Chapter 16: She Had Alexander

For Iris, Alexander was the perfect man. She loved his gentlemanly demeanor off the bed and his fierceness on it.

After a while of kissing, Iris was already lost in passion.

Alexander released her, his eyes red as he glared at her, gritting his teeth, "You little vixen!"

Iris's body went limp.

...

After a while, the curtains were drawn open again. Alexander, impeccably dressed, left with Iris in his arms.

Iris's face was flushed, and there were faint teeth marks on her red lips. She kept her head slightly lowered, not daring to look around. She didn't know if anyone had heard them earlier. She had tried her best to restrain herself, biting her lips, but still, a few sounds had escaped.

Leaving the café, Alexander took Iris to a hotel. As soon as they arrived, they couldn't wait to embrace each other.

In Alexander's fierce embrace, Iris's heart finally began to settle down.

She could feel Alexander's love.

At least she wasn't completely alone; she still had Alexander.

Having Alexander meant she hadn't lost too badly.

After their passionate encounter, Iris leaned softly against Alexander's chest and whispered, "Alex, let's get married."

Alexander didn't speak. He just held her shoulder, his hand unconsciously stroking it.

Iris anxiously awaited Alexander's response, but after a long time without an answer, her heart sank.

Could it be that Alex despised her?

"Alex..." Iris propped herself up, looking at Alexander with teary eyes.

Alexander sighed softly, kissed her forehead, and said, "Silly girl, don't overthink it. There's no rush now... You just ended things with Ethan. If I marry you now, it would be like putting you on the spot. Let's wait for a while until the storm passes, and then we'll plan it out."

Iris started crying again, throwing herself onto Alexander and sobbing, "Alex... you're so good to me."

"Foolish girl, who else would I be good to if not you?" Alexander chuckled lightly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. Unfortunately, Iris had her head buried in his chest and didn't see it.

...

Clara had a terrible day at school.

Her classmates looked at her strangely, with curiosity in their eyes.

Although no one said anything to her face, she overheard some rumors.

Some were simply discussing her replacing her sister to marry Ethan. Others said she used tricks to steal Ethan from her sister. Some even said she got pregnant before marriage and used the baby to force Ethan into marrying her.

The uninformed gossipers let their imaginations run wild.

Fortunately, they only dared to discuss it privately and not confront her directly.

After classes ended for the day, Clara returned to her dormitory. She had always lived there. The school was nationally renowned, and the dormitory conditions were excellent. There were eight-person and six-person rooms for regular fees and four-person rooms for a bit more.

Clara lived in a four-person room.

The room had four beds with desks underneath where they could place computers and bookshelves.

Clara studied economic management. Among her roommates, one was in the same major, while the other two were performing arts students.

Clara washed her face briefly and climbed into bed. She put on a face mask and soon fell asleep.

Around six or seven in the evening, her roommates returned, chatting and waking Clara up.

She sat up and removed the now-dry face mask, feeling a bit dizzy. She hadn't rested well these past few days and was under a lot of stress, making her feel heavy.

"Clara, you're awake," one roommate said with a smile.

Clara nodded. "Yeah."

"Clara, aren't you going home tonight?" Ava Santana asked with a smile.

Among the four roommates, Ava and Ella were performing arts students, while Zoe shared Clara's major in economic management.

The four girls weren't particularly close but got along well enough as roommates. They joked around in the dormitory and occasionally went to the cafeteria together. There might have been some petty grievances in private, but nothing serious. On the surface, they maintained a good relationship.

Clara nodded.

"Clara, newlyweds..." Ella teased Clara with a suggestive eyebrow raise.

Clara's face turned bright red.

Thinking about what Ethan did to her in bed made her blood boil.

Her reaction made them laugh.

"Clara, you got married so suddenly we didn't have time to give you gifts. But you must treat us to dinner," Zoe said with a smile.

Ella and Ava agreed.

"Yes, you're Ethan's wife now. You have to treat us to the most expensive meal."

Clara felt she should indeed treat them to dinner. Whenever someone had a birthday or started dating someone new, they would treat their roommates. Getting married was an even bigger occasion that warranted a celebration meal.

Clara nodded.