But it was all just an illusion, wasn''t it? And now, this coffee tastes a lot more bitter than I remember, and his curl is gone and his face is always perfectly shaven and perfectly emotionless.
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening pulls me from my thoughts, and I look up to see Arthur returning.
"It was Selina," he says, his voice low and rough. "And Caleb."
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Iris & Arthur
Tris
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"Who is Caleb?"
Arthur sighs.
"He''s Selina''s brother." he says sinkin
brother," he says, sinking down into his chair. He looks more we
weary than he did a little while ago.
I''m not surprised by that tidbit of information, though. Whoever Caleb is, he sounds as if he''s certainly in a position of power. If
not in title, then at least in influence, being Arthur''s fiancee''s brother and all.
"Don''t worry. I''ll handle it," Arthur suddenly says with a wave of his hand. "You don''t need to do anything."
It seems like he''s dismissing me, so I rise from my seat. Arthur''s green eyes follow me. But then he says, "Just so you know, it
may take some time."
"How much time?"
"A few days, at least," Arthur replies. "Caleb isn''t just Selina''s brother-he''s the supreme judge of Ordan."
I furrow my brow, considering. The supreme court of Ordan basically has more authority in thew than even the Alpha
President. I find myself wondering for a moment how Arthur came to get engaged to the sister of the judge, but I quickly stop
myself.
With a curt nod, I simply say, "I trust you to handle it properly."
I don''t wait for a response. I turn on my heel and leave, and once I''m back on the crowded city street, I pull out my phone and send a quick email to the gallery curator to inform her of the news. Once I''m finished, I slip my phone back into my pocket.
Well, at least one good thing hase out of this. With the gallery shut down until this is handled, I won''t have too much to do
here in Ordan.
I think I''ll go home to visit Miles until it all blows over.
Arthur
I''m still in shock that Iris came to my office to confront me. It''s already enough that
I just found out that Iris is the up and
True to my word, I go straight to Caleb''s office to speak with him. It''s an effort to contain my anger as I stride into the space.
Caleb, as the supreme judge of Ordan, technically has more administrative power than the Alpha President. Everyw set in
motion has to go through the judge and his court. The president can veto the court''s decisions, but it''s not simple.
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Of course, I don''t have an issue with this. This system of checks and bnces was implemented into our country over a hundred
years ago as a way to keep the Alpha President from bing a tyrant.
As for Caleb, he''s a capable and intelligent man, but Selina has him wrapped around her little finger. She''s almost twenty years
younger than he is, and he still views her as his precious little sister.
"Caleb, this is ridiculous and you know it," I say, my knuckles turning white from gripping the edge of his mahogany desk so hard. "Selina can''t just have you shut down a whole art gallery-one of the pirs of ourmunity, mind you-because she got pissed at an artist."
Caleb, a man in his forties with salt-and-pepper hair and a neat beard, leans back in his chair and pushes his wire-rimmed sses up on his nose. If it weren''t for their matching gray eyes, I''d hardly think that Caleb and Selina are siblings at all.
"You must understand, Arthur," he returns, "that I must handle these matters ordingly when ites to my sister being
wronged. She is the future Luna of Ordan, after all. What sort of a precedent would it set if I let a nobody like Iris walk all over her?
A human, no less?"
His tone makes me bristle, but I try not to focus on the racism. "Iris didn''t do anything wrong. She just refused to sell her painting to Selina. Surely you don''t actually think this warrants shutting down an entire gallery."
Caleb merely shrugs. "The gallery had the chance to remove Iris'' artwork from their walls. But they didn''t, and now they''re
facing the consequences."
"Perhaps they were the ones who did the right thing," I mutter bitterly.
Caleb seems to stiffen a little at that, but maintains his calm and poised expression. "Arthur, I understand your struggle," he
finally says with a sigh. "You still wish to be entangled with Iris, your fated mate.
It''s a perfectly natural feeling. But when it''s at
my sister''s expense, I can''t stand for it."
My jaw clenches of its own ord. Caleb is well aware of the situation between
me, Iris, and Selina; he knows howplicated it
is, how my bond with Iris is utterly irresistible and how my marriage to his sister is simply for show-a transaction and nothing
more.