Iris:
"I'm so sorry. I tried to stop them, but they just barged in. They didn't even listen to me," Scarlett apologized over and over.
Ever since I heard what had happened, I'd rushed back home, and it was true. He'd fucking taken my babies from me.
"It's okay. I'm glad you didn't stop them. He would've killed you," my mother told Scarlett, trying to comfort her.
I turned to my mother in shock.
"And you knew this would happen, Yet you brought me here! Look what happened now—he took my babies from me!" I yelled, my hands aching, turning into empty arms where I used to hold my children.
"Calm down, Iris. It's not like he's gonna hurt them. He's their father too. Besides, we'll go talk to him and bring them back, okay?" my mother said, rolling her eyes as she walked away with Scarlett.
"Scarlett, bring me a glass of wine. I'll get some rest, and then we'll go fetch the babies," she added, her stilettos clicking across the floor.
I kept watching her go, stunned. How could a mother be so cold-hearted to her daughter and love her son so blindly at the same time? It didn't make sense. Either she was crazy, or I just wasn't worth loving.
Scarlett gave me a quick, uneasy glance before hurrying away to meet my mother's demands.
But I wasn't going to rely only on calling Kash. I knew where he lived, and there was no way I was going to let him take my babies from me and keep them with him.
Without waiting for my mother, I stormed out of the house again, grabbing my car keys. I'd cried the entire way home, waves of mixed emotions hitting me every few minutes.
I kept remembering the day I found out Kash was cheating on me. After that, I'd been hurt, angry, and disgusted. But after what he did today, I hated him. He didn't deserve forgiveness, and I doubted he ever intended to earn it.
Throughout the drive, I tried calling him multiple times, but he didn't answer. I left countless messages begging him to talk to me. He never responded.
I couldn't stop worrying about my babies being left alone in that house full of hyenas.
When I reached the mansion, I parked across the road and stormed out, not even looking both ways as I ran across like a madwoman.
As I approached the main gate, the shock on the warriors' faces was clear. They exchanged uncertain looks, as if questioning whether they were really seeing me.
"Open the gate for me," I demanded as soon as I reached them.
Maybe they'd planned to refuse, but their shock froze them in place, they just stepped aside and let me through.
As soon as I stepped into the mansion, so many memories rushed back to me. Among them were a few good ones, the times I had spent with Kash, and how special he made me feel.
How his family would be too scared to treat me wrong whenever he was around.
But this time, I didn't need his support. This time, I was here to fight him, not his family. I kept my spine straight and took long steps through the living room.
"Iris?" I heard his mother gasp. "What the fuck is she doing here? Can you see her too?" she asked the others, probably thinking I was a ghost.
I didn't respond. She was the least of my problems. I went straight to Kash's room. I didn't knock before opening the door.
As soon as I rushed in, I thought he'd left it open on purpose because he knew I was coming.
Then I saw my kids sleeping in his bed. The sight broke me. My knees went weak. I wanted to fall to the floor and cry for hours.
Nothing in the room belonged to me anymore. Not the furniture, not even the paint. Everything had changed. He'd replaced it all. Of course he had. He'd started replacing me before I even left.
I stepped closer to the bed, watching my kids sleep. They never slept this late. What was it? Were they that comfortable in their father's scent?
My hand trembled as I reached toward Colin, but I couldn't bring myself to touch him.
Then I heard the bathroom door open, and I knew who it was. My raised hand curled into a fist as I turned around, ready to face Kash. But the sight stunned me.
He was naked, with only a towel hanging low around his waist. It was so low I felt like I was seeing something I shouldn't.
"You!" he grunted. His muscles flexed as he tensed up, his shoulders broad, his chest tight, his arms solid, his abs still there but even more defined and tanned.
I turned my face away.
"Fucking cover yourself first," I hissed, trying to calm myself. It was like facing the ghost of everything I'd once loved.
"What the fuck are you doing in my home and in my bedroom? Have you lost all manners?" he snapped, fumbling to get dressed.
"You're the one talking about manners when you stormed into my home, pushed aside my nanny, and stole my babies," I shot back, turning to face him.
He had his pants on now, his shirt still unbuttoned. When he heard me, he hissed and pointed toward the children.
"Don't you fucking wake my children up," he warned, stepping closer.
I didn't back down this time. I wasn't the timid, fragile Iris anymore. I'd been through too much because of him. I was stronger now—a mother, and a woman who wouldn't break again.
"What the fuck do you mean by that? They're gonna wake up, and they're gonna go home with me," I hissed at him.
I didn't raise my voice any further because I was afraid my babies might wake up and hear me saying all this to the man claiming to be their father. I didn't want them to know he was their father.
However, the look on Kash's face told me he had other plans.
"Well, they're not leaving my home. They're my babies. They're my children. And you know you can get arrested for stealing an Alpha King's children and running away to live in the woods, depriving them of the comfort and luxury they deserve from their father," he said.
He sounded calmer than before, but the vein on his forehead showed he was trying to hold back his anger.
I stepped back and scoffed, folding my arms across my chest and shaking my head. Then I noticed some of the pictures on the dressing table and walls—him and Lara.
He was fucking engaged to her. That's when I realized they were only engaged, not married yet. Maybe because of the war that had just ended.
"And how do you intend to explain this to them, huh? That you betrayed their mother while she was pregnant, waiting for you to come home so she could share the news with you, but instead, you decided to go on a date with your ex?" I hissed, and finally, a tear rolled down my cheek.
I had promised myself I wouldn't cry in front of him, but it wasn't easy when I'd had no one to share my pain with.
I noticed Kash's face start to lose its smugness.
"When did you find out you were pregnant?" he asked, almost demanding an answer.
And I was so ready to make him feel the same pain I had felt four years ago.
"The same day you fucking locked me in the pantry—starving, hungry, thirsty, and alone," I hissed.