Iris’s POV
A heavy, frustrated sigh escaped Ryder’s lips.
He wasn’t clearly pleased by my refusal, but he didn’t push.
Instead, he stepped back, giving me space, though his dark eyes remained intensely focused on me.
“Remember our deal, Iris,” he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly warning.
“Don’t let Damian touch you, ever.”
”I won’t,” I whispered fiercely, then quickly adjusted my outfit and straightened my hair.
Letting out a firm breath, I turned away heading back to the room.
The moment I opened the door, Ruby looked up from her wine glass, her eyebrows raised in suspicion.
“God, Iris, what took you so long?” She began to complain, leaning forward across the table.
“I was about to come look for you. Did you get lost or something?”
I forced a tight, fake smile onto my face and sat back down in my chair.
“No, um, sorry.”
A minute later, the door opened and Ryder walked back in, looking completely calm and collected.
Ruby did not stop talking, doing the most of it, as the rest of us sat in complete silence.
She was clearly unaware of the atmosphere.
Ryder barely touched his food when he mentioned he had somewhere else to be.
I too was getting bored already, so I took that moment to leave the restaurant.
“Yea actually, we should leave as well. Ruby?” The murderous stare I flashed her forced her to agree, though through barred teeth.
We all walked out together.
I spoke up first, my voice cutting through the quiet street.
“I think I want to take a walk. You can go ahead, Ryder.”
Ruby blinked in surprise, but Ryder didn’t press me for details.
He didn’t demand that I get in.
He just looked down at me with a serious gaze.
“Alright,” Ryder said finally, then stepped a bit closer, his voice dropping so Ruby couldn’t hear.
“I have to get back to the office anyway.
Message me if anything comes up.
Anything at all.”
”Goodnight Mr Ryder!
Thanks for the meal!” Ruby’s loud voice followed, even after Ryder had stepped into the car and shut the door.
I had to hold her to keep her from continuing.
“What is wrong with you? How many glasses of wine did you have, hmm?” I demanded and she just rolled her eyes.
The heavy black SUV pulled away, disappearing into the city traffic.
I stood on the sidewalk, letting out a long breath I felt like I’d been holding all night.
“Oh my god, Iris,” Ruby sighed heavily, turning to face me.
She looked like she was in mourning.
“I cannot believe we just had dinner with Ryder Lancaster. I am so full of regret right now.”
I frowned towards her, staring in confusion.
“Regret?
Why?”
”Because I didn’t try harder to please him!” Ruby groaned, throwing her hands up in the air.
“While you were in the restroom, I was chatting up his assistant, Leo. Do you have any idea who that man actually is? Leo told me Ryder is the sole heir to the entire Lancaster Holdings. The whole empire, Iris!”
She shook her head and let out a little yelp, biting on her finger.
Dramatic Ruby…
”He owns practically half the city.” She said with a shriek.
I kept my face blank, though my heart skipped a beat.
I already knew how powerful Ryder was, but hearing it out loud made me swallow hard.
Ruby stopped walking, her expression suddenly turning serious as she looked at me under the streetlights.
“Wait. If Ryder is the actual heir to the Lancaster fortune… then why the hell is Damian trying so hard to steal your family’s company? The Lancasters are drowning in money. Why would Damian need to play such dirty games for your inheritance?”
A cold, bitter wind brushed against my face.
I looked down at my shoes, the truth tasting like ash in my mouth.”Because Damian’s father was adopted,” I said quietly.
Ruby froze.
Her mouth parted slightly as the pieces of the puzzle instantly clicked together in her mind.”Oh…” she whispered, the anger fading from her voice, replaced by pure shock. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
“Oh, wow.
So Damian isn’t even a real Lancaster by blood.
He’s an outsider.”
”Exactly.
He knows he will never get a dime of his family’s empire, so he’s using me.
He wants to steal my family’s business to build his own kingdom because he has nothing else.”
Ruby shook her head, her eyes flashing with disgust.
“That absolute snake.
He used you from the very beginning.”
”Then you need to dump Damian right now and go after his uncle,” Ruby suddenly said, her eyes lighting up with a wild, crazy idea.
I nearly tripped over my own feet on the sidewalk.
“What?!”
”I am serious, Iris!” Ruby urged, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop under a streetlamp.
She had this excited look on her face.
“You need to dress sexier. Seduce Ryder. Wear that red silk dress you bought last month. Even if you don’t end up as his aunt, you won’t lose anything! At least you’ll get some high-quality payback!”
I felt my cheeks flushing.
My mind flashed to the hallway from an hour ago—to his hands sliding under my clothes and his rough voice in my ear.
“Ruby, shut up! Stop talking!” I cut her off sharply, my voice cracking as I practically threw my hands over her mouth.
“You are completely insane, do you understand that? He is Damian’s uncle! Don’t ever say something like that again.”
Ruby just laughed, totally unbothered by my anger.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. But think about it!”
Just then, a sleek sedan pulled up to the curb right in front of us and honked twice.
It was Ruby’s personal driver.
“Oh he’s here,” she muttered.
The playful mood faded a little as we climbed into the back seat together.
The car moved smoothly through the night, heading toward the cold, empty mansion I shared with Damian.
As the city lights flashed across the window, I clutched my phone inside my coat pocket.
Ruby thought she was just joking around, but she had no idea the fire had already been started.