Chapter 2

Iris Hart POV

My face went pale as I stared at the scene, frozen. My heart suddenly felt like it had cracked open, cold wind pouring into the fissure, chilling me until I couldn't stop trembling.

River quickly jumped up, her face flushed as she lowered her head, a sly smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You... how did you get here? Didn't you say you had something really important today?"

Sebastian ruffled her hair, his voice helpless yet indulgent. "It's nothing major. You said you were hurt-let me see how bad it is."

River deliberately hid her right hand behind her back. "It's nothing, nothing-just a small cut."

Sebastian caught sight of the wound on her finger and pulled a Band-Aid from his bag, crouching down to carefully apply it for her.

I couldn't help but think of the past. I used to get bumps and scrapes all the time as a kid. At some point, Sebastian had made it a habit to always carry Band-Aids in his pocket. He'd once told me they were exclusively mine.

But now... I felt dazed and instinctively stepped back, accidentally kicking something.

They both looked over at once. I turned and ran.

"Iris!"

He caught up to me, breathless, and we both stopped at the same time. I didn't turn around, just listened to him scramble to explain. "It's not what you think. That was just an accident."

"I know." I took a deep breath, staring hard at the ground.

He seemed flustered. "Iris, I didn't mean to lie to you. I was just afraid you'd be upset if you found out."

I turned around, my expression calm.

"I just happened to pass by. I'm not upset. Where you go is your freedom."

River had also caught up, looking at me cautiously. Sebastian seemed afraid I'd scold her and quickly stepped in front of her. "Now that we've cleared up the misunderstanding, let me take you home."

I didn't want to keep arguing, so I nodded.

"River, you should head home early too." He turned back to tell her.

She smiled bitterly and shook her head. "Sebastian, you two go ahead. I still have goods to move. If I'm not done by ten tonight, my supervisor will dock my pay."

Sebastian's brow furrowed in displeasure. "You're new part-time staff-why are they making you do all this?!"

"I can only blame myself for being poor." She wiped away tears and started heading back to the warehouse, but Sebastian grabbed her wrist.

"I'll help you move them." He said to me, "Iris, go home and rest early. Don't wait up for me."

Watching him walk away side by side with River without a second thought, I just stood there, looking more and more alone.

Most of the streetlights in the old district were broken. The road was dark and cold. I walked alone, shivering. Suddenly, I heard a low growl. A large dog was baring its teeth at me, staring me down. Fear made my legs weak. I turned and ran.

A sharp pain shot through my calf, and blood started running down. A kind stranger helped drive the vicious dog away. By the time I dragged my injured leg to the district hospital, dawn was nearly breaking.

After getting the rabies vaccine, I turned my phone back on. Missed calls and messages started popping up one after another. I silently turned off the screen and closed my eyes.

"Iris! Iris!"

A familiar voice rang out. I thought I was dreaming. When I opened my eyes, it really was Sebastian's anxious face.