His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 204: Walking Away

The sun outside the station was harsh, almost blinding.

Iris stepped out into it and headed toward the subway, her pace steady, her expression calm.

A sleek car pulled up beside her and came to a stop.

She paused, glancing over.

Julian sat behind the wheel, his profile sharp, his gaze fixed ahead. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I'll take you."

Seeing him walk out unharmed had already eased something inside her, but she didn't let it show.

"No, thanks."

"Get in."

There was no room for argument in his tone.

Iris let out a quiet breath, her voice carrying a trace of irony. "We don't have anything to do with each other anymore, and I'm already getting slapped because of you. If I get in that car, what's next?"

Julian said nothing. His grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, the tension visible in his hand.

"I'll be fine without you," she added, her tone turning cooler. "So stop showing up like this."

She didn't wait for a response.

She turned and kept walking. The breeze brushed past her, but it felt colder than it should have.

I hate this.

But she had no choice.

She didn't dare look back.

He had loved her for twelve years. Even when he believed she had betrayed him, he had never truly let go.

His love had always been intense, unwavering, almost stubborn in its loyalty.

And somehow, it had ended up with her.

Someone who chose distance over everything else. Her vision blurred.

She tilted her head slightly, forcing herself to look up at the sky so the tears wouldn't fall.

Her hand rested lightly against her stomach as she walked, the ache in her chest sharp and relentless, spreading until even her body felt it.

I'm sorry, Julian. Just be happy.

By the time she reached the subway stairs, her vision had already gone hazy. She stopped, wiped her eyes, and forced herself to steady her breathing before continuing down.

Her future was already decided.

No marriage. No relationships.

The child she carried would be the only one in her life.

She couldn't afford anything to go wrong.

...

The next day, Iris had just stepped out of the lab when her phone rang.

It was Zoe.

"Iris, I swear, I'm about to lose it," Zoe said the moment she picked up. "Your mom has been blowing up my phone since last night. She even showed up at my office trying to get your number and your work address."

Iris's expression barely shifted. "Did she say what she wanted?"

"That's the thing, she didn't," Zoe said quickly. "Which is exactly why I didn't tell her anything."

"Thanks, Zoe," Iris replied, already having a good idea what this was about. "Just ignore her. I'll call her myself."

"I get why you keep your distance now," Zoe muttered. "That's... a lot."

Iris gave a faint, quiet laugh that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah."

...

After hanging up, she immediately dialed her mother's number.

Grace answered, her tone unusually gentle. "Hello, who is this?"

The moment Iris heard her voice, her body reacted instinctively. She took a breath. "It's me."

The warmth disappeared instantly.

Grace's voice turned sharp, rising without warning. "Iris, you really surprised me this time. I didn't think I raised someone this calculating. Pretending you lost your phone, cutting off contact so we couldn't find you, all because you didn't want us touching your money?"

Iris closed her eyes briefly.

"Mom, just tell me what you want."

"We're not a rich family," Grace snapped. "We had so many kids we had to give some away. Even Selena, the one who could've made us money, we gave up. And we kept you, raised you, paid for your education. Your brother sacrificed everything for you. We—"

A dull buzz filled Iris's head, the noise around her fading into something distant as irritation built steadily in her chest. She had heard this same kind of talk more times than she could count, dressed up in different words but always meaning the same thing.

At the end of the day, it always came down to money.

"I'll transfer ten thousand," Iris cut in flatly.

Grace scoffed immediately. "Ten thousand? What is that, pocket change? You have two hundred million now. Fine, don't give it to us, but at least give your brother a hundred million."

Iris let out a quiet, disbelieving scoff, the kind that came when someone had pushed things past the point of absurd. She didn't even bother responding right away. It was honestly one of the most ridiculous things she had ever heard.

Lily, Celeste, Selena... they really didn't waste any time, did they?

While she stayed silent, Grace took it as an opening and kept going, her tone shifting into something that sounded almost practical, almost reasonable on the surface.

"Honestly, even a hundred million would've been low," Grace said. "You're going to move on eventually, right? Get married again, start a new life. If you take that kind of money into someone else's family, what's the point? It'd make more sense to keep it with your own people, at least your brother actually benefits from it."

Iris let out a quiet, disbelieving breath.

It was almost absurd.

"I invested it," she said calmly. "I don't have that kind of cash."

Grace's voice shot up. "You invested all of it? Are you out of your mind? You're a woman, you should be focused on building a family, not running around doing business. That's not your place."

Iris didn't argue.

There was no point.

"I'm telling you right now," Grace continued, her tone turning harsh, "get that money back. Celeste is about to marry your brother. The engagement, the house, the wedding, all of it costs money. You need to figure it out."

Iris let out a slow breath, her voice steady again. "I have about one million left. That's for Dad's medical expenses. I've done what I can. I'm not helping with anything else." She paused briefly before adding, "And Celeste isn't marrying him for the right reasons."