#Chapter 181: One or the Other

Iris The stars hang low in the night sky, tiny diamonds scattered across a canvas of inky blackness. Below the balcony, in the distance, the fire is burning bright in the brazier. Dark forms sway and move around it, people dancing and mingling and laughing. Are they laughing at us? At me? At my public humiliation? Or have they forgotten already, because our personal lives are nothing but a temporary entertainment? Something to be chewed up and spat out? I press my hands against the cold stone railing, gripping it so tightly my knuckles turn white. If I could just stay out here forever, never go back inside, never face any of them again… “Iris.” I don’t turn around, but I don’t have to, because I know it’s Arthur. His scent reaches me first, and for a moment, I hate that I can recognize him so easily. That he’s imprinted on me so completely. “Go back inside,” I grind out. “Veronica needs you.” His footsteps draw nearer until he’s standin