I stare down at my phone. Cece’s message sits on the screen like a weight in my chest.
She left the party. Just like that. No explanation. No goodbye. And now she’s not responding. That’s not like her at all.
Taewon steps up beside me, drink in hand. “You good? Where’s Cece?”
“She left,” I mutter, still distracted.
“Is she okay? Doesn’t seem like her to dip out at her parents’ anniversary party.”
I finally look up, but Taewon isn’t even looking at me. His gaze is locked on someone behind me. I turn slightly and spot Iris across the room, hovering near a far wall like she’s trying to disappear.
“I don’t know. But I’m gonna find out.” I pause, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why were you staring at her like that?”
He blinks, like he didn’t realize I caught that. “I was just noticing… she’s been avoiding your parents ever since that first intro.”
My stomach tightens. “I noticed that too. I’m missing something.”
He shifts slightly and gestures for us to walk a little farther from the crowd. “Remember when you moved back to Van after Stanford. She left you with just that letter you showed me… I’m thinking that was—”
“Bullshit?”
He nods and takes a slow sip of his drink. “Total bullshit.”
“I’ve been thinking that too,” I mutter, eyes narrowing. My thoughts are spinning, forming into something sharper. “Fuck it.”
I shove my glass into Taewon’s hand and head straight toward Iris. I don’t bother hiding my urgency. She spots me approaching and stiffens immediately.
“Mr. Astor,” she greets, too politely.
“Ms. Desmond.” I nod. “I need a word. Privately.” I gesture to an empty corner. Somewhere my parents won’t see us.
She hesitates, eyes darting around, but finally nods and follows.
I don’t waste time. “You know my parents, don’t you?”
She blinks. “Of course. I was introduced—”
“Ten years ago.”
She freezes. Her expression flattens too fast, like she’s scrambling to play it cool. “Levi, I don’t—”
“Give it to me straight, Iris,” I cut in, voice low. “Did my parents contact you back then? Did they interfere in our relationship?”
My heart is hammering in my chest, but I already know the answer. I can see it in the way she won’t meet my eyes. The way her hands fidget.
“Yes,” she finally whispers. “They showed up at thebar I worked at and… well…”
“Well?” I prod. “What exactly did they say?”
I can see her breathing pick up. She has hidden this forten fucking years. Hidden my parents’ insidious machinations and I’m about ready to explode.
A part of me was clinging to some useless hope that it’s not my parents playing me for a puppet. Just Gareth. Or maybe if they were, that it was recent, or perhaps not deep enough to span over a decade.
“They told me to leave you. They threatened my… my parents’ retirement fund and my job.” She pauses, visibly trying to collect herself. “And they implied that I was of lower status than you deserved.”
I go still. Every muscle in my body tightens as fury rises like a wave. My fingers twitch. If I still had my drink, I’d be throwing it through the nearest goddamn wall.
The threads of any lingering hope unravel in an instant.
