Arriving in front of her house, it was now too late for Joshua to escape, he had to help her go inside. He hesitated a little before entering the door, she had just opened with her fingerprint.
Setting her down on the large couch that took up half of her resting area, he sat down next to her to catch his breath and admire the splendor of her home. To his surprise, Iris' home was not as luxurious as one would expect. The living room was large, but the decoration was very simple and in cool tones, it didn't even look like someone was living in there.
Joshua felt a little uncomfortable sitting there, and could not help thinking, 'why would someone like Iris live in a place like this? ' There was no warmth in the flat, even when the heater was on, it somehow felt cold and too lonely. Did she really have no one next to her?
At first, he wanted to leave after helping her into the house, thinking that someone would be there to help her and take care of her, but now it seemed like there was no one. His heart clenched a little as he frowned and tried to decide what to do. It seemed a little inappropriate to be there alone with a woman, but he couldn't leave her there alone either, knowing that she was not feeling well.
Iris seemed to understand Joshua's dilemma and smiled a little. She really didn't want to spend that night alone, so she took the opportunity to get the young man to stay. She sat up a little tired and looked at him compassionately, "If you want to go, you can, I can stay here alone, I'm accustomed to this… I'll be fine in a few minutes..."
Joshua looked at Iris' pale face and sighed. No one in their right mind would leave someone who was sick alone like that. He wanted to ask her to call someone who would help her, but then he thought about the time and the day it was, surely everyone was enjoying the end of the year with their family.
He looked at Iris with a little pity in his eyes and sighed, "I'll stay with you until you feel better. Did you have at least eaten something today?"
"I… don't remember eating something…" Iris said with her voice getting smaller with every word because Joshua glared at her quite fiercely once she pronounce 'don't'.
"My cooking skills are quite okay; I'll make you something to eat..." I didn't comment on the fact that Iris didn't eat anything all day long, but you could read on his face his displeasure.
Iris smiled in relief as her plan had just worked, and pointed her pretty finger towards the kitchen, "The kitchen is over there, in the fridge are the ingredients, just cook something simple…"
Joshua said nothing and went straight to where she had pointed. The kitchen was huge, bigger than his little flat, with all the kitchen utensils and lots of ingredients in the fridge, all fresh. That was a little unexpected because he had thought her kitchen would be empty, just like her living room. He guessed that she was a really good cook with a kitchen like that.
He grabbed a bowl of rice, took some vegetables and cut a small piece of lean meat, and cooked a broth with vegetables and meat, accompanied by rice. Since Iris had a stomachache, he decided to cook something light. After putting all that on the hotplate, he leaned against the counter in a daze listening to the sound of the pot simmering away.
He didn't know how long he was lost in his thoughts until he noticed a gaze fall on him, and when he turned around, he met Iris' smiling eyes. She had changed her clothes and was wearing a... Rather cute fluffy bear pajamas with a bear-like bonnet and big slippers that looked like bear feet. She was leaning against the door with her arms crossed over her chest, letting her hair, still a little wet, fall unkempt.
It was hard to imagine that the owner of the HARPER Group wore such cute pajamas! She looked completely different when she was home. Joshua couldn't help but chuckle softly as he thought about how she could look like such a little kid. She was really cute.
"Is it going to be ready soon? I am hungry! " She whined, approaching Joshua to see what he was cooking. She had come in because of the wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.
Joshua looked at her with small, surprised eyes. The tone in which she spoke to him was a little too familiar as if she was talking to someone she was used to being with. She walked up to him and looked at him with a bright smile, which made Joshua a little afraid of what was coming next.
He looked at the fire and nodded, "It's almost ready, you ... Can go to the dining room first." His answer was a little awkward, he did not know why, but he was starting to get nervous. He didn't know if she noticed his discomfort, but Iris just smiled gently and go sit back down at the large table to wait for their feast.
When Joshua came out with the delicious food, Iris fiddled with her phone, a small smile on her lips, completely devoid of her usual detached indifference. She truly seemed like a different person.
At that moment, Iris was speaking to Sandra via text message, Joshua put the plate in front of her slowly not to disturb her. As soon as she saw the food, she quickly typed one last text, "Okay, I told you I am fine, I am not lonely at all, I am even about to eat, so leave me alone." She took a picture of her plate and sent it to her curious friend before setting her phone aside, smelling the broth and wrinkling her nose, "It smells so good!"
Joshua stood in front of her and after some thought said, "Since dinner's ready and I see you are feeling much better now... I think I should go..."
"What? Why? You already promised to spend time with me tonight, can't you just stay and have this dinner with me?" How could Iris not know what he was up to; it was so easy to read his expression. She had already get him to come to the house and spend more time with her, how could she let him go now?
Joshua felt that things could escalate if he stayed with her. That night he realized how attracted he was to her, and that was something he feared. He did not want to hurt himself in another failed relationship. To Joshua, the situation looked too much like an interaction between a couple, and that was something he was most afraid of right now. So far, his relationships had failed because of many problems, and he was now really against all the nonsense about relationships, love, and so on.
But at the same time, his heart was burning to sit there and enjoyed this meal with the charming woman in front of him, yet he was sure it was really dangerous to stay there.
When Iris saw that he didn't move, she lowered her eyes: "I am sorry, I am a bit abrupt. I have been alone for a long time, and I was just enjoying having someone to have dinner with me tonight, but... You can go home if you don't feel like it… drive the car, I'll take it back later..." Her look was one of loneliness and she ate her rice silently after saying the words without looking at him.
Joshua immediately remembered the loneliness that surrounded her earlier. She looked really sad and a little lifeless, as if she was waiting for someone to come and take her out of that lonely state. His eyelashes fluttered and he whispered, "I'll have dinner with you."
As Joshua walked into the kitchen, Iris's fingertips, hanging on the table, tapped the tabletop once or twice, her bare manicure betraying a slight hint of slyness. 'He really is a soft-hearted person.' She thought.