Chapter Twenty-Seven
I'm still furious with Axel in the morning, but I know I need to act like an adult and talk to him. I eat breakfast by myself, knowing he'll be sleeping in with one hell of a hangover. After I eat, I take my dishes into the kitchen for Renton. He looks at me sheepishly.
"Iris, I hope I didn't upset you by not tell you the truth as well. You see, I was-"
"Renton, I understand. You work for Axel. It's practically part of your job description to keep his secrets. I promise I have no ill feelings towards you," I interrupt with a smile. He smiles back and nods. I hear a chair in the dining room move, and a knot forms in my stomach. I grimace and head back to the dining room. It's now or never.
His eyes jump up to me from where he's sitting, and he looks surprised when I sit down across from him. I fold my hands in front of me and fix him with a steely gaze.
"Good morning," I say clearly.
"M-Morning," he stutters.
"Obviously, we have a few things to talk about, don't we?" I ask rhetorically. He nods, but doesn't say anything, allowing me to direct this conversation. I sigh. "Well, I suppose I'll just start with the most basic question. Why did you keep this from me, Axel?" I ask. I can't keep the slight quiver out of my voice, and I mentally admonish myself for it. To my surprise, Axel runs his hands through his hair and swears under his breath.
"What do you want me to say, Iris? Nothing I tell you is going to be what you want to hear," he says irritably. I arch an eyebrow at him.
"I want the truth, Axel. I think I deserve that much, don't you?" He drops his hands from his hair and stares at me for a moment.
"I…I don't know. I thought it might be better if you didn't know," he says. Anger coils in my stomach, but I keep my calm.
"For who exactly? For me or for you?" I ask evenly.
"Both!" he says adamantly. "If you didn't know, you could move on from your past and start a life with me. I figured if you knew, you'd want to leave and try to do something about it."
"And you thought I'd never find out?"
"Like I said yesterday, I hoped." I purse my lips.
"Any other reasons?" I ask, trying to keep my voice measured. He thinks for a moment.
"I guess I just didn't want to cause you anymore pain. You've already been through so much. I knew it'd hurt more if you knew the truth," he mumbles. I pause, processing this information.
"You're not forgiven, and I don't want you to think you are, but what exactly did happen? Obviously, you know more about what really happened than I do," I mumble angrily. He winces.
"The story goes that your brother had your parents killed and you and your sister sold into the slave market so he could take over the throne without anyone interfering," Axel explains. I frown.
"And then he enacted all these terrible laws and policies?" I ask. Axel nods. My frown deepens and I shake my head. "I…That doesn't sound right," I mumble. "He always told me he didn't want to rule. I can't see him doing all those things…"
"Maybe you didn't know him as well as you thought," Axel murmurs. I snap my eyes back up to him in a cold glare.
"I'm sorry? I didn't know him well? He's my brother, Axel! Quite frankly, you've never even met him, so you don't know anything about him. I grew up with him, for God's sake," I hiss, losing control of my calm for a moment.
"Well, the standing evidence really piles against him," Axel says back vehemently. I glare at him while my mind churns. While Axel is right about that, I still feel in my gut like something's wrong.
"I need to go see him," I say a moment later. Axel's eyebrows shoot up and he looks ready to laugh.
"I don't think so," he says. There's definitely laughter in his voice. My eyes narrow.
"Let me rephrase that: I am going to go see him," I say defiantly.
"Like hell you are," he responds. I stand up, my chair falling backwards.
"He's my brother, and there is something fishy about all of this! I need to know what's going on," I say, trying to intimidate him with my gaze. He stands up too, towering over me. I don't break.
"You want to know what's going on? Look at the world around you, Iris. Look at the facts. Your brother sold you and your sister to get you out of the way. He had your parents killed. You go see him, and he'll probably have you killed too!"
"If he did all that, then why did he try to hide me? Where was my sister during everything? She sure as hell wasn't in that car or with the breakers or in Kelvin's shop. Why would those men have hit him if he had hired them to kill our parents? None of it adds up!" I shout, slamming my fist on the table.
"I don't have all the answers, Iris," Axel says with a sigh, but his eyes say he's not giving in.
"I need all the answers," I say, holding my ground as well. He glares at me.
"Well that's too bad since you're not going to get them." I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to throw another dish.
"And how exactly do you intend to prevent me from leaving?" I ask. He actually grins at this and laughs coldly.
"Do we need a replay of your first night here, Iris?" I sneer and groan angrily. I reach for a dish, but his hand locks around my wrist. "I don't think so," he hisses while squeezing my wrist slightly. I snatch it back from him before storming out of the room. In the foyer, I can't help it as my hand pushes down another vase. As it smashes, I hear Axel growl. "Seriously?" he shouts. I'm a few steps up the stairs when he crashes through the dining room door.
"You have too many vases anyway," I say simply and hurry up the rest of the stairs. I run into my room, but Axel's too fast this time. Before I can lock it, he's slammed my door open and advances on me quickly. I lose my resolve and let him back me into a wall. I swing a hand out to hit him, but he grabs both my wrists and pins them to the wall on either side of my head. He presses his body against mine to keep me from kicking out at him.
"Two vases and even more dishes? What is your problem?" he forces out from gritted teeth. The fire in his eyes isn't warm and passionate now; it's dangerous. I glare up at him, trying to hide my fear.
"What're you going to do? Hit me? Treat me like the slave I am?" I spit out. He looks like he really would like to. He closes his eyes tightly and takes a deep breath before opening them back up. He looks calmer, but the fire in his eyes is still fierce.
"Iris…please… try to understand. I don't want to see you get hurt," he says softly. His grip on my wrists and pressure on my body slacken. He's looking at me resolutely still, but there's a hint of desperation in his expression now.
"Forcing me to stay here will hurt me the same amount, just in a different way, Axel. I need to talk to him. I need to find out the truth. I need to know that there's nothing I can do before I just throw in the towel. If you only ever do one thing for me again, Axel, do this," I say quietly, trying with all my might to get him to concede. He searches my eyes for a moment.
"I don't want to lose you," he whispers, dropping my wrists, but keeping his hands against the wall. I bring my hands up to touch his face.
"Axel…if you force me to stay, losing me will be guaranteed," I whisper back, stroking his cheeks. He leans into one of my hands and closes his eyes. Moments later, he drops his face to my shoulder, and I know I've won.