Chapter 3
In the mirror, the way we were entwined was so suggestive it bordered on scandalous.
"Danny, I want to go back to school," I whispered.
I tried to reason with him, but my voice was so soft it was barely audible.
His gentle look vanished in an instant, replaced by a chilling coldness. In the mirror, his eyes were pitch black, bottomless, filled with emotions I couldn't even begin to understand.
"Who's at school? Is it Alexander Harrison?" Danny asked.
Alexander was my college friend. A few days ago, he had confessed his feelings to me on WhatsApp.
I wondered how Danny knew about that.
He released his grip on my waist and pulled out a stack of photos from the drawer.
In those photos, Alexander and I were together in the library. He was smiling as he passed me a bottle of water.
"Baby, there are plenty of wild dogs out there," Danny warned.
He grabbed a pair of scissors and, while I watched, ruthlessly cut Alexander's image out of the photos, shredding them into pieces.
"Only I would never lie to you. Only I will protect you," he whispered.
He stepped closer, his fingertips icy as they traced along my collarbone, sending shivers down my spine.
He said, "If you get bored, I can build you an art studio and a library right here at home.
"But you can't leave my sight."
That afternoon, Danny didn't go to work.
While other spoiled heirs were out racing cars and picking up girls, he was here with me, watching a children's show.
He sat behind me, holding a comb, patiently weaving my hair into intricate braids.
On the video, three-year-old me was tugging at his shirt, calling him "big brother" in my sweet, childish voice.
Danny stared at the screen, utterly captivated, his breathing growing heavy.
"See. You've always been mine, ever since you were little," he murmured.
Suddenly, he turned toward me and pressed a burning, claiming kiss right on the faint childhood scar.
"Even now, you're still mine," Danny whispered.
Ten days after the truth about my identity came out, I finally saw Jillian.
Danny took me back to the Feron Mansion to grab my last personal belonging.
My mom was holding Jillian's hand, having an afternoon drink in the backyard. Sunlight poured over them, and everything seemed so calm and perfect.
The warmth of it all was almost blinding, like I was never really part of their world.
When Jillian saw me, a glint of smugness flashed in her eyes, but she quickly switched to a pathetic, innocent expression.
"Sister, you're back. I'm sorry for taking your place. I shouldn't have come back," she said.
She came over, reaching for my hand.
I dodged her instinctively, not realizing there was a slick slope right behind me.
My foot slipped, and I went down hard onto the grass.
The scab on my knee tore open again. Blood came right through my thin skirt. The red was so vivid that it was impossible to miss.
"Iris, why are you still so bossy?" Mom snapped.
She rushed over, but instead of helping me, she pulled Jillian behind her, glaring at me like I was some kind of threat.
"Jillian was just trying to be nice. Why did you push her? You took her life for twenty years. Wasn't that enough for you?" Mom snapped, her voice full of contempt.
I opened my mouth to explain, but the words caught in my throat, leaving nothing but a bitter ache.
Back then, just a single frown from me would make Mom worry and fuss over me for ages.
But now, I was nothing more than the thief who stole her real daughter's life for twenty years. Even just existing felt like a crime.
"Mom, I didn't push her," I said.
"Shut up! Don't call me Mom. It disgusts me," she snapped.
Her words left me reeling, like I'd just been slapped across the face.
Danny came up from behind, not even looking at Mom or Jillian.
He bent down and effortlessly picked me up from the ground, his eyes locked on my bleeding knee.
"Iris, how did you get yourself dirty again?" Danny said.
His voice was calm, but there was an unsettling coldness to it, like the stillness before a storm.
He glanced at Mom, his tone flat and unyielding. "Mrs. Feron, since Iris is no longer part of the Feron family, you don't need to concern yourself with her anymore.
"Whatever happens to her will be my business."
He carried me in his arms and walked away without hesitation, his steps firm and resolute.
Jillian called out behind us, her voice full of frustration, "Brother, I'm your real sister. Why are you protecting the fake one?"
Danny stopped and turned around.
It was the first time he'd actually looked at Jillian.
His gaze was icy, like he was staring at trash on the roadside without a hint of warmth.
"Real sister?" Danny let out a mocking laugh, his eyes settling on me. His voice was so gentle that it made my skin crawl. "I've never wanted a real sister. The only one I want is Iris."
The ride back to the villa was suffocating. The tension in the car was so thick that I could barely breathe.
Danny drove with one hand, clutching my left hand in a possessive grip, as if he was afraid I might slip away.