CHAPTER- 42

Iris POV:

As the clock struck 7 in the evening, I found myself sitting on a crowded bus, exasperated and a little irritated by the situation.

Caleb was beside me, his presence unwavering and annoyingly insistent.

He had practically dragged me onto the bus after I mentioned walking back to my apartment.

Sure, I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, but it wasn’t like yesterday’s fever— just a mild one now, nothing serious.

Still, Caleb insisted on accompanying me, acting as though I might collapse at any moment.

I appreciated his concern, but it was suffocating.

Last night, though, that was a blur.

A dark, unsettling memory that I was determined to push away, even as fragments kept surfacing.

Someone had forced me into something I didn’t want, and the memory of it lingered like a bad taste in my mouth.

It had felt like a game, a cruel one, and while I was glad it was over, I couldn't shake the weirdness of it all. My skin crawled just thinking about it.

Yet, despite my resolve to