Burning Ties

Chapter Six

Iris's POV

We ended up spending the rest of the night at a fancy hotel that dad picked, everything about the atmosphere screamed rich people, and to be honest, I probably should be used to it, but I'm not. It feels... Strange being here and being allowed to just be free. I'm not used to the freedom to do as I want, but luckily for me, my mum is here with me and she assures me that I can do as I want.

Though my mum being here with me does have its perks, her presence does little to assure me that all will be well, I still feel as though there's a catch, everything's a little too perfect.

"Iris?" Dad questions, snapping me out of my daze and I finally look up from my feet to see him looking at me in concern.

"Sorry, I just zoned out for a minute, is something wrong?" I ask, internally wincing at how stupid I sound. My voice sounds weak, scared and overall pathetic; it's something I hope that I'll be able to change soon.

"I was just asking what you wanted to eat since your mother and I are ordering room service." He explains.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I ate already." I reply, my stomach too full with the snacks I'd managed to eat at Niall's house.

"Okay." Dad frowns, his face pulling into a look of concern before he brushes it off and walks off, probably to go back to my mother. I'm sure the topic won't be ignored and will be brought up later, but I'm just not used to eating so much and there's nothing that can immediately be done about that.

What must be a few hours later, my eyes flutter open when I hear the soft voice of my mother calling my name. I don't know when I drifted off to sleep, but I feel refreshed as I greet my mother before swinging my legs out of the most comfortable bed I've ever laid on.

I walk sluggishly toward the bathroom in the hall, wincing as my ribs protest with every step I take, but I ignore it, refusing to be an attention seeker, dad should be focused on mum now, not me.

Once I've freshened up, I make my way to the lounge where both my parents are currently talking about something, but their chatter is stopped the second I walk into the room.

"Morning." I greet, my tone soft because somehow, I expect to get at least a slap for having spoken at all.

"Good morning, printsessa." My father greets, shooting me a radiant smile.

"Morning." My mum replies, her eyes still fixated on my father.

"Well, Iris, since you're awake, we can leave now to get back to Italy. We'll be having breakfast on the plane, so don't worry about it." My father says, getting off the sofa he was sitting on and moving to get ready.

He's halfway across the hallway leading to the bedroom that he slept in when he says,"Oh, and you'll have an entire new wardrobe in Italy, so don't worry about anything."

"Oh," Is all I can say, my mind not being able to think of anything better than that for a second before I snap myself out of it. "Thank you."

Dad nods before he disappears into the room and five minutes later, he's back in a new suit and a small duffel bag in hand.

"Shall we?" He says, holding out both his hands for my mother and I to grab a hold of. My heart warms at the gesture, but the more wary part of me can't help but wonder when the kindness will end...

The drive to the airport is short, or maybe that's because I zoned out, and we follow a procedure that I'm sure can't be right since we didn't even walk through the airport security, but I ignore it, knowing my father isn't someone one would consider a normal person.

The eleven hour flight is mostly filled with me reading a book, mum and dad talking or dad doing paper work while mum pretends she remembers everything that he talks about. It's quite amusing to watch, but I try not to and instead I focus on the book in my hands.

Dad said that's it's Carmine's, one of the few of my brothers who enjoys reading, and although his rate is a little questionable, it's definitely enjoyable to me.

When the plane finally lands, it feels like it had gone by too soon, and I'm now faced with reality, a reality that means that it's time I finally meet my brothers, the people who kept my mum alive, the people that I've heard so many stories about that it's been difficult to keep my expectations of them to a minimum. It's only when we're in the car that my father speaks again.

"Iris, Adrianna, I'm going to call the boys for an emergency meeting, they're probably going to think the worst, but just keep in mind that they don't know that I've finally found you both and that they may not even remember what you both look like, okay?" Dad explains as he pulls out his phone.

"That's okay, mi amore." My mother says, smiling brightly at the thought of seeing her sons, and I just nod, my entire body feels like it's going to explode witrh how anxious I feel.

Will they like me?

Of course not, how could they like someone like you?

How could they like someone who can't even stomach seeing herself in the mirror?

How could they like someone who can't even stand up for herself?

How could they like someone so weak and pathetic?

Why delude yourself into thinking that they'll like someone as horrible as you?

I take a deep breathe, pinching the side of my wrist to snap myself out of it. I can't let the thoughts win, my brothers are my brothers, and whether they like me or not, they're stuck with me, so to hell with whatever the fuck they think about me.

And then, we're parked outside a mansion, and I realise that I'm doomed...

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Another day, another chapter. Except I'm slightly early bc I'm in a good mood for no reason at all lol. I'm really hating this one, and finalllllyyyyy in the next chapter the brothers will finally be there for good.

I think we're all getting a bit antsy after not seeing them for so long, am I having trouble recalling their names? Yes, yes I am.

Is that going to be a problem? Nope, I've made a list that I need to check on tho lolll

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll see y'all in the next chapter, wish me luck when I'm writing it bc damn, if I don't have motivation right now-

I legitimately have no clue why tf I decided to publish this, knowing that I barely have the motivation to even make my bed on a good day-

Obviously bad decisions are my strong suit. 💀