So why does it feel like Istilldon’t?
Maybe it’s the way my skin feels too tight for my bones. Or the headache that’s been hiding behind my eyes for two days. Or the goddamn email notification I keep getting about a LinkedIn article titled “Astor’s Engagement Catastrophe: A Cautionary Tale for the Modern Corporate Culture”.
But more than anything—it’s this slow, itching ache under my ribs. Like something is crawling. About to burst. And I know it will—soon.
Levi’s fingers squeeze mine gently. He hasn’t let go since we arrived. I don’t even remember taking the walk from the parking lot. Or how I’m dressed. Or whether I’ve blinked in the last five minutes.
“I’m not sure,” Levi tells Iris. “We didn’t summon you.”
No one did. At least not us.
And for once,thank God, Taewon’s not here. I can’t handle another volcanic eruption of his rage.
The board members begin to arrive—each of them radiating practiced warmth and power. They greet each other with those fake half-laughs, tight handshakes, polite head tilts. Gareth walks in soon enough, silver hair slicked back, teeth bared in what he probably thinks is a winning smile.
Thomas is close behind. He offers me a nod I don’t return. Odette, as poised as ever, clutching a Birkin in her hands that she won’t be able to afford again. Charles strolls in last, a hint of uncertainty around him.
I slump slightly against the wall, trying to will the time to move faster. Let Seb do what he planned to do.
Then I hear it.
“What the fuck?”
Iris’s voice. Loud. Gasping. Jarring. We quickly head toward the lobby where Iris’s gaze is locked—leaving the board members in the main hall.
I blink toward the hallway and instinctively offer a tiny, tentative smile. Sebastian just walked in, a storm in a suit. Calm. Commanding.
But it’s not Seb that freezes my insides.
It’s Iris.
She’s staring at him like she’s seen a ghost—and when her eyes flick to the two people behind him, she goes almost green.
Sebastian offers her a smug smile. “Hi, Iris. How have you been?”
She opens her mouth. Closes it. Tries again. Fails.
Seb walks toward the hall, passing us, with all the ease of a man entering his own kitchen. “Don’t mind us. We’re just here for the show.”
Levi stares at the two strangers behind him. “Us?”
If I said Iris looked pale before, I take it back. Because now she looks like she might actually pass out. She’s staring at the two strangers, mouth agape.
A tall woman in a leather jacket with eyes so sharp they cut straight through Iris like lasers. She’s almost smiling at Iris.
And behind her… a man. Smiling. Casual. Like this is brunch and not a corporate ambush. His hoodie contrasting sharply with the entire dress code of the meeting.
“Might wanna remind people you went to Stanford, Iris. From what I hear, it’s not really showing right now,” the woman says coolly, crossing her arms as she locks eyes with Iris.
The man behind her groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Heer…”
TWENTY
Levi
I frown at the two strangers after Seb disappears into the hall. The woman is seemingly more familiar than I would’ve expected.
After gathering some composure, I hear Iris groan—rubbing her temples. “Fuck. Um… everyone. This is Amelia Gill, my older sister. And her husband, Kabir.”
