Baby

Chapter 22

Iris:

My heart felt like it was set on fire as I did my best to compose myself so as not to burst out on the woman who thought that she could double cross me the way that she was.

I had to excuse myself from the gathering not to say something that would not only end up embarrassing her, but also Dean’s parents who were clearly worried about where this was going. If anything, even I didn’t know where the idiot woman wanted to take things. But I knew that what she did was wrong and was done by misjudgement, and that was something that she was too stupid to realize. She didn’t see that not only was she costing herself her reputation, but was also damaging Dean’s, and that was enough to tell me how stupid and low she was choosing to stoop.

The fact that she was speaking to me in such a sense annoyed me, and the fact that I knew that guests were watching was something that I couldn’t get over. Everyone had their eyes on us, and the fact that I knew that most of them wouldn’t keep this quiet, I couldn’t help but worry about where this was going to go.

She wasn’t seriously trying to play the victim when she was the wrecker of my home, right? She couldn’t be that stupid, right? It was something that I saw as impossible at this point. But this only showed me the kind of woman that she was, it just sickened me to the bone that Dean didn’t see it. The man didn’t even see that she was ruining his family’s name by what she was doing, and instead of stopping her, he chose to allow her to keep crossing her limits.

“Iris…” Dean said, following me toward my car. I frowned and turned to face my ex who avoided. my eyes as he saw my anger. If anyone could read me like an open book, then it was him. But then, again, the two of us were married for five years regardless of how messy it was. The years that we spent together, rocky or not, were enough for us to know one another’s expressions, body languages, and even silent messages by heart. It was one of the things that kept us going strong despite everything that happened.

One look from either one of us was enough to give the message, one smile could be read, whether true or not, and one frown could be understood, whether of pain or anger. It was something that I knew he wouldn’t be living with anyone else. And I wasn’t stupid, I knew that he too knew that he wouldn’t be finding what he had with me with anyone else.

“What do you want, Dean?” I asked, turning to face the person who not only broke my heart, but was also in charge of the pain that I was forced to deal with. The fact that he knew of our daughter was something that annoyed me, especially since I knew that I would be seeing him more often. because of it. I knew that I couldn’t deprive my child of her father, especially since he seemed to want to be in her life.

It would have been easier if he didn’t. I, at least, wouldn’t feel guilty toward my child who constantly asked about him. But now I was both feeling guilty about not being able to open up about him to her, and the fact that I knew that he wanted to be part of her life. Both cases made my chest ache as if stabbed in my heart, and that wasn’t a feeling that I liked dealing with.

“Iris, you are angry with me…”

“Why the fucking hell would I be angry with you? I am not some child who would be angry over what your wife has said. However, should she approach me again, then I would know how to draw her limits. For now, I chose to respect the fact that your parents, partners, and investors are in the gathering. Otherwise, you and I both know that I would have known how to force her to her limits.” I said, stopping the man whose eyes widened in surprise at my words.

The thing was, Dean knew the weak woman who would weaken at just the mention of his name. I was that kind of woman who didn’t know what she wanted and was weak to his touch. I was in love with him, and being my first relationship, even if it was a direct marriage, I was impulsive about my

emotions.

I had to admit, I only learned how to control myself and how to be the woman that I was today after finding myself alone with my child. I didn’t know how to work on raising my daughter. I didn’t have any siblings, hence the lack of experience when it came to children, but I acted on instinct, and fucking hell was it hard.

There came nights when I even questioned my decision of keeping my baby when I found out that I was pregnant, and there were nights when I just didn’t know how I would manage. But here I was, five years later loving my little one more by the day and that would be something that I will forever be thankful and proud of.

She is my blessing, and the thing was, I knew that I wanted to protect her even from myself. How was I going to be able to cope with the fact that I knew that her father had cheated on me, chose to marry his mistress, and chose to hate me, I didn’t know.

I just knew one thing.

My one aim in this world was to protect my daughter, and that meant that I was going to keep her safe even from myself, my past, and the shaken marriage that I had. It was why I was forced to learn how to stand strong, for both my sake and hers.

“Iris, I know you well enough to know when you are angry. However, I will choose not to judge you for it as I know that you may be pissed by what Mariana said….”

“I am more than just a little pissed, but then again, she is your wife and not me. In case you have forgotten, you fought me for her, and that is something that she knows very well.” I said, stopping him. The reminder was to tell him off, the man knew me enough to know that I didn’t want to deal with cases that didn’t make any sense to me, and this was something that didn’t make any sense to me. Mariana herself was a person that made no sense to me. If anything, the woman was barely a pest in a corn field, and that was something that I couldn’t help but despise. “Now, I do suggest that you fend for her just like you did when the two of us were married. This attitude of yours is not one that I am liking, nor is it one that is fair when it comes to your wife.”

I went to turn around to get inside my car only for him to grab me by my arm and push me back against the car, making my eyes widen as he took me by surprise. I went to comment; however, he shook his head and pinned me between him and my car, taking me off guard.

“You always had your attitude when angry. I do believe that you grew somewhat feisty, I will admit that much, but that could be because you are angry with me right now.” He said, smirking at my behavior. I had to admit, it took everything in me not to punch him in the face as I glared at the

man who was supposed to be my ex, pinning me against my car. My heart raced against my ribcage as gooseburnps rose against my skin as I noticed how close we were standing. The man’s eyes were fixed on mine, making my breath get caught in my throat as I tried finding the right words to describe how I was feeling.

And though it would have been something that I would have loved experiencing when I was married to him. The fact that he would want me to be happy rather than angry or annoyed as he smirked, taking in my expression, reading and understanding it; it wasn’t the case right now.

The man was not my husband, and it was something that he chose for the two of us. If I accepted. the divorce, it wasn’t because I wanted to leave him. I just couldn’t afford the headache that came with the number of courtroom meetings, and the fact that the trials would have been put out in public was not something that I wanted to deal with; therefore, a mutual agreement was far more adequate in our situation, especially considering all the evidence that we had.

“You are a married man, Dean. And your wife is inside the house eating herself alive because of what you are doing; therefore, rather than playing your games with your ex, go back to her just like you always have when you were my husband.” I said, glaring daggers at the man whose eyes dropped to the ground for a second. He took deep and slow breaths, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took as if a weight had settled in his chest, one that he wanted nothing than to get rid of

“What if I tell you that my marriage to her was my biggest mistake, would that be making at difference to you?” I froze for a second, processing what he said before shaking my head. His words hit me harder than anything that I have ever experienced, but now, it was somewhat too late for him to give up on things. He made his choices, and he was going to suffer the consequences. I had more important things to deal with. And fortunately, he wasn’t part of them.

“Then it is your problem to deal with.” I said, holding my ground despite the pain that I felt. “I am no one’s second choice, and it seems to me that it is all you saw and will ever see me.”

I moved away from in front of him and watched as he took a step back, taking in my words. “My lawyer would come with the legal papers for Lillian’s visits. We will find a proper way to introduce the two of you later. For now, I have a few things to tend to, and neither one of them include bullshit…”

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