is that how you convinced everyone you were right for cheating on me and wanting another mate?" I almost raised my voice at her.

It hit me suddenly, and I couldn’t tell what was worse, sitting so close to him or finally learning what he’d been doing while I was gone.

Being that close, not even a heartbeat passed without our eyes meeting.

"What? You think I made it up just to make you look bad?" he questioned.

As I clenched my jaw, he already knew the answer.

"No. I tried my best to keep this quiet. I’m sure most people don’t even know about it," he began to explain.

But he still didn’t understand what I was truly upset about.

"Kash, I didn’t cheat on you. You know that. That Luka—I didn’t even know him like that at that time—," I insisted.

That was a lie. Growing up, I had known of him.

When I lived with my parents, I’d heard about Luka.

He was always the biggest flirt, so pretending I didn’t know him felt like a lie.

Then I noticed the look Kash gave me. If I didn’t clarify myself now, I’d look like a cheater.

And even though Kash didn’t deserve an explanation, I still needed to clear my name.

I didn’t want him to think he’d done nothing wrong because I cheated too.

"I grew up in the woods. My mother knew his family. That’s all," I explained.

As soon as I said that, he shook his head slowly, disappointment written all over his face.

"Right after you left me, you were with him," he stated, making my fists tighten.

"You were still pregnant when you were spotted with him," he went on.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized what he was talking about.

"How do you know that?" I asked, trying to get off his lap.

Things were getting too serious, and I didn’t want to be sitting that close anymore.

But he wouldn’t let me go.

"Because I got pictures of you two together," he continued.

My heart pounded so loudly I was sure he could hear it.

"Let me go." My voice trembled as I pushed him away.

I fell back, landing on my side, my legs still across his thighs.

I adjusted myself, turning to get up from the floor.

I started knocking on the door, harder this time.

"You don’t need to scare the children," he muttered.

I spun around and pointed a finger at him.

"You have no idea, absolutely no idea, what I went through after I was left with no choice but to leave you. All this time, while I was struggling, you convinced everyone I cheated on you. Did you really think that?" I yelled, fresh tears forming in my eyes.

"Kash!" I faced him, our bodies just inches apart, but he stepped even closer, placing his hands on either side of me.

"Look me in the eye and tell me," I demanded. "Have I ever given you any reason to think I was cheating on you?"

He just stared back in silence. It was so heavy, it felt like he never knew me at all.

"I hope whoever sent you those photos gets exposed one day," I muttered, my voice shaky and broken. "Then you’ll realize what a fool you’ve been."

He kept staring, and that was it. I needed to leave and confront the person I believed had done this.

I knocked harder this time while he stood behind me, his hands still on the door, trapping me in his arms.

"What do you mean by whoever sent me that? Do you know who did?" he questioned, making my hand slowly curl into a fist against the door.

"Why else do you think those pictures reached you?" I replied, turning slightly without lifting my hand. "Don’t you see it, Kash? After you betrayed me, I was no longer protected."

That was all I said before slamming my fist hard against the door again.

By then, I think he realized I was more focused on getting out of there than arguing with him.

I needed to confront someone.

"Here, let me do it for you," he muttered.

There wasn’t enough space for me to turn completely, but I managed to squeeze to the side and watched as he stretched his arm forward, holding the damn key.

"You had the key this whole time?" I grunted.

He made a sound with his mouth, closing his eyes and gesturing for me not to argue as he twisted the key and unlocked the door.

Then he stepped aside and pointed toward the open space.

I stormed out angrily.

Outside, I stopped briefly to catch my breath. When I turned around, I caught his eyes fixed on my ass.

"Are you serious?" I snapped, shocked.

"What? I didn’t know. Now I know why it was so smooth," he remarked, pointing to the spot where my ass had pressed against his thighs.

He had never been this shameless, at least not with anyone else.

I wasn’t sure how he acted with Lara, but with me, he crossed every line without shame.

I could’ve kept arguing with him, but there was no point.

I didn’t want to talk about my ass with him, so I turned around and walked away fast.

I knew he was still standing there, watching me leave.

"Wow, that jiggle though," he called out.

Without looking back, I raised my hand and flipped him off before stepping into the guest house.

Once inside, I went to my kids’ room and found them sleeping peacefully after the chaos they’d caused.

Then I rushed to my room, threw on a long sweater that covered my ass, and stormed out again, heading to my mother’s room.

I slammed my fist against her door.

"Come out. You need to answer me," I hissed, knowing she was wide awake.

I’d seen the lights through her window, and I was sure she heard me knocking on the small storage room door.

She just didn’t want to open it.

After a few minutes, she finally opened the door and gave me a look.

"Who opened the door for you?" she asked, and that made me realize she knew damn well I’d been in the storeroom, stuck with Kash.

I didn’t respond. I had a far more important question for her—no, a better one.

"You were the one who sent him those pictures of me and Luka, weren’t you?" I fired back, watching a small smirk form on her lips.

And suddenly, everything made sense. The minute they brought me back home, they’d already started planning this whole thing.