“Does she still share an apartment with Dash?” I ask.
“No. They bought a house.” Pulling out her phone, Iris says, “Give me your number. I’ll text you the address.”
“Is her number still the same?”
“It is,” answers Rosalie. “Maybe call her first before showing up at her door.”
“What Ro means by that is Bianca is on a work trip and won’t be back for another week. So, check in first.”
“Okay,” I say, excited for the first time in months. “I’ll type my number in your phone.”
Iris grins as she hands me her phone. “This is so wonderful, minus the catfight.”
Both Anaya and Rosalie roll their eyes. I don’t think they’ll ever get along.
“I’m glad we ran into you, Arya,” finishes Iris. “Bianca and you deserve to let bygones be bygones and move forward from what happened.”
“Here we go again,” sighs Rosalie. “You and your need to meddle in siblings’ relationships. First it was Kian and Nathan. Now it’s Arya and Bee. You should’ve been a therapist.”
A knot forms in my belly atNathan’s name. I was aware of the Singhania brothers’ rivalry, but I didn’t know Iris was trying to resolve it. And how? By dumping one brother and dating the other?
I’m so confused.
Who cares? It’s none of your business.
“Here, Iris.” I return her phone. “I’ve saved my number.”
An alert goes out on Anaya’s phone, startling all of us. She pulls it out just as Rosalie speaks while gazing at her phone. “Oh, crap!”
“What is it?” demands Iris.
Anaya nudges my arm, tilting the phone’s screen toward me. I read the headline on the celebrity gossip blog, doing a double take as the earth beneath me shakes.
Betrayal! Sham! Lies! Nathan Singhania was Allegedly in a FAKE Relationship with his Now Ex-Fiancée, Iris Mannan.
My heart racing a mile a minute, I snag Anaya’s phone and open the full article to read it. It claims they dated for years before becoming engaged, so Nathan could remain the CEO of the Singhania and Sons empire. Apparently, the board members were trying to push him off unless he upheld the values of the company.
When I look up at Iris, her face has gone pale.
“It’s true?”
Her lower lip trembles and she doesn’t utter a denial.
Rosalie steals her attention. “It’ll be okay. Let’s go home before anyone sees you in public.”
Iris’s phone rings. After seeing whoever it is, she quickly picks it up. There’s no disguising the tremor in her voice as she rasps, “K-Kian?”
A pause.
“I’m with Rosalie… Yeah, I’m on my way… Okay. Love you, bye.” Glancing at me, she apologetically says, “I’m sorry, but I have to run.”
“Yeah,” I mutter hollowly. “Take care.”
Soon, they’re both gone.
“Whoa,” cries Anaya. “I did not see that coming.”
I make my way to a nearby bench and sit down.
