JULIAN'S POV
I knew I should stop; I knew that what I was doing was not right, I knew she was right and that what happened should not have happened, but for some reason, I couldn't stop myself. I promised myself that what happened should never happen again, but when I woke up the next morning and she was gone, it did things to me. Then when I came down for breakfast and she wasn't there, I knew she was avoiding me, which should be a good thing, but I was angry. The fact that she wanted me, but she didn't want to want me was very infuriating.
Iris began to squirm as she was trying to get out of my hold. We were still in the hallway, and anybody could walk in on us at any time, including my daughters, but I didn't care. I enjoyed having Iris close to me.
"Julian, please let me go." She demanded as she glared at me.
I took a step back from her, but we were still very close to each other. "Don't do that to me again. You cannot decide to ignore my existence for almost two months after our marriage and think you can come back to claim me. I'm not giving you the chance to hurt me again! So just do us both a favor and leave me alone. It was a one-time thing. Just keep on pretending like I don't exist." She practically yelled before she stormed off.
I stared at her as she walked into her room and slammed the door shut. The reality of her words dawned on me like a bucket of cold water on my head. "I'm not giving you the chance to hurt me again."
"...keep pretending like I don't exist." If only it were that easy, but no matter how hard I tried, I was pulled to her like a moth to a flame. But she was right, this was only going to end badly for her, and it was selfish of me to keep pursuing something that would only end up hurting her.
Dejected, I went back to my room and tried to get some work done so I would have to think about my wife and how much she hated me.
***
The next morning, it took all the strength I had in me to pull myself out of bed and get ready for work. For some reason, I didn't feel as motivated as I usually was on a Monday morning. I went downstairs to have breakfast with the kids. I was very sure Iris would not be joining us this morning.
Zoey and Zara sat at the dining table making noise as usual. The sight of my girls in their cute uniforms brought warmth to my chest. They were the two most precious things in the world to me and I loved them dearly.
"Good morning, darlings," I said as I placed a kiss on each of their cheeks.
"Daddy, are you coming to get us from school today?" Zoey asked, looking hopeful.
"I can try, but if I'm not able to make it, someone else will come for you," I said, causing looks of disappointment to appear on their faces.
"I'm sorry girls. I just don't want to make a promise I can't keep. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you. We can go to the zoo on Saturday." I said and that seemed to pacify them.
As the girls chattered on and on about their day, my mind traveled back to Iris. The look on her face when she spoke, the look of hurt and her words had haunted me all through the night. It caused pain in my chest, pain because of guilt, and something more.
The girl's school bus had arrived, and I escorted them to the door along with Agatha who walked them to the bus stop. They enjoyed taking the bus and that was why I allowed them.
I gave each of them a hug and bid them goodbye, then I went to get my briefcase. Iris walked down the staircase, obviously ready for work and as she approached, I could not take my eyes off her. She looked gorgeous in the grey corporate gown that she was wearing. She let her hair fly free and she wore heels that made her already long legs look longer. The way she looked; she could make even the strongest war soldiers bow down to their knees.
I shook my head to bring myself out of a daze. Iris didn't even spare me a glance as she walked past me and out of the house.
What was happening to me? A couple of months ago, I had more control than this over myself. The problem was that I allowed myself a taste of something incredible and now I wanted more. I could not get enough of it.
The fact that Iris could no longer stand to be in my presence was very unsettling for me and I wondered if I could go on like this.
Willing myself to push all thoughts of Iris out of my head, I walked out of the house and went to work.
When I walked into the office, my assistant reminded me that I had an appointment with one of our investors at a restaurant downtown in an hour, so I worked till it was time to go and then I drove there. The restaurant was close to Iris' father's company, and I wondered what her reaction would be if I stopped by for a visit after my meeting. I knew it was a bad idea, but lately, I have been doing a lot of things that have been very bad ideas lately, what was one more?
When I got into the restaurant, the investor was already waiting for me. "Hello, Mr. Stapleton. I am sorry to keep you waiting." I told him as I took his hand in a firm handshake and took the seat opposite his own.
"That's okay. I have not been here long." He said and I nodded. We began to talk about possible stocks he could buy from the company. The conversation was going well when I looked up and saw Iris walking into the restaurant with a man. I stopped listening to what the man was saying as my blood began to boil. The man looked like one of those GQ models and I didn't like the way he looked at Iris like he wanted to eat her. Didn't he know she was a married woman? I wanted to squeeze his head till all the blood poured out of it.
Then almost like she could feel my gaze on her, Iris stared directly at me. Our eyes locked and soon the entire restaurant disappeared, it was just me and her.