138 Parental Pressure 5 (1/2)

”Come, let's sit do—”

Iris didn't let him finish. ”It's fine, just say it now.” She crossed her arms, hugging herself, but her eyes never moved away from Kyro. If this had to happen, then she'd rather hear it right away, without any pleasantries. It'd be fast and painful, but at least over soon.

His expression faltered for a second, as if he wasn't certain what he wanted to do himself, but he swiftly schooled it into the cold mask she was getting oh so familiar with.

”You're not turning back into a fox,” he stated, For a time after, he didn't say anything else, and she nodded in confirmation. This was a fact. ”Yet you still don't want to return home.”

'Home? Aren't I home already?' She looked around, puzzled by his words. Then, she realized her mistake. He wasn't referring to his home, but hers. The other country, the other life.

His statement was true, but she wasn't certain she wanted to let him know that. It was quite pathetic, even she herself thought that way. But if she lied, wouldn't he think that she stayed just because she wanted to freeload off of him?

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly inclined her head. The direction he was moving in made no sense to her.

”What are you planning to do then?”

”Me?” she asked, stunned for a moment. ”Since when is it my place to choose? You rule here.”

His expression darkened. But before she could think of defensive measures, he closed his eyes and calmed himself. His voice next was no different from before. ”I'm trying to be nice here, but you're making it quite hard.”

”Hard how? I'm not the one who's thinking to throw another onto the streets without anything!” This was uncalled for, and Iris knew it the moment she said it. ”I'm sorry…”

”Is that how you see me?” he asked, ignoring her apology. There was no inflection in his voice, but the fact that she didn't notice any anger after such a blunder scared her. He had to be beyond furious inside.

”I'm sorry, I didn't mean that,” she repeated, feeling like she'd done something unforgivable. He had always been kind to her, and she… she said that.

Her thoughts ran at a hundred miles per second, but no way to save the situation came to her. If he ignored her apologies, what else could she say?