"Mind your own business!"

But Iris yanked her arm away and stormed off.

"You..."

Nathaniel Monroe’s expression went slack. He watched her storm away, then snapped his gaze to Chloe Reed. "She... she isn’t actually pregnant, is she?"

Chloe gave him a wry smile. "And what business is that of yours?"

"I..."

Nathaniel Monroe gaped, utterly speechless.

"Nathaniel, what am I supposed to do now...?" the girl beside him whimpered, walking over.

Nathaniel Monroe snapped impatiently, "I told you to be more careful, but you wouldn’t listen. What’s there to do now? Do you want to keep it or get rid of it?"

The girl flinched at his tone and shook her head. "I don’t know."

Nathaniel Monroe scrubbed a hand over his face. "I’m just your cousin, not your boyfriend or your parents. I have no right to make this decision for you. You need to figure this out on your own."

"..."

Chloe caught up to Iris. Seeing her stunned expression, she asked, "Iris, what is it?"

Iris looked at her, pressing her lips together. "Chloe, I’m so lost right now."

Chloe squeezed her hand. "It’s going to be okay. Let’s just focus on what’s next. First, we’ll get your shot."

"Mm."

Iris was distracted the entire time.

After the examination, medication, and injection, the two of them finally left the hospital.

Back at South Hill Apartments, Chloe said, "Try not to think about anything else. I’m staying with you tonight."

Iris hugged her. "Chloe, you’re the best."

Chloe ordered takeout—all of Iris’s favorite foods. They ate together and watched a movie.

Iris seemed to have put the matter out of her mind, and the spark returned to her eyes.

But at eight o’clock that evening, Chloe’s phone started ringing. She glanced at the screen and ignored it.

But Iris asked, "Is that Grant the Scumbag?"

"Yeah."

Iris said excitedly, "Let me answer it!"

Chloe gave her a questioning look. "What are you planning to say?"

Iris scoffed. "Whatever will piss him off the most, obviously."

"Then go ahead." Chloe hugged a throw pillow, watching her friend with amusement.

Iris cleared her throat and answered the phone. "Hello? Who’s this?"

There was a moment of silence from Walker Grant’s end before he said, "Let me talk to Chloe."

"Oh my, what happened to calling her Chloe? You used to be all ’Chloe this’ and ’Chloe that,’ acting like you were closer to our Chloe than anyone else." Iris’s voice dripped with sarcasm; she had no fear, even over the phone.

"Walker Grant, you really get off on forbidden love, don’t you? Flirting with your own brother’s wife? So what’s the plan, huh? Try to be a brother-in-law from every possible angle? Does having all those conflicting roles give you a cheap thrill? A scumbag of your particular vintage deserves to be physically castrated. Oh, but wait, you’ve already done that to yourself, haven’t you? What a truly ’great’ love story between an aunt and her husband’s brother. This shit belongs online for the whole world to read about your epic, sob-worthy romance!"

After that rapid-fire onslaught, she immediately hung up.

Iris patted her chest. "Damn, I’m a badass!"

Chloe was completely stunned. After a long moment, she gave Iris a thumbs-up. "Amazing!"

Iris threw herself at Chloe and hugged her. "Chloe, you have to protect me! After all that, he’s not actually going to kill me, is he?"