Chapter 281: Bonding [2]
Damien exited the bedchamber once Eloise had drifted into sleep. He gathered his scattered papers, intending to tidy them away in his study now so the servants wouldn’t need to be called upon.
On his way to the study, Damien caught sight of Iris. She had been walking ahead but, upon noticing him, attempted to turn quickly in the opposite direction.
"You don’t need to run from me, Iris. I do not despise you," Damien said, halting her retreat. "You can walk by me and say hello. I will do the same with you."
"Oh... I’m sorry," Iris replied, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment as she turned back to face him. "I shouldn’t have avoided you in your own home. I thought you would want to be alone after entertaining so many guests today."
"I do like solitude," Damien admitted, his tone softened by honesty. "But that doesn’t mean we cannot greet one another in passing. I don’t dislike you."
"I suppose you don’t anymore," Iris said, her words hesitant, testing his sincerity.
"Yes, not anymore," Damien agreed. "Well, I once found you to be a nuisance, but that didn’t mean I hated you. You are a guest here, and I shall treat you well. You are also dear to Eloise, so I will do my best to know you."
"That is kind of you, but you truly don’t have to," Iris said, aware he was doing it for Eloise’s sake. "Eloise isn’t here, so we don’t need to force ourselves."
"Iris," Damien said, his stern tone making her stand upright. "You are going to be staying in the estate until your home is ready, and as it seems, you may be here much longer. I would like to understand the person you are. If we don’t try, we will always be at odds."
"You are truly going to try to know me?" Iris asked, suspicious. "I can’t shake the thought that it is because of Eloise. Or, " she narrowed her gaze. "Is it that Zayne asked you to learn more about me?"
Damien’s interest vanished at the assumption of him being a spy. "You should know at once that I don’t care to involve myself in whatever exists between you and Zayne. I am not some spy to gather knowledge of you and carry it back to him. I don’t have the time for such games."
"Right," Iris said, realising it was silly to assume. "Then I welcome that you are trying to know me because you want to. We will indeed be around each other often, so we should understand one another. All I thought I knew of you came from what others said."
"I try to forget your earlier interest," Damien said, his eyes shifting to a portrait on the wall.
"So do I," Iris muttered, embarrassed by her past actions. "Are you truly fine with the fact that I am not entirely against my mother?"
"Yes," Damien said plainly. "I only care whether you would be foolish enough to invite her here. As awful and cruel as she is, she remains your mother, and you only have one. I understand you hold some love for her, and I would never attempt to change that."
"I expect my boundaries to be respected," Damien continued. "Love your mother, but love her from a distance while you are here. Your brother is welcome. He seems a somewhat sensible man."
"I don’t plan to bring my mother here," Iris admitted as she knew what would follow. "In truth, I don’t know if I will ever see her again. I don’t want her coming here to see Zayne and make plans for him. I only want to know that she is well."
"Are your plans for her over?" Iris asked, holding onto some hope that the fight was over.
"I feel she has suffered enough after losing the home. I know I am going to lose my father," Iris said suddenly, sadness washing over her features. "No one needs to say it out loud. He killed her father, and I feel it won’t end with him merely locked away."
"I know my mother supported him, and she mistreated Eloise," Iris continued, her voice breaking slightly. "But hasn’t she suffered enough? Life won’t be easy for her now. She is proud, and knowing she lost everything will wear her down."
"That depends on how your mother acts," Damien said bluntly. "Do not forget she spread lies about your cousin. Even after it was revealed what your father did, she tried to ruin Eloise. I was finished with her, for your father was the one who needed punishment, but..." He paused.
"Your mother keeps finding ways to provoke my wife. If you love her and want her well, then when you find your mother, turn her away. She keeps igniting fights she cannot win. She draws my attention," Damien reminded Iris. "And for that, I respond."
"I know," Iris said, wishing her mother would stop. "If she comes to me, I will do my best to turn her away from troubling Eloise. I don’t like it either. There is no need for Eloise and me to compete. She wasn’t the only one to do it."
"I will stop her this time," Iris promised, but she wasn’t fully convinced she could succeed. "I don’t want any more drama within the family. I won’t disturb the peace you have here. Well, what little peace you do have now," she said, thinking about Camille.
"There would be peace if I rid the estate of everyone," Damien considered. "But Eloise enjoys having them around."
"Well, it is understandable," Iris said softly. "You and I grew up with siblings, so our homes were never quiet. Eloise only had her parents. Her home was silent unless Reece and I visited. The estate is vast, so at times it is quiet, but noisier than her old home."
"You like peace," Iris continued, "But I hope you realise your wife would want a large family. Even if it isn’t your children who make the estate lively, she would enjoy having nieces and nephews around."
"I am not against it," Damien said, awaiting the days their family would grow. "As long as the noise isn’t on our side of the estate. I am curious how you endure Zayne and his peculiar ways. For two years he has lived in darkness. I tripped too many times in his home, yet you arrived and somehow made him change."
"What did you do?" Damien asked.
"I didn’t do anything," Iris said, failing to come up with an answer. "I was tidying his chamber with a candle, and one day he simply let there be light."