#Chapter 183: Star Crossed

Iris I wake to the sound of my phone buzzing beside me. Bleary-eyed, I fumble for it on the nightstand, almost knocking it to the floor. “Have you seen the news?” Alice’s voice comes through the moment I answer. “I just woke up,” I mumble, sitting up in bed. Arthur’s side remains untouched, and the memory of last night comes rushing back in all too painful clarity. “Turn on the TV,” Alice says. “Channel 4.” Dread takes over me, and I know I shouldn’t. But I reach for the remote anyway and flick on the television mounted on the wall opposite our—my—bed. It takes a moment for the screen to come to life, and when it does, my heart stops. And there it is. Images of Veronica and Arthur’s kiss last night are plastered all over the news, with the headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen: “ALPHA PRESIDENT’S SECRET AFFAIR: IS IRIS WILLFORD OUT?” “Fuck,” I whisper. “Sources close to the Alpha President suggest that he and Veronica Willfo