No word was exchanged between Iris and Joshua on the road until they reached her house. Iris could not understand his behaviour, she was not the one who had called him, and besides, if he really didn't want to be there, he simply didn't have to come, why should he treat her so coldly now? She had not even flirted with him since they had left the hospital, after he had silenced her in the car with a scowl.
"Okay, I know you don't want to have anything to do with me, but aren't you taking this too far? Am I not even worth a word? Was it really so wrong of my friend to call you?" Iris frowned and looked at Joshua angrily.
"Go inside, I'll go back after I make you something to eat," Joshua did not answer her question, but instead coldly waited for her to open the door.
There it was again, that look! Iris winced when she saw Joshua's icy eyes. The way they pierced her to the bone made her weak, that look made her compliant for some reason and she found her mind and body unable to resist it. She wanted to contradict him, but was unable to speak. She pouted because she didn't like what was becoming of her weak mind when she was with Joshua.
Iris quickly turned her head, swallowed and slowly opened the door without looking at the man. She didn't know why he was so angry, but at this point she was just too tired to deal with him. Not having enough strength to deal with him, she turned her head and looked at him. She sighed, wondering how Joshua could have such power over her. Was it because of her feelings? Or was it because she had not seen this overbearing side of him? Normally he seemed so innocent and friendly, was it just a facade?
Either way, she liked him even better this way! She felt her adrenaline rush when he spoke to her in such an authoritative voice. This was somehow new to her, only her grandfather had such an influence on her, no other man could make her feel so weak like that at the sound of his voice.
"I think it's best if you go back," Iris said and slowly walked into her house, she did not want to stay with an angry Joshua. But as she was about to close the door, his strong hand stopped her movement.
He looked at her with a determined look, "I said I'll leave after I feed you!!!"
He didn't even look at her as he entered the house without a second thought. He opened the shoe closet to take out slippers, and again frowned when he saw the number of men's slippers in that closet. He glanced at Iris, who blinked innocently, not knowing what was going on, before he walked into the kitchen without a word.
Iris scoffed before going to her room to take a shower. She was really tired because she had spent some time in the hospital being hooked up to IVs because. This was not the first time for her, when she was busy with her work, she could not eat or drink for hours. Usually Sandra would call someone to take her home, but this time the damn woman had called Joshua! Maybe he was busy with something and got held up because of her. Was that why he was so angry?
She sighed all the while trying to understand Joshua's anger. After she showered, she went downstairs and a bowl of oatmeal and chicken soup was waiting for her. She sat down where the dishes were and glanced at Joshua, who was still frowning.
"Why are you looking at me? Eat!" He ordered, sitting down in front of her with a challenging look, as if to make her understand that she had no other choice but to eat.
"You don't have to order me to do that! I know when to eat..."
"Obviously you don't!" Joshua's magnetic voice echoed in the house as he practically yelled at Iris.
Iris shivered once again, it had been a long time since someone had spoken to her like that. She wanted to say something, but her words stopped on the tip of her tongue when she saw Joshua's cold face.
"I never thought a billionaire could faint from hunger and dehydration! What's wrong with your brain anyway?" Asked Joshua seriously!
Once again, Iris got the word stuck on her tongue because she didn't know what to answer! She had just been called stupid, even though she was the CEO of one of the largest companies in the country! She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"That's all the more reason for me not to consider you!" added Joshua out of the blue. "I don't like people who don't take good care of their health! Especially women!" Said Joshua before storming out without saying anything else.
Iris stopped there, not knowing what had just happened. She figured he was angry because she was not taking good care of herself, but her work had always taken priority since she lost her grandfather. She didn't have a habit of respecting her eating schedule or stopping work to feed herself, all of that was secondary to her; she never thought it would be something that would bother Joshua that much! She smiled, thinking that he must care for her, for him to act this way. Finally, she could see some hope between them!
After eating every last drop of her dish, she took out her phone and sent Joshua a message with a picture of her finished dishes and the caption "I will not do this again, I promise to eat every meal on time... But your dishes are the best, can I hope to eat some of yours again?" She smiled and sent the text message before going to bed, knowing she would certainly didn't got an answer.
Reading the message, Joshua sighed, sat down on his sofa, looked at himself in the mirror in front of him and frowned! When had he become such a busybody? What did it have to do with him if she ate or not? He wanted to be indifferent and not care about Iris, but he was certain now he could not do that. He knew that his heart had already opened a window for her, even if he didn't want to admit it.
He had spent the last month trying as hard as he could not to think about her, even with her texts. Things were starting to go well until he got the call and rushed to the hospital. He didn't even think for a second before rushing out and reaching the hospital, only to learn that she had fainted from hunger? At that moment, he really could have punched her in the face! He didn't like people who did not care about their health! Life is important and something to cherish!
But thinking about it even more, he chuckled at the ridiculousness of the situation, why was he the one contacted!!!? When he reached the hospital, it was Sandra who showed him Iris' room. He remembered her from the restaurant. She had told him that Iris had no one to stay with because she had something urgent to do, so she had called him!
Joshua could not help but worry about her and think about her situation, was she really that alone? He sighed again at the realisation that his heart was full of worry and beating for her, he wanted to take good care of her, he wanted to be with her!
He bit his lips and tried not to think too much and chase those thoughts out of his head. Joshua had been in love more than once and his relationships rarely ended well! He was cheated on, deceived, ridiculed in public and taken advantage of because of his body! After his last relationship a year ago, he never looked for a woman again and rejected everyone who came to him! He was tired, his life was a mess, he had to focus on finishing his studies, finding a job and most of all taking care of his mother! Once again he looked at himself in the mirror and reminded himself to stop thinking about Iris and get rid of all the dirty thoughts he had, he could not afford it!