His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 166: No Mercy

The moment Jenny pointed at Iris, the energy around the fire shifted in an instant, curiosity taking over as every gaze locked onto her.

Iris didn't react. She sat there with the same calm expression, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

Julian's voice cut through the moment, low and firm. "Pick someone else."

Lily leaned back slightly, lifting her hand with a faint smile. "Let's not make this complicated. Majority wins. If you want Iris, raise your hand."

One by one, hands went up around the fire, hesitation lasting only a second before curiosity took over. In the end, Julian was the only one who didn't move.

Celeste watched the result with clear satisfaction, then turned back, her tone almost casual. "Back in college, Iris used to spend nights at a professor's house. Male professor. Lived alone."

She didn't elaborate, but she didn't need to.

The implication landed exactly the way she intended.

A couple of the women exchanged looks, covering their mouths, shock written all over their faces, while the men instinctively glanced toward Julian.

His expression had gone completely still, the kind of stillness that felt dangerous.

Mason and Daniel both looked uneasy, while Luke shifted awkwardly, clearly not sure how to react.

Caleb, on the other hand, just shrugged, completely unfazed. "That's rough enough. Counts. Keep it moving."

Iris lowered her gaze for a brief moment, her fingers tightening slightly around the skewer in her hand.

Cheap, predictable, and boring.

Celeste wasn't lying. Iris had spent countless nights at her professor's place during college, running experiments, losing track of time, sleeping wherever she could between work.

To her, it had always been about research.

To everyone else, now, it sounded like something else entirely.

She didn't bother explaining.

There was no point.

The game moved on.

Jenny drew the next short stick, and after a round of laughter and pushing, she was told to share something about Luke.

She thought about it for a second, then said with a grin, "Alright, fine. Every time my husband takes off his socks, he smells them first."

There was a beat of silence before the entire group burst out laughing.

Luke froze, his expression collapsing into pure embarrassment.

Julian frowned immediately, the image clearly not something he appreciated, his disgust obvious.

The third round came quickly.

This time, Lily drew the short stick.

Voices rose all at once, some calling for Julian, others for Iris, but when the hands went up again, the result didn't change.

Iris.

Lily clasped her hands together, tilting her head slightly, her expression almost apologetic. "Guess I don't have a choice. Rules are rules."

Iris met her gaze, a faint smile touching her lips. "I'm actually curious. Go ahead."

That small, steady response only made Lily more certain she was about to win.

Her smile sharpened just slightly as she spoke, slow and deliberate.

"The night before you married Julian, you checked into a hotel with Arthur."

This time, the reaction was immediate and unmistakable.

Shock spread across the group, followed quickly by something harsher, judgment settling into their expressions as they looked back at Iris.

The contrast was too much for them to ignore, the composed, distant woman in front of them suddenly painted in a completely different light.

Julian didn't look at anyone else.

His hands had already curled into fists, the tension in his body tightening to the point where it was almost visible, his breathing turning slow and heavy as he held himself in check.

And yet, Iris didn't flinch.

"That's true," she said calmly. "Next."

The simplicity of it unsettled everyone more than denial would have.

She wasn't defensive. She wasn't angry.

If anything, she looked bored.

While the others were still processing, Iris reached forward and picked up the container of sticks, her eyes briefly scanning them before she spoke.

"My turn first."

Celeste narrowed her eyes slightly but said nothing, shaking the container once before holding it out.

Iris drew.

Short.

For a split second, something like satisfaction flickered through Celeste's expression before she passed the result toward Julian.

Julian didn't even look at it right away. He exhaled slowly, then said in a low voice, "I'm out. This game's pointless."

Celeste hesitated, glancing instinctively at Lily, waiting.

Before either of them could speak, Iris's voice cut in, light but unmistakably sharp. "I finally lose and now you're quitting? What, worried I might say something you don't like?"

Julian looked up at her, a trace of confusion in his eyes.

There was something different about her tonight.

Something he couldn't quite place.

Iris held his gaze, her smile faint but steady. "What's wrong, Julian? Can't handle it?"

That did it.

A flicker of something crossed his expression before he reached forward and picked a stick, as if deciding in that moment to follow through.

Around them, the mood shifted again, interest reigniting instantly.

If there was one thing everyone wanted to hear, it was something about Julian.

The vote came quickly, and this time, it was unanimous.

Him.

Iris's expression changed almost imperceptibly, the hint of amusement fading into something more serious as she turned toward him fully.

"What I'm about to say," she said evenly, "is going to cost you your pride. If that matters to you, I can just take the drink."

Julian let out a quiet breath, the tension in him easing just slightly as he reached for a cup, taking a small sip before answering.

"Don't drink that," he said, his voice softer now. "It'll wreck your stomach. Say whatever you want. I won't hold it against you."

For a moment, Iris didn't respond.

Then she nodded once.

That was enough.

The fire crackled in the background as every conversation died out, the entire group watching her now.

Iris drew in a slow breath, then spoke clearly.

"I was married to Julian for two years," she said, her voice steady and unhurried, "and through all of it, I'm still a virgin. That's not speculation. That's something a medical exam would confirm."

The words didn't just land.

They detonated.

Silence dropped hard over the beach, so complete that even the sound of the waves seemed distant for a moment.

Julian went completely still.

The cup slipped from his hand, falling into the sand as the water disappeared instantly beneath the surface.

No one spoke.

Mason and Daniel exchanged uneasy looks, something close to concern crossing their faces, while Luke shifted again, clearly unsure where to even look.

Across from them, Lily's expression froze, disbelief flashing into something tighter, something unwilling to accept what this meant.

Because everything they had just implied about Iris collapsed in a single sentence.

All of it.

Iris didn't move.

She sat there as if nothing had changed, as if she hadn't just turned the entire situation around in an instant.

But she didn't look at Julian.

She couldn't.

She could feel his gaze on her without needing to see it, heavy, intense, impossible to ignore, like heat pressing too close against her skin.

Why is he looking at me like that...

For the first time that night, something unsettled flickered through her chest, tightening just enough to make her breath catch.

And around them, the fire kept burning, the only thing still moving in a moment that had completely frozen over.