#Chapter 19 - Dessert

Christian groans as I look down into my lap, intuiting that he’s hurt my feelings, and then he scootches closer to me. “Don’t look like that, Iris,” he murmurs, putting a warm hand on my shoulder, “you’re breaking my heart.” “I don’t want to be a burden to you, Christian,” I sigh, looking down into my lap. “Honestly, if you don’t want me in your world, you can just…leave me here for months, or whatever. Until it’s safe for me to go. If you don’t want to spend time with me –“ “I never said that –“ “So what?” I say, genuinely confused now, “you’ll spend time with me, but I can’t know anything about your life?” I tilt my head, letting him see just how stupid I think that is. “Don’t you see that I’m trying to protect you?” he says softly, shaking his head. “Don’t you see,” I counter, staring at him, “that I’m already involved?” I wave a hand around at the mafia apartment that I’m living in, that I’ve given up my entire life to inhabit. He sighs, shaking his head again. “Fine,” he mur