Chapter Text
Fuuuck.
I shouldn’t have done that to Iris. But when she’s around, there’s something in her eyes that makes me do the opposite of what I wanted. When I saw her dirty dress pants, my immediate thought was that she’s hurt, and my protective instincts took over. But then, I remembered the CCTV camera outside the house showing Iris and Marcus smiling at each other. Something like jealousy unfurled within me and all I wanted to do was to storm out then take Iris back inside. So when I had her in my arms, I could no longer stop myself from wanting to mark her as mine.
She’s still my fiancé, despite whatever feelings we have, it’s just common sense to ensure fidelity to your other partner right? We have our own goals, but that doesn’t mean you can disrespect them. Like a business deal. Yeah exactly like that.
Then I heard her soft moan when I had my hand resting on her neck, giving me an instant hard on. I want to see her writhe in my arms and the way she called my name, I want to hear her say it again. I want to know if she likes it if I assert my dominance or would she prefer it gentle and sensual.
I closed my eyes and turned the running shower, cold.
This is so wrong. So fucked. I need to remind myself that she’s Professor Lucius’s daughter. The sole heir of EVER and could be putting on a show so that I could put my guard down. But another part of me tells me that I am wrong, and that what she is showing me is utter grace. Whatever this is, I presume it must be a natural instinct between a man and a woman living under one roof.
An attraction? Maybe not. Fascination? Perhaps.
That night, my dreams were filled with fantasies of every teenage boy who had recently learned what porn is. I woke up with an aching hard on, which gave me an idea to work out this unsatisfied frustration. Because my hand and I developed a closer friendship in the shower last night but that still wasn’t enough.
Aright, we plan to hit cardio today. Maybe an incline on the treadmill or Stairmaster if I want to tackle leg day as well. Or could be both if I— shit.
I just managed to distract myself from thinking about the woman who plagued my dreams last night, only for it to come alive. What an ironic way to say Deja Vu. If seeing her intimately in her pajamas gave me a hard time focusing, I’m not sure if seeing her in active clothing is either my undoing or my doom. Could be both. Her back is turned, but her suggestive position provided me another fantasy to add in the queue tonight. Is that what they call “The Cat” stretch?
Her perky ass in perfect view, her cinched waist hugging those leggings perfectly, her body is like a goddess who had descended upon me. Is anyone recruiting for Ms. Universe? She’d be the perfect candidate to join. She’s smart, beautiful, and there’s just something about her that will always draw your attention to her. On top of that, she grew up with a notorious father, but so far, she’s never shown me any similarities to their personality at all. To the point, I’d question if they’re related.
So I did a background check on her. Clean records, above average GPA, one hundred percent that lunatic’s daughter unfortunately. I even traced her digital footprints, thanks to the Fleet’s access and my position as a Colonel. She either goes to the bookstore on her days off, or hangs out with her two best friends. And yes, I know their names and looked them up as well.
Clean.
Everything is clean. Which makes me look like a total asshole for doubting her intentions every chance I get. But speaking of asshole, Iris must have felt my stare like I’m bearing holes in her ass because she is now looking at me, one brow raised, arms on her hips while she leans on one leg. “Have you finished ogling me Colonel?”
I could feel a blush creeping in my face and ears. Keep it cool Caleb. Keep it cool. Play it off. “I was merely counting your reps. I think you missed one.”
Iris only chuckled at my excuse. She knew damn well that it was because she was done right before I zoned out but my eyes remained on her.
“Alright.” Iris stepped out of her mat and gestured to me to come closer. “Let’s see how fit the esteemed Colonel of The Fleet is. We can’t have you gasping for air while you sit down to order people.”
I cocked my head to the side, allowing myself to get taunted by her. This is another new side of her that I didn’t know. As beautiful as she is, she could also grow a thorn to poke and be sassy. “Wanna bet?”
Iris crossed her arms and a smug look on her face tells me I’m about to eat my words.
I did in fact eat my words.
Why did no one tell me that Pilates were this hard? My legs are burning, and I thank the person who invented elevators because going from the basement to my room– remind you it's on the top floor, would be treacherous. Iris did the exercise with me without a problem. Her face was as neutral as if she was just washing the dishes and not working out her core.
Iris left the gym after our session, but I made an excuse to stay to “clean up”. No, it was a lie. I wanted to stretch myself and roll it out with a yoga log because I suddenly became the princess when it comes to Pilates. I had to be special, because I couldn’t walk it out like her. Would I do it again? Probably not. Unless someone wants to bet with me, then it’s debatable. I do have some fierce competitiveness when provoked.
“Are you sure you can drive the plane? We can probably ask Marcus to take us instead” Iris asked over the headset as I ready the plane for takeoff. First of all, my legs may have died this morning, but I’ve felt worse. Second of all, it’s a weekend, Marcus is not getting paid to fly us everywhere when there’s a perfectly capable pilot right here. Third of all, no.
“I’m fine. Are you implying that I can’t handle a simple Pilates workout?” In my defense, she made it look so simple.
“No… But I saw you walk down the stairs and I might’ve overworked you.” Iris said in between laughs, clearly holding it out as much as she could. Then with an outstretched hand, she handed me a piece of banana.
“Is that a peace offering?” I muttered, but a clear blush was palpable in her cheeks.
“I heard bananas are good for sore muscles.”
I have a better banana that will make you sore too –noooope! No, no, no, no, no. Caleb, no. Get your head out of the fucking gutter. You are about to fly a fucking plane but all you think about is the woman beside you. Where the hell are these teenager hormones coming from anyway? Before I could embarrass myself, I took the banana from her palm, my fingers lightly grazing it.
“Thank you.” was all I could say before eating the whole fruit after my final checks. I reached for my necklace, about to kiss it for good luck–my usual routine when flying–when I realized Iris is beside me. She can’t know about the necklace and its meaning. If she does, there’s no telling if she'll rat it out to her father, then they get access to my memories. If they do, they’ll find out Athena has manifested her powers. It’ll only be a matter of time before they can get their hands on her.
Athena has managed to implant the chip in herself before, which resulted in a short memory relapse. What happens if EVER themselves implanted it where it's unremovable? I cannot allow that to happen. I promised to keep her safe, and I plan to keep that for as long as I live.
I grit my teeth, and imagined the ritual in my head instead. And for safety measures, I reached for a lemon flavored candy in the plane’s small storage pocket, and popped it in my mouth. The sourness not only will help me stay awake, but it’ll keep me from thinking about one certain female that is inches away from me, who in fact smells divine, and that heat radiating from her is seeping to my skin.
“May I ask the reason why you ate a lemon candy?” Iris asked. My head turned to her and to my surprise she was already staring at me with curiosity filled eyes. I thought my previous plane was too small, but no plane is small enough being in such close proximity around her. I could be across a board meeting room, and that would still feel too small.
“It helps me stay awake. Athena would always give me sour foods since we were young and I ended up liking them.” I say truthfully, my eyes studying Iris's reaction. There was something in her reaction that made me question why I brought it up, but when I blinked again, it was gone. Did I imagine her pained look? Or was I just overthinking things.
The rest of the flight was quiet. I don’t know what I said that upset Iris, but I don’t know how to deal with this version of her. She only looked at the window, as if she’s drowning in her own thoughts and I can’t do anything about it. If she were Athena, I’d know what to do, but this is Iris. I don’t even know what she likes, let alone how to make her smile. So I quietly landed the plane to a nearby guard station in the main city of Skyhaven.
We took my car to drive through Downtown, and parked in front of Essentia Jewels. This company, Essentia Group is a multi billion dollar company with multiple businesses around Skyhaven and Linkon City ranging from clothing and jewelry, real estate, international trades such as fruits, and rumor has it, dark web dealings. No company is clean, so I'm skeptical to enter their premises but Iris wanted to go here because their jewelry is one of the best qualities in the world.
As soon as we entered the store, a sales associate greeted us and led us to a private lounge to view their pamphlets. The whole store had dark wood auburn walls, natural LED spot lights everywhere, with glass showcases along the walls. Soft white light illuminating from a few chandeliers above us and a red velvety couch that were currently occupying.
Iris turned to me as soon as the sales associate left, making sure no one was within an earshot. “Is there any specific ring you’d like to get?”
Does it matter? Even if I wanted a specific ring, I’m not wearing it for the right person. I’m not even sure if I’ll get the chance to wear my dream ring, or my dream wedding. A flash of Athena and Zayne’s couple ring briefly crossed my mind and left a bitter taste in my mouth. For the longest time, I’ve always known what I wanted, and getting married was one of them. Giving Athena a ring with an airplane wrapped around our fingers, symbolizing the finger is the globe.
That she is my world.
But now, that dream shattered when I saw another man’s ring on hers. Not mine, not the one I’d give her, and maybe not in this lifetime. I never stood a chance in the beginning.
“No, use your discretion.” I briefly answered. My mood further soured when I saw that she picked a white gold band set. Hers was a thin band with a row of 0.8 ct diamonds tightly wound on the top part of the ring only. The matching ring for mine was of slightly thicker band than hers, similar style but with spaced diamonds around the ring.
For most people, the design is more than simple, but for Iris she deserved more than a simple white gold band and a few diamonds around it. She should wear something like a princess cut diamond ring, or even those rare pink diamonds to show her worth. But I couldn’t bring myself to change her choice.
My eyes landed on a beautiful 2 ct marquise cut diamond with two small round diamonds on each side, while it was surrounded with smaller stones of amethyst and emeralds. That is the type of ring she should wear, but then I remembered what she said. We could file a divorce. Would that be in six months? One year? Two years? Or is it to be determined?
Will she leave me once she finds someone she loves? Someone whom she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Someone who doesn’t have a single complication in life unlike me. Someone like Marcus… I saw their smiles and the exchange glances from the video feed. So she should save those types of rings for when she divorced me, when she finally meets the man who will love her and appreciate her.