After the Cold Marriage His Crazy Love (Iris and Julian) novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8 It Was Already Broken

Iris pulled the phone away from her ear. She’d heard this speech a thousand times.

Whenever the money stopped, the guilt trips started.

She’d grown up in a remote, dirt–poor Appalachian town, tucked deep in the hills where no one ever seemed to leave. Her parents never finished school–could barely read or write–and scraped by working odd jobs and farming a patch of land that hardly produced enough to feed them.

They’d always wanted sons.

Kids were mouths to feed, and girls were just one more burden. Her parents had more children than they could care for–mostly daughters—and nearly all of them ended up in foster care, passed off to distant relatives or strangers. Only the oldest girl stayed, and even she barely kept in touch.

Iris and her brother were fraternal twins, the last in line. Their older sister was already in high school by the time they were born.

When Iris was six, her parents tried to give her up too–some distant cousin’s neighbor had offered a couple hundred bucks to take her in. Her brother had wrapped his arms around her and refused to let go, screaming and kicking until they gave up.

He wasn’t a great student. Never had been.

But she was different. She was sharp, fast, curious. A natural.

By the time she hit middle school, her brother had already dropped out. He packed up and left for the city, taking whatever low–wage job he could find just to send money home so she could stay in school.

Their parents fought him on it every step of the way, but he never budged. He’d always say, “You have to study. Get out of here. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure you go to college.”

He adored her.

Years later, when she finally had money, she bought him a house, helped him get married, and even invested in his fruit shop.

But the business never took off.

Now her parents blamed her. If she hadn’t existed, they said, he would’ve become someone important. They’d all be rich.

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Chapter 8 It Was Already Broken

Her phone buzzed again. The yelling had stopped.

Finished

She raised it to her ear. “Mom, I’ve got a few hundred left. I’ll send it to your Venmo. When my next check comes in, I’ll send more.”

Her mother snapped again. “What kind of man did you marry? He looks rich, but he’s stingy as hell. Doesn’t help us at all. You should just divorce him. Find someone new. You’re young, pretty, educated. You could do way better. And don’t forget, there’s the new engagement gift. We’d get a nice cut.”

Iris hung up. The despair came back like a wave. She transferred the last few hundred dollars in her account and set the phone down.

If she really got divorced, her parents would drag her into another marriage just for the cash.

The thought made her laugh. She curled into the couch, stuck between nowhere and nowhere else.

The next morning was gray and still. The kind of sky that promised rain but hadn’t decided when to start.

Dry wind rattled the windows. Iris sat at the table, waiting. The clock read 9:45.

A door creaked open. Julian walked out of the bedroom.

He headed toward the kitchen. When he saw her sitting there, he paused for two full seconds, then glanced at the clock.

His expression darkened, but he said nothing. He grabbed a glass of ice water and sat across from her.

No breakfast on the table. He took a sip of water, calm but cold. “You waiting for me?”

Iris looked up at him. No matter how many years passed, she still found him beautiful.

Those deep eyes could make anything feel like a love story. Just a plain white shirt and black slacks, but somehow he looked effortlessly elegant. Like he was born with it.

She’d spent the whole night thinking.

Two years into this marriage, and despite all the rumors about him and other women–despite the coldness at home, the complete lack of intimacy–she’d stayed. She’d endured it all, because she loved him that much.

Part of it was her work. She was always so busy, it was easier to bury everything under deadlines and meetings than to face what was missing.

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Chapter 8 It Was Already Broken

The other part was just… who she was.

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