BILLIONAIRE'S SHADOW ( A Tale of Love, Loss & Redemption)

CHAPTER 4

Cyril's POV

I was staring at my daughter's picture on my phone's screen wallpaper when I started reminiscing about how things used to be. How bubbly Iris was when her mother, Emily, was alive. She was not always as quiet as she is now. How we used to eat ice-cream at our favourite joint.

Oh, how time flies. It still feels like it was two days ago, but it's been five whole years since everything.

***

FLASHBACK (5 YEARS AGO)

“Iris! Hurry up! You're going to be late for school. You won't like what I'll do to you when I get upstairs” I heard Emily calling out and threatening Iris and I couldn't help but chuckle. Emily was an amazing mother to Iris, even though she was a terrible partner. I only tolerated her due to my love for our daughter.

“I couldn't find my homework mum,” Iris proclaimed as she gleefully descended the stairs, giggling like a kid who had been offered her favourite candy bar. It was very delightful to see my mini me. I couldn't stop admiring her. She was my exact replica.

I sat at the dining table sipping my coffee, while I watched these two display their daily drama. It was always one excuse or another for Iris. Either she couldn't find her shoes, or she wasn't feeling well enough for school (which was usually a prank, she only admitted once she was caught).

Of course, she knew better not to deliberately absent herself from school. Unless her school was on vacation or there was a public holiday. I have no idea what grudge she has with school. She was always finding faults, ranging from her class being boring to her not finding her homework.

The annoying aspect was that everything was nothing but silly excuses she gave to avoid going to school. Thankfully, I knew better. I insisted and stood my ground whenever she tried to play smart.

“It's okay dear. Enough of the excuses already. What is it going to be next time? A mysterious dog ate your homework?” Emily spoke softly to Iris, tucking a portion of her blonde hair behind her left ear. Carrying Iris's lunch bag while holding her hand, they both walked outside to the entrance of the house, where Eric, my driver, was awaiting them.

On their way out, she urged Iris to bade me goodbye.

“Iris love, say goodbye to daddy” and Iris squealed and replied

“Goodbye dad, see you later.”

I responded and promised to get her ice cream when she got back from school, if and only if she comported herself and behaved like the good girl I expected her to be. She agreed and with that, they were out of sight.

Emily came back a few minutes later to inform me about stepping out to see a friend. I simply nodded and continued my work, since I was busy working before she distracted me.

Before that, I noticed she was wearing a spaghetti-strap dress which exposed her delicate shoulders and very much accentuated her figure. She wasn't of a huge stature, neither could she be considered as having a cute stature. She was more of an average stature and height.

Her elaborate features gave enough reasons to believe how she qualified to be a standard runway model. She was breathtakingly gorgeous.

However, I wasn't swayed by her beauty as much as I was when I first met her at Ortis's fashion show. All I felt for her was bitterness and disgust. The mere sight of her irritated me, but my love for Iris gave room for me to adjust to her betrayal.

It was a Friday, and I was so stressed out that I decided to work from home. This was very unlikely for me, but I just had to stay home. I was tired but I still needed to work. Hence, working from home was my best bet.

When Emily told me she was going to see a friend, I wanted to ask her which friend it was and whether it was a man or a woman, but I changed my mind. Her reaction to me not going to work, and rather working from home, was suspicious, yet I brushed it off.

After all, it's not like I cared that much about her. She could do whatever she wanted, for all I care.

I wondered to myself.

“ I want the strawberry flavour, with cherry toppings", Iris blurted out to the ice-cream vendor.

As promised, I took her out to get ice cream when she got back from school. When she got home, Emily was still not back from where she went to. I managed to get Iris to get changed and take a shower, which she did.

“I'll have both the chocolate and vanilla toppings. ” I equally shared my order and paid for the bill.

We waited for it to be delivered to our table, which was assigned to us. We were in a mini-ice-cream joint, with a simple but classy setting.

It was a nice spot with top-notch customer service. Its background surrounded by artificial plants gave such a realistic feel of nature. Iris and I often visited to grab some ice-cream and chit-chat while her mother stayed at God-knows-where.

She always had something to say about her class, which was always a wonder to me how, despite all her yapping about school, she was a prime suspect of “I hate school”. Even though she never said that directly, her actions always implied that. I differed from her fundamentally with regard to school, because I never hated school as a child. Nor did I ever give any impression of that sort.

For what it's worth, her mother Emily could have been a master in that department. Since she dropped out of school to follow her dream of becoming a model.

Believe me. I believe in following your dreams and aspirations. It just doesn't make any sense to me if it has to be at the expense of school. I really hope Iris doesn't follow in her footsteps because that will most likely break my heart.

While we were waiting for our order to be delivered to us, I asked Iris about her day at school. She ranted so childishly, as I tried to c***k my adult brain to decipher whatever she was saying. I'm pretty sure she understood everything she was saying clearly even though I was struggling.

I found her narrations very amusing. Her laughter, her smile, her sense of humour. Everything about Iris was so heart-warming to me. It wasn't hard to believe how much influence she had on me. There was something about her that reminded me so much of my sister.

Is it her mannerisms? Her tantrums? I just can't place my finger on it.

I listened in as she kept talking about her classmates. Based on our conversations, I found out about how one of her classmates slipped a bar of candy on her desk when she wasn't looking.

“It happened 2 days ago. It had a note in a pouch that said“ from your secret admirer", and till date, I have no idea who it was", she continued to speak, while I listened with rapt attention.

“And why are you now telling me this?” I inquired from her, as I leaned towards her against the table while lifting her chin upward to face me.

With a raised eyebrow, she giggled and told me she had forgotten. Then I went forward to ask her where her anonymous package was. All she could say was “Oops! Sorry dad, I ate them. I had no idea you would want to see them. If I did, I wouldn't have eaten them, I promise”. With that she grinned and playfully grabbed her cup of ice-cream from the tray that was now placed before us.

I chuckled and shook my head at my five-year-old daughter, while grabbing my ice-cream as well.

“My mini me is definitely a character” I thought to myself.

Just then, I received a message notification from Emily and it read:

Emily: I'm so sorry Cyril. I can't come home today. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be back by sunrise. Tell Iris I miss her so much.

Me: If you say so. Do whatever makes you happy.

I replied with that since I didn't know what else to say.

I'm not sure what makes me more furious.

Is it her audacity or her last message?

“Tell Iris I miss her so much.” Why do I need to tell her that? Has she travelled? Didn't Iris see her today? Didn't she say she was going to be back before sunrise?

This young lady never ceases to amaze me.

I brushed off my thoughts and focused on our journey home.

We both finished our ice-cream, and we headed home, while Iris continued to share stories about her classmates during our ride.

Chris and I laughed occasionally at her narrations as we listened to her keenly till we got home. I just couldn't stop listening to her. At the moment, I was the happiest I can remember.