Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Iris was sitting on the benches and table of the college grounds, working on her pieces for her design course. She had been working on them for months, and they were getting closer by the day. She wanted to help her adoptive family after they took her in as a newborn and helped raise her four younger adoptive twin brothers.

Alongside her college work, she was working on some competition pieces that she hoped would help not only her family, if she won to set up the groundwork for her own design house that not only was clothing but the accessories as well.

Iris kept to herself at 19; she knew no one, as she was on scholarship, and most of the kids in this college were here thanks to their daddies' money.

“Oh, sorry, Miss, would you mind if I sit at this table with you?” A male voice came from behind her.

Iris glanced up from her sketches, her pencil hesitating mid-stroke. She hadn't expected anyone to approach her table—most students avoided her focused intensity like she carried some contagious disease. She scanned the stranger quickly: average height, casually dressed in jeans and a plain t-shirt that had seen better days. Nothing about him screamed "trust fund baby."

"Sure," she said, her tone cooler than she intended. She shifted her papers to make room, careful to cover her most promising designs with her arm. "Just don't bump the table. These sketches took hours."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied, setting down a worn backpack and taking the seat across from her. "I'm Tony, by the way."

Iris nodded but didn't offer her name in return. She bent her head back to her work, hoping he would take the hint that she wasn't interested in conversation. She needed to finish this sketch before her evening shift at the café.

"Those look incredible," Tony said after a minute of silence.

Iris's head snapped up. He was looking at her jewellery pieces with genuine curiosity, not the dismissive glance most people gave her work.

"Thanks," she said, surprised enough to forget her usual guardedness. "It's for my final portfolio."

“And those ones?” Tony asked, “Those designs are high-end.”

“Ah, they’re for an upcoming design competition I was hoping to enter, but these sorts of industries are more about who you know than how good the designs are. I’ve been saving to start my own design house, and if I can make enough waves, maybe even buy my parents a house of their own. They’ve done a lot for me and my four younger brothers.”

Tony's eyebrows rose slightly. "Four younger brothers? That's quite a household."

Iris felt the familiar tightening in her chest whenever someone commented on her family situation. She never knew whether people were genuinely interested or just making polite conversation before moving on. She studied Tony's face for signs of insincerity but found none.

"Twin sets. They're a handful, but worth it," she said, allowing a small smile to soften her features. "My parents took me in when I was just days old. They didn't have to, but they did."

She immediately regretted sharing that detail. Why was she telling this stranger about her adoption? She never discussed personal matters with classmates. Iris turned her attention back to her sketches, adding a delicate filigree pattern to a pendant design.

"That's really admirable, what you're trying to do for them," Tony said after a moment. He didn't push for more details, which Iris appreciated.

She shrugged, keeping her eyes on her work. "They'd do the same for me. They already have."

Tony pulled out a battered laptop and opened it, seemingly content to work in silence. The lack of forced small talk was refreshing. Most people who approached her either wanted something or couldn't handle the quiet.

After twenty minutes of companionable silence, Iris's phone alarm buzzed. She needed to pack up for her shift at Café Meridian.

"I've got to go," she said, carefully sliding her designs into a reinforced portfolio case.

"Sure," Tony nodded, glancing up from his screen. "Good luck with the competition. Your work is really something."

There was something in his tone, a genuine appreciation without the condescension she often detected from others at the college. For a second, Iris hesitated, wondering if she should say more.

"Thanks. I'm Iris, by the way." She offered her name like a small gift.

"Nice to meet you, Iris." He smiled, and for some reason, it didn't trigger her usual defences.

Three weeks later, Iris's hands trembled as she opened the email from the Metropolitan Design Challenge. She'd submitted her collection on a whim, never truly expecting to place among graduates from prestigious design schools across the country.

"We are pleased to inform you..."

She read the words three times before their meaning sank in. First place. She'd won first place and the $5,000 prize.

Iris pressed her hand against her mouth, suppressing a scream of joy that would have disturbed the entire dormitory floor. This was it, the beginning of everything she'd worked for. With this recognition and the prize money, she could launch her online boutique months earlier than scheduled.

She reached for her phone to call her parents, then hesitated. It was past midnight, and they'd be asleep with early shifts tomorrow. This news could wait until morning.

Instead, she opened her laptop and began drafting plans for her website. Sleep could wait. Her future and that of her family were just about to start.

‘Ok Iris we need to be careful with this money some of it needs to go into the bank for a real store may a couple of hundred, maybe a thousand to start off her online store but some of her clothing designs to not just jewelry there was another competition she was already work on designs towards so she would need to get more art supplies for that so maybe three hundred maybe four, a thousand aside to get her own place and a thousand to start the deposit for a home for her family. The rest could go to bills if anything were left.’ She thought to herself.