Fake Daughter Is The Real Legend (Iris Sutton) novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150 Provocation

༥༩

Finished

Leaving her backpack beside Ares, Iris switched on her phone’s flashlight and searched the cave walls.

“Looking for this?”

Ares called. He pointed toward a flame-shaped symbol carved into the rock.

“Yes. There should be firewood nearby.”

The moment she spotted the mark, she relaxed.

Walking deeper into the cave, she disappeared for a short while before returning with an armful of dry firewood.

Seeing the curiosity in his eyes, she cleared her throat.

“I carved that when I was little. I liked playing treasure hunts.”

Jet Xu had gone through a phase where he loved searching for hidden bases with her.

Every time they found one, they’d carve a special symbol nearby.

Although the cave protected them from the wind and rain, both of them were soaked through.

The mountain air had turned bitterly cold.

Without a fire, catching a cold would be the least of their worries.

For someone with an injury like Ares, infection was the bigger concern.

“They’re still dry.”

Helping him move farther inside. Iris quickly built a fire.

Soon, warm flames crackled between them.

Ares watched her skillfully arrange the wood before smiling.

“You are surprisingly good at wilderness survival.” His tone was teasing.

She’d handled everything with practiced ease.

Considering she’d once been the heiress of the Sutton family-even if they weren’t among the country’s wealthiest families-he hadn’t expected her to know these kinds of survival skills.

1/7

18:40 Wed, Oct 14

Chapter 150 Provocation

Finished

I’m not that experienced. Practice makes perfect.”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

The dancing firelight reflected in her eyes, softening the coldness that usually surrounded her.

… Nothing.”

Silence settled between them.

Ares didn’t press her. He rested one elbow on his raised knee, leaned against the cave wall, and simply watched her.

The cave became too quiet.

Finally…

“It really is nothing.”

“When I was little, I got kidnapped once in a while. Sometimes they received the ransom.”

“Sometimes…” She paused. “They were too busy. If no ransom came. I’d find a way to escape. hide alone in the wilderness for a day or two.”

“That’s how my mentor found me.”

She said it as casually as if she were talking about someone else’s life.

Ares’ chest tightened painfully. He found it impossible to reconcile that story with the tiny, smiling little girl in the photographs upstairs.

That child…

Had struggled free from ropes.

Had run alone through the wilderness.

Back then, the Sutton family still believed she was their biological daughter.

Yet they’d neglected her that badly?

“Do you hate them?”

As she warmed her hands over the fire, Ares quietly covered them with his own.

If she still hated them… he wouldn’t mind making the Sutton family pay.

I’d

217

18:40 Wed, Oct 14

Chauler 150 Provocation

Finished

Iris shook her head.

“I used to. But later I realized there wasn’t any point.”

After she’d left, the Sutton family’s business had collapsed into steady decline. For years, she’d been the one quietly carrying the company. Without her, the building was already falling apart on its own.

When you became strong enough…

Some people simply stopped being worth your energy.

Besides-

She had people she truly cherished now.

She changed the subject.

“Were you following me…”

“…or were you really here to find my master?”

“I’ve been looking for you all this time.” Ares smiled. “You knew that, didn’t you?”

Iris said nothing. Only the faint smile at the corner of her lips gave her away.

“When I couldn’t find Zero, I figured finding Zero’s master would give me another option. I never expected to uncover your biggest secret instead.”

By now, her hands had long since warmed up.

Yet he still kept them enclosed in his own, his thumb occasionally brushing across her fingers.

“So…”

“If I shake you a little…”

“Will a few more hidden identities fall out?”

Iris quietly looked away.

If hidden identities counted…

She really did have several more.

She refused to lose this conversation. “What about you?”

3/7

18:40 Wed, Oct 14

Chapter 150 Provecation

Ares’ eyes curved into a smile. “You can ask me anything. I’ll answer honestly.”

The two chatted back and forth like that.

Iris spoke very little.

160

Finished

Ares occasionally teased her just to coax another response.

Sometime after midnight, the rain finally weakened.

Leaning against each other, they gradually drifted to sleep.

After the storm, the scent of damp earth filled the air.

The steady dripping of water finally woke Iris.

She sat up.

18:40 Wed, Oct 14

“What?” Ares frowned, completely thrown by the sudden remark. “Have we met before?”

18:40 Wed, Oct 14

And there’s no way he’d have forgotten to shut the front door in weather like last night’s.”

Something was wrong.