Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Iris’s POV

“Who is Evie?” Jasmine’s voice was soft, and filled with curiosity.

My chest squeezed tightly. But I kept my eyes on the kids, pretending I hadn’t heard her. Maybe if I ignored it, she would get the hint, and let it go.

Unfortunately, she didn’t do that.

“Iris,” Jasmine pressed again, “Who’s Evie?”

The sound of that name on her lips felt like someone scratching their nails over a chalkboard. My throat tightened, and I cleared my throat.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered quickly

She furrowed her eyebrows slowly. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it, alright?” My voice snapped out sharper than I had intended.

It rang out sharply through the noise of the children playing. Some of them even turned to glance at me before going back to their games. Heat rushed into my face, and I exhaled sharply.

The silence between us was heavy and tense.

Jasmine opened her mouth like she wanted to say more, but she shut it again. Shane shifted uncomfortably nearby. He was pretending to be focused on a group of boys trying to build something out of sticks, but I could feel his attention on me.

I hated this.

I hated that Jasmine was looking at me not with anger but with concern, which made me feel

worse.

I stood to my feet. “I’m done here.”

Jasmine tried to reach out. “Iris-”

But I had already turned away.

The kids noticed immediately. One little boy rushed in front of me, blocking my way as he stared up at me with wide, worried eyes. “You’re leaving?”

More of them rushed towards me, surrounding me.

“Don’t go yet!” one girl pleaded, tapping my hand softly.

“You promised to help me climb the slide again!” another pleaded.

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“When will you come back?” a boy asked, looking as if I might disappear forever if he let me leave now.

For a second, my throat tightened. Their arms were around me as they pleaded with me to stay.

I forced myself to bend down to their level, trying to smile. “Hey, hey. I’m not running away.”

“Then stay!”

I chuckled weakly. “I can’t stay forever. I’ve got grown-up things I have to do.”

They all frowned at the same time with disappointment on their faces. I almost winced.

One girl’s lip shook. “Will you really come back?”

I hesitated. Their innocent eyes stared up at me. I couldn’t tell them that I wasn’t sure I wanted to come back, because coming here reminded me too much of the past.

“I’ll come back,” I said finally, forcing the words out. “Very soon. Okay?”

They looked at each other, still looking doubtful, but after a moment, some of them nodded slowly. The girl with the tangled shoelaces gave me a small smile.

“Promise?”

“Promise,” I whispered.

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