Kash:

"That is awful. How are my babies?" Iris whispered on the call, sounding distraught at what was happening at the mansion.

I did not want to give her any pain or stress her out, but I had to give her the news.

There was a warrior whose number I had saved in my phone, and it connected me with Iris so I could stay in contact with her.

It was not easy for me to stay away from her, honestly.

"Baby, you’re coming back. That is all I know," I said on the call, lying on the couch and holding a ball in my hand. I tossed it to the wall and caught it again.

"As for the children, do not worry. They are fine," I assured her.

However, I was angry at how Lara had yelled at my children. I mean, of course, her time had come.

There was no way I was going to let her stay any longer.

I had already shown my mother how crazy and abusive she could be.

Now I did not need to drag it on. I just wanted Iris back, and that would only happen once Lara was gone.

"When?"

When Iris asked, I expected her to pout, and it made me smile.

"Tomorrow," I said.

As the word left my lips, I heard her go silent before she yelled, "Kash, I’m serious," she complained.

"And what makes you think I’m not serious?" I groaned at her playfully.

"Zoe just texted me and said she told my mother everything. So do not worry, my mother is already feeling guilty. Hence, we do not need to drag it on."

I got up from the couch, fixing my shirt because now I had to go for dinner.

"Really? Is it tomorrow? I cannot believe it is. The time has arrived," Iris expressed her shock and surprise in the gentlest tone.

I could already tell that she had been waiting for this day. And why not? It had been more than three weeks now.

Three weeks that I had not been able to watch my wife at home, to see the queen she is. And three whole weeks where she had not been able to hug our children.

Although I would take them out for walks or to the playground, I would do a video call where her call stayed on mute so she could see the children.

But that was not enough. She needed to be here physically.

"Yeah, so get ready. Tomorrow there will be the last part of the show. And then nobody will ever be able to separate us," I promised her, hearing her giggle on the other side.

We spoke for a few more minutes before I cut the call because I was afraid Lara would come and listen. I did not want to ruin the surprise for Lara.

Everything was going exactly the way I wanted.

Lara had revealed her true nature.

She had not wasted even a second before starting the chaos.

I did not know why they had forgotten that there were cameras all over the house.

After Iris left, those cameras had been activated again, and I had already seen the way Lara attacked my mother there.

I mean, I knew my mother had not treated Iris well.

But what son would enjoy watching his mother being abused? I believed in justice.

Just because my mother had been rude did not mean I would stand there and watch her being beaten.

Lara’s actions were wrong. I was infuriated.

But somewhere, I knew my mother needed that dose.

Maybe it was necessary for her to realize how many times she had humiliated Iris from beginning to end.

Iris never deserved any of it.

At the end of the day, what happened to Iris was deeply wrong. It had been wrong before, and it was still wrong now.

The strange thing was that my mother had known from the start that Lara had cheated on me.

Even then, she chose Lara over Iris.

She believed Iris came from the woods, that she was either some kind of spy or a gold digger.

It did not matter what Iris had been in front of her.

She had become blind, both to Lara’s manipulations and to her own jealousy.

And then the final round of the game had arrived.

By tomorrow morning, everything was going to change.

I had already made my decision. Just as Lara wanted, my mother and my sister would leave this house.

By the time I finished my shower and got ready for dinner, Lara had already turned the whole place into a celebration.

When I arrived at the dining table, dish after dish covered it.

My mother and Zoe were already present at the table.

My children sat quietly, unaware that their father would soon bring their mother back.

"Everyone start eating," I said, gesturing with my hand.

"Are you really going to kick us out?" my mother asked again, her voice broken.

I sighed and tiredly stretched my neck back.

"Have we not talked about this before?" I commented.

Then my eyes moved to Lara.

She was mouthing something to me, and then I realized she was asking me to give them the keys so the matter could be settled once and for all.

"I think Lara has something to say," I mumbled, giving her the authority to speak.

It made her spine straighten even more. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Did she really think an alpha king like me would blindly accept whatever she said?

As if I would not even listen to my children who told me she had abused them.

But of course, I had to. I had to silently endure her nonsense.

"Actually, um, Kash had picked a mansion for you guys," Lara murmured sweetly, still trying to sound like a cute puppy who had no idea what was happening around her.

My mother grunted as she looked at her. Then she turned back to me.

There were big tears in her eyes.

"Kash, please tell me this is not true," my mother pleaded.

"Mother, it is true," I replied calmly.

"And why not? Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m giving you the best mansion?" I added casually, acting as if I had no clue what was happening behind my back.

"You don’t understand. This woman is lying to you. She is not as nice as she pretends to be," my mother uttered, pointing at Lara.

Lara gasped and placed a hand on her chest.

"I am so nice to you, yet you are saying all that about me," Lara complained, bringing tears to her eyes.

I had no idea how she managed it, but she was clever. Every few seconds, she somehow filled her eyes with tears.

She was a great actress, that much I could say.

"I think it is for the best if we do not talk about this again," I said. "The decision has been made. So please."

I gestured toward them with my hand.

"Then I want to tell you something about Iris. At least bring her back. She is an innocent child," my mother insisted.

Suddenly she started talking about Iris, and Lara gasped.

"What are you talking about? Don’t you remember everything?" Lara spoke up, shocked that she was suddenly taking Iris’s side.

"Enough," I snapped. "I don’t want to hear anything about Iris again. She’s gone, and nothing, nothing will ever bring her back."

As I finished speaking, I watched Lara take a deep breath.

Of course she did. My mother did not know before that nothing had happened between Iris and Markus, but Lara did.

She was probably confused about why my mother was suddenly talking about forgiving Iris.

Everyone fell silent.

"I have lost my appetite," I growled. "I’ll go rest."

I stood up from my seat.

"Lara, make sure you give them the keys. And Mother, I expect your bags to be packed by morning."

I muttered the words without looking at my mother or my sister before walking away.

That would teach them a good lesson. I was sure of it.

After I had walked away, it took Lara a long time to come back. Nearly thirty minutes passed before she returned.

I could only imagine what she had been doing.

She was probably mocking them and taunting them, enjoying her victory.

However, by then I had fallen asleep, or at least pretended to be.

I had no desire to share a bed with Lara, even if we were pretending that I had moved on from Iris.

I no longer had to worry about hiding the truth. Zoe had already told my mother that Iris was innocent.

So the next morning, it would not only be my mother and sister moving out.

Markus and Lara were going to be punished as well.

Of course, I had spoken to Zoe, and she agreed it was best if they moved out.

However, they would now be shifting to the guest house.

Thankfully, Zoe did not try to convince me to let them stay.

She said she understood that it was important for her to learn independence, and that her mother should leave Iris alone.

Even if my mother apologized, I knew Iris would accept it.

But it would never be easy for her to look at her abusers every single day.

Now I was simply waiting for the morning to arrive so I could finally have my Iris back, my queen back in my arms.