Chapter Fourteen
Iris
They say you can’t go home again.
I figured that had to go a million times more when you were standing outside of your childhood home about four months pregnant from the man most wrong for you in the world with no job and basically a future from the Maury show in front of you. I just didn’t know what to do. Running home to America seemed like the safer option. Currently, I had my biggest sweatshirt over me and was hoping no one would notice the ten to fifteen-pound weight gain I’d had. I bet Dad would. He was the type to notice every imperfection I had, every way I wasn’t good enough to please him.
Maybe there was no place to go at all.
Either in Baltimore or in Dublin, my heart was going to be shattered into a million pieces.
There was nothing else I could do.
The Uber sped off, and I shifted my backpack on my shoulders and knocked hard on the door. I’d fled with the maximum amount of luggage, but some of my stuff was still back in my apartment in Dublin. I just…too much at once.
Dad opened the door, but Mom beat him to the punch.
“Iris! What on earth? Your dad checked his credit card statement this morning and had a two-thousand-dollar charge for a ticket home. We tried to call you, but you must have already been in transit.” She stopped before throwing her arms around me and instead pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. “You look so pale. Are you sick?”
I crossed the threshold to the front hall. My luggage was forgotten for a moment on the stoop. Let David collect it. I was pregnant. I couldn’t tell anyone, but maybe I shouldn’t be lifting heavy things either. I’d use the paleness and Mom thinking I had a fever as an excuse. Besides, it wasn’t far from the truth. It felt like a damn vampire had drained me. I was so tired and exhausted, so depleted in every part of my being.
“I have mono. I was feeling so feverish and crappy that the administration said I should come home. My doctor over there said the same thing. I can come back next semester,” I hedged. “I’ll end up finishing over the summer, but it’s just the mono is, uh, a pretty severe case.”
My father shook his head even as my mom led me to the sofa. “You didn’t even tell us you were sick. That’s extremely irresponsible, Iris. Besides, I’d like to take you to Hopkins for a second opinion. I’m sure we can get you back to Dublin in a week, and there won’t be any delay in your academic record or your ability to apply to MBA programs in a few weeks.”
Shaking my head, I sagged on the sofa. Mom smiled down at me. Her long, dark hair, so like mine, was pulled into a braid down her back like always. She pulled the afghan over me and turned to eye Dad. It was almost comical, like a sparrow and a bull. Dad was a good-sized guy, but Mom had a small, birdlike frame. She didn’t seem to act like that though, not standing toe-to-toe with Dad.
“Seth,” she started.
“Rachel, I can’t believe you’re taking her side.”
“She’s sick.”
“She’s also still in the room,” I groaned. The flight hadn’t done anything for my morning sickness, and I just felt generally crappy and wiped. “I have mono. I can’t do school right now. People get sick, Dad.”
Also pregnant, but I’ll figure out how to hide this or brace Dad tomorrow.
My father shook his head. “Fine, you can take a few days to rest. It’ll take that long to get enough favors lined up to have you seen by the specialists at JHU. It’s just we can’t give up on your future because of a little bacterial infection.”
“Mononucleosis.” Mom rolled her eyes. “Honestly, if you could just stop pressuring her so much. We talked about this in therapy just last week.”
I blinked. Whoa. Since when were my mom and dad a couple who needed that?
I sat up again. “Counseling? Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” Dad said.
“We’re working on it,” Mom added.
Huh, so I hadn’t been the only one lying a little or a lot while I was in Dublin. Mom and Dad definitely hadn’t been forthcoming about this new extracurricular activity.
“I…I can’t do that right now. I don’t feel well, and I just need to get to my room.”
“We will be talking about all of this when you’re rested and more coherent later tonight,” my father replied.
Mom helped me up from the sofa and let me lean on her to the stairwell. “Baby, you could have told us anything. It’s okay. We’d never be mad at you for being sick.”
“I didn’t feel like I could be honest.” Not a great thing to say even as I was lying my ass off, but I didn’t know what else to do. “It’s hard sometimes.”
Mom shot Dad a dirty look. “You should never have to feel that way. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Tears streaked down my cheeks. No, I’d definitely done everything wrong. Mom just didn’t know it yet. “I think I just need sleep.”
“Sure. David!” Mom shouted.
I winced at the loudness and rubbed with one hand at my stomach. It felt more than roiled up this time. A sharp pain erupted through my gut then, and I rubbed at my stomach. “God, that hurts!”
Bending over, I kept rubbing at it even as David clomped down the stairs in his heavy Doc Marten boots.
“Hey, whoa, I didn’t know Iris was visiting. Isn’t it early for winter break?”
Gritting my teeth, I tried to steady myself on the banister. Another gut wrenching pain tore into me, and my heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t right. Every instinct I had was screaming at me that this wasn’t right.
Pointing to my abdomen, I tried to keep from crying even though with all the pain it was impossible. “Mom, it hurts.”
David shook his head. “Sis…I, you’re bleeding.”
“My God,” Mom said, and both she and Dad stared down at my feet.
I did the same and screamed. A dark stain of blood had coated through my jeans and was dripping down my leg. “I…the baby.”
I swooned, and it was the last thing I remembered.
***
Callum
“Where is she, damn it!”
I swept my arm out and sent my files and quite a few reports on my newest merger crashing to the ground. I stopped short of destroying the desktop. It would be easy enough to replace it, and I could afford it, but the last thing I wanted was Frances coming in. She’d already been scowling at me for the last couple months, and I didn’t need her judgmental glare. I’d have fired the bint if she weren’t the best assistant I’d ever had. What I did with my intern…with my vixen was my own business, whether it was in the office or not. Still, no need to draw attention to things if I could avoid it.
My phone blared to life, and I frowned when I saw that it was Seth Kilshimer. That wasn’t the member of the family I needed to hear from. Confused, I accepted the call. There was no way that Iris would have told her father about us. She might have gone back to America out of nowhere, but she was more paranoid about her father finding out than I was. I didn’t care. I could protect her from any family fallout, any disownment. She, on the other hand, was always so eager to please her family, especially her dad.
So why was he calling?
“Seth, what’s going on?”
“It’s Iris.”
My heart started beating faster against my chest. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to know if you noticed her getting close to any young guys in your firm. I…she’s pregnant, but it’s bad, Callum. She’s very sick. The placenta ruptured partially, and the doctor says she has to be on bed rest. She’s napping now, but she’ll need to be watched closely for the next five months. I…I just need to find out who to murder. My baby and, even if I had no idea this would happen, my grandchild are sick, and I want to snap the neck of whatever rat bastard did this to her and left her all alone.”
My stomach went cold. I’d had no idea. How long had she been hiding our child? How long had she known? Jesus Christ, what even was happening with both of them?
“Callum? Hello, are you there?” Seth’s voice was subdued, broken in a way I’d never heard it before. He was one of the few negotiators I feared and respected across the table, but even dealing with the evil hand of fate seemed to be too much for my friend. “Are you okay?”
I forced myself to keep my tone normal and level, even though my entire world was rapidly spiraling out of control. “I haven’t noticed her with anyone socially here.” Except for me. “But if I find out anything, I’ll let you know. I…is she going to be okay?”
“They don’t know. They’re hopeful, but you know how cagey doctors are. They won’t tell you everything in case they’re wrong and you can sue them later. I just can’t believe this. I push her hard, but she’s my little girl. I can’t lose her.”
I nodded and couldn’t imagine losing her either. I’d lived through that once before, the utter desolation that came from losing the love of my life. I couldn’t do that again.
And it was then that I knew, deep in my bones, that same truth I’d probably been feeling for weeks if not months. I wasn’t just craving Iris like a drug. She wasn’t just someone I cared about and wanted to spend hours of pleasure with. Yes, she appealed to my cock, but it was a thousand times more than that.
I loved her.
I loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my damn life with her.
Except hers and our baby’s might not be that very long of a life.
“I…” I stumbled over the words to get Seth off the phone so I could get my private jet ordered and readied. “…you won’t.”
“You don’t know that. I swear, if I get my hands on the man who did this, he will be so very sorry. Assuming that sorry sack of shit can feel anything at all once I’m done with him.”
“That thinking won’t help your girls, not Rachel or poor Iris,” I replied. “You think about being strong for them and you can, uh, get that sonofabitch later.” If anything happened to Iris or the baby, I’d march myself up to Seth and give him an endless shot to pummel my ass. To beat me black and blue. I’d deserve it and so much worse.
“Hang strong, mate,” I said. “I’ve seen her these last few months. She’s a strong girl, and she’ll pull through this too.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so. Now, I have to go, but the bill’s on me.”
“Why? I can more than cover it.”
“Well, I was supposed to keep an eye on her when she was at my company. You were a great support when Priscilla was sick. Let me return the favor, alright?”
Seth sighed. “This time, for just once, I’ll listen to you.”
“See, was that so bad?”
My old friend offered me a tiny chuckle. “Not this time. The doctors are calling. I need to go get more information. I’ll call soon. Just see if you can find out anything new.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said as Seth ended the call.
I didn’t waste a minute getting my jet called up and my limo to the front of the building. I had to get to America, and I had to get there as fucking fast as possible.
My family needed me.