Near home, Iris changed back into her fox form, and they returned without any problems. Kyro was somewhat downcast, clearly unhappy with how the evening had concluded. Not only did his plan to gain Mark's support fail, even his friend ended up furious.
Iris wanted to say that it was something that couldn't have been predicted, but Kyro stayed on the first floor, watching a sports channel with his dad while not speaking, so she couldn't change.
The next day, when he left, she waited for a bit before dressing up and going downstairs. She listened closely to not run into Kyro's parents, then quickly escaped the house. In her purse was Kyro's old phone with a new card he'd gotten her and her old credit card. It hadn't been taken since it was under Kyro's name and not hers.
While in the taxi, she tried to learn everything there was to learn about Elise, most importantly places she frequented. It was a bit like shooting blind, but it was pretty much all Iris could do without calling on Kyro. It wasn't like she had friends in the right circles to get her to meet Elise.
There weren't much online, however. Elise seemed to live a peaceful, private life. She wasn't a CEO of anything or entered the scandal sheets, so the journalists didn't talk much about her, only when in association with her brother.
Yet there were still a couple interviews with her. In them, Iris found a few places Elise mentioned to love. One of them was a diner called Home-Cooked Golden Goose, then two cafes - Arty's Cafe and Grimhilda's Corner. Both of them were somewhat small, out of the way places.
It wasn't something that a star fearing cameras would go, but Elise was clearly not the kind of person journalists chased. She could actually walk a street without everyone recognizing her and saying this or that.
The time was too early for dinner, so Iris told the addresses of the cafes to the taxi driver. She knew it was a longshot to find Elise just like that, but she hadn't really thought of that problem before. Having a conversation with someone was one thing, but one had to first meet them.
After asking the taxi driver to wait, Iris stepped out and went to Arty's Cafe. The place was open, but there weren't many people inside. Through the glass windows, Iris could see that Elise wasn't present.
Trying not to lose hope, Iris returned to the taxi. She really didn't want to involve Kyro, but how else could she get in contact with Elise? Her choice of running around cafes sounded stupider with every kilometer.
As expected, the next place was empty too. Only a young couple sat by the window, chatting animatedly about something. Noticing Iris, they smiled, and her lips twitched in an answering greeting even if she didn't feel good.
She was about to retreat back to the taxi when she saw a familiar face on the other side of the street. It was exactly the person she had been looking for, and alone too.
Without a second's consideration, Iris dashed to the other side and called out, "Miss Elise!"
The woman turned, her brows furrowing as she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Do I know you?" she asked, eyeing Iris with puzzlement.
"Sorry," Iris murmured, catching her breath. "I'm Iris Warren, and I'd like to talk to you about something."
"Iris?" Elise said the name slowly, as if tasting it. After a moment, her eyes lit up with recognition. "You're Kyro's girlfriend, aren't you?" She then brought the phone to her ear and said, "Chris, sorry. We'll talk later, okay? … Yeah, sure. I'll call you back in a bit."
That seemed like a good sign, and Iris breathed an internal sigh of relief. She hadn't been certain how Elise might react to a stranger approaching her, but she didn't seem to be too shocked. Her manner didn't show even a hint of surprise or discomfort.
Or dismay for that matter. She either didn't know the rumors, or actually didn't care about them. Whatever the case, Iris was glad for it.
"So Miss Iris, what is it you need me for?"
"Actually, I'm here for you. The men are making deals over your head, but I worried that none of them would bother to ask if you're okay with those deals," Iris said, feeling a bit awkward. She had no idea how to start, so she just blurted out what she was thinking.
A little surprised, Elise raised her eyebrows. "For me? What men do you have in mind?"
"Your brother and Kyro…" She hesitated, then added, "It's about Gale."
Upon hearing that name, Elise's whole complexion paled. She quickly shook it off, but her mood seemed to have fallen by a couple degrees. "I told Mark I was fine, so what is he still doing? That idiot…" She shook her head, then looked around, her eyes falling on Grimhilda's. "Come," she said in a weary voice. "I'd like to hear all of it."
The cafe showed up to be a cat one. The moment they sat down, a lean, blueish-black cat sat down on Elise's knees and began to purr. The woman called it an opportunist, but her hand still went to pats its head and a smile touched her lips.
It quickly disappeared though when she raised her head to look at Iris. "What has my brother done this time?"
For a moment, Iris wondered how much she should say. Was it a business secret? But she was already there; it was too late to start thinking about what she was doing.
"He promised a deal to Kyro if he could convince Gale to ask you out. It didn't matter whether you agreed or refused, just the fact that he'd call on you in public."
Elise's hand on the cat froze. "He did what?" Her voice trembled a little. "Please tell me you're joking," she begged.
When Iris shook her head, Elise leaned on the table, her face in her hands. "I can't believe it. Mark, that idiot… How could I possibly face him..." Her fingers tangled in her hair as she pulled on them with more than a little force.
The next moment, she raised her head to look Iris straight in the eyes. "Do you think a person can die of mortification?" she asked with seriousness.
"I-I… No, of course not.."
Iris was at a loss. The turn of events was totally out of her expectations. Wasn't Elise supposed to be angry and furious? Feel dislike for Gale even if what happened back in the day was behind her?
"I guess he never told you what happened." Elise caressed the black cat's head, looking at it and not Iris. "I thought I could live my life out with that skeleton safely stuffed in the closet, but Mark… I love you dear brother, but sometimes you're such a pain. Why would you ever do something like that to me?"
For a time, Iris waited, but since Elise didn't seem inclined to speak, she asked, "What happened?"
"Before that, I need some answers." She looked up, her eyes clear and cold. "What are you really doing here? If you're not here to confront me about what happened, why bother to come? Shouldn't Gale be the bad guy and not me?"
"Bad guy?" Iris quickly shook her head.
A waiter came at that moment, and both of them ordered tea with a cheesecake. During the intermission, Iris managed to collect her thoughts somewhat. It seemed that there was even more to the story than she'd been told. Even Kyro showed up to not have known the full version.
When they were alone again, Iris let the smile she had for the waiter slip from her face. "I don't think that what Gale did was right, but he's been through a lot. And now he's trying to be better for his sister's sake, even if he's faltering on every step. My only goal today is to figure out if trying to convince him to ask you out for your reputation is actually a good move."
"You're a friend then?"
"Of his sister more than him," Iris said with a sheepish laugh.
It brought a small smile to Elise's face before she sighed. "That's reasonable." She shifted her gaze back to the cat purring on her knees. "I've never told this to anyone, finding it too embarrassing. Not even Mark knows of it. But I think it's time I dragged it to the light."
The waiter delivered their orders, and Iris took a sip of her ginger tea. It was bitter, but Elise seemed to enjoy it. After a minute more to collect her thoughts, she said, "Gale isn't actually like the rumors paint him. After the first couple months, once he realized my situation, he approached me when I was alone in a classroom. I was delighted, thinking that he'd fallen for my beauty or intellect or natural charm, but instead of that, he asked if I wanted to go out with him to stop the wagging tongues.
"Pity was something I had never expected to hear. At least not from him. Wasn't he dating every girl he saw? Then why was I only a pity case? Fury had clouded my thoughts at that moment, and I refused him with prideful righteousness. I called him names, with 'misogynistic pig' being only mid-level one, and threw what was closest at him."
Her expression hardened at that moment, like she was remembering something extremely distasteful and had a hard time keeping it from showing. "Pens spilled out from the pencase, clattering on the ground around him. It couldn't have possibly hurt him, but his expression had twisted like I've punched him in the gut. After that, I ran out of the classroom, even forgetting to take my backpa— What's wrong?"
There was nothing wrong, just that... Iris knew her face was an unsightly mess at that moment, but the choice Elise had made... Why did she have to throw pens at him? Did she have to rub salt on his wound?
"You might as well have punched him," she murmured, suddenly feeling sorry for Gale. He wasn't a model human being, but he sure was as unlucky as a person could get.