His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 291: Back in Suncrest

Lily fidgeted nervously in her seat. "If we get married, my dad would never sell the company to some outside buyer. He'd want to keep it in the family—for his daughter and son-in-law."

Arthur let out a tired sigh and shook his head. "It's too late for that now. If you hadn't been so determined to get rid of Iris' baby back then, she would never have run away in the first place..."

"Stop it," Lily cut in sharply, her body trembling. Her voice grew tight and urgent, her breathing suddenly ragged. "Don't ever bring that up again. If Julian finds out, we're both finished."

Arthur pressed his lips together and nodded quietly. After a moment, he asked, "But will your parents even agree to us getting married?"

"They're still hoping I'll marry Julian, so no, they won't agree. That's why we should just go to the courthouse first and deal with the fallout later."

"What about Julian...?"

Lily scoffed. "He's never cared about me. He couldn't care less who I marry."

Arthur kept his eyes on the road. "I saw Iris earlier. Did Julian track her down?"

"Probably just a coincidence," Lily replied with a cold laugh. "But there's nothing left between Julian and Iris now. The only thing they're fighting over is their daughter."

"She had a daughter?"

"Yeah. Looks just like her, too. So annoying."

Arthur gave a low, sarcastic chuckle and drove on without another word.

*****

The next day, around noon, Iris returned to the hotel to meet Julian and discuss custody of their daughter, only to find he had already checked out.

Julian's phone went straight to voicemail.

Panicked, Iris threw her things into her suitcase, booked a flight online, and flew from Edulet City to Suncrest City.

By the time her plane landed, it was already dark.

Iris wheeled her suitcase out of the terminal, stepping back onto familiar ground after three years. Everything felt different now, and a deep sense of loneliness settled in her chest.

The only thing that hadn't changed was her best friend, Zoe.

"Iris!" came an excited shout. Zoe rushed toward her, a bright smile on her face and a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

Iris felt a wave of relief and smiled, opening her arms for a hug.

They held each other tightly, both with tears in their eyes and smiles on their lips, not saying a word for a long moment.

"I've missed you so much, Iris," Zoe whispered softly.

Iris gave a small, pressed-lip smile and patted her back gently. "I've missed you too, Zoe."

"You're finally back. Where's Harper?" Zoe had seen the little girl many times over video calls and couldn't wait to meet her in person.

Iris slowly pulled away, her mood sinking. "Julian took her back with him. That's why I'm here."

Zoe clenched her fists, stomping her foot in frustration. "That jerk—all he ever does is hurt you."

Iris bit her lip, saying nothing.

Zoe shoved the bouquet into Iris' hands. "We'll go get Harper back tomorrow. These are for you—congrats on winning the National Science & Technology Award and the National Patent Award. You're amazing."

Iris accepted the flowers. "Thank you."

"Come on, my car's parked outside."

"You bought a car?"

"Yeah, an electric one. Pretty nice."

Zoe looked at her with admiration. "No matter what I do, I'll never catch up to you. You developed a new patented drug for rare diseases, won the country's top awards, started a company, a manufacturing plant, and an integrated health center. You're basically a superstar."

Iris smiled modestly. "I'm only good at the research side. I don't really know how to run a business—other people handle that for me. I just focus on funding and R&D."

"A boss who knows how to delegate is a smart boss. As long as the money's coming in, that's what matters."

Iris nodded with a knowing smile.

They got into the car.

"You can stay at my place tonight," Zoe offered as she carefully pulled out into traffic.

Iris thought of Arthur and immediately declined. "Thanks, but let's just go straight to Julian's."

"This late?"

"I need to see my daughter."

"Where does he live now?"

"I'm not sure." Iris pulled out her phone and started dialing as she spoke.

After several rings, Julian finally picked up.

Before he could speak, Iris demanded impatiently, "Where did you take my daughter?"

"Home."

"I want to see her."

"She's asleep."

Iris took a deep breath, forcing her voice to stay calm. "Julian, I carried her for nine months, I gave birth to her, and I've raised her for three years without ever leaving her side. You can't just tear us apart like this. If you want to talk about custody, we can sit down and work something out—or you can file a petition and we'll go to family court. But until then, you need to give her back to me."

Julian laughed coldly. "Since when do you, Iris, know anything about what's cruel?"

Iris felt like the air had been knocked out of her. It was as if a heavy hand was squeezing her heart, spreading a dull, aching weight through her chest.

Zoe glanced over and noticed Iris had gone pale.

Quickly, Zoe turned the steering wheel and pulled over to the curb. She snatched the phone from Iris' hand, switched it to speaker, and held Iris' wrist firmly when she tried to take it back.

"Julian, give Harper back right now," Zoe said sharply into the phone. "What kind of person takes someone else's child? If you want a kid so badly, go have your own—find some other woman and have a whole bunch. Harper is Iris' whole life. Taking her away... are you trying to destroy her?"

Julian's voice remained unnervingly calm, cold as ice. "Zoe?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where's Harper? We're coming to pick her up now. If you don't hand her over, we're calling the police."

"If calling the police actually worked," Julian replied with clear sarcasm, "why would Iris be begging me?"