Chapter: EPILOGUE ~RUBY ~FIVE YEARS LATER~ I was flipping a pancake when I heard a loud splash, immediately accompanied by a squeal, and I sighed as I walked and poked my head out of the pool door. “Jesus Christ. Ash. Jules. Keep it down,” I chastised, but Ash just looked up from his painting and grinned at me. “I don't know what you're talking about, fireball. As you can see, I'm innocent,” he winked and went back to painting. “Mummy see. I can do a backflip,” my daughter squealed and before I could stop her, she ran to the pool steps, closed her eyes, and flipped back into the water with a loud splash. “If you keep doing that there'll be no pancakes for you,” I said and she popped her head out immediately. “Oh no. I love pancakes!” “Then stop making such a loud noise,” I snapped and walked back to the kitchen, hiding a smile. The only way to get Jules into submissiveness was to threaten to take away her food. Soft footsteps pattered behind me. “I'm sorry, mum. I won't ma
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: 96. THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE ~RUBY I watched in horror as Ash lunged at Richard. The move took Richard by surprise and he stumbled backwards. He glanced up and spat, a trickle of blood running down his jaw. Ash's attack had taken him in the jaw, and he cursed as he glared at my husband's brother. “You bastard,” Richard growled and he attacked Ash with a ferocity that scared me so much that I took a step back, my legs trembling. They exchanged blows that left Richard reeling, but Ash was taking the worst of it. He had been beaten and bruised, and even though anger fueled his movements, his body was badly battered, making his movements sloppy and clumsy. Richard landed a blow on Ash's face, and a sharp crack filled the air. My horror grew as I saw blood trickle down Ash's nose, and I realized that his nose was broken. My hands started to shake as they continued to beat each other, and the grunts made me flinch. I had to do something. If I stood there and watched, helpless and useless, som
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: 95. HEROIC FIREBALL ~RUBY I knew deciding to go to the location was me walking into a trap, but this was Ash. There was no saying what that man could do to him, and I honestly could not stand losing another member of my family. He was my husband's brother. And my friend. Besides, I would not be able to go on for long as a member of the Riverstone's family with no one to help me. But the greater factor of all, that made me pick up a pen and write a note to Ella, that made me decide that I would go, even when it was glaringly obvious that there was nothing I could do to help, was because he had always been there for me. Ash had always, always given me a shoulder to cry on. He had comforted me countless times, being there for me, took risks for me, and loved me all the same. The least I could do was to be there for him, too. So I placed the note I wrote on the bedside table where Ella's phone was, took a deep breath, and picked up my phone. The location he sent was a secluded area not
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: 94. THE SILENT PROTECTOR ~ETHAN I staggered out of the hospital room, my vision swimming and my head pounding. But I didn't stop. Every step was agony to my limbs, and I was sure the pain was going to rip me out from inside. But I continued to walk. I had ruined everything. Memories of how I acted that day played over and over in my head, so frequently that I thought I was going to lose my mind. I wanted to scream, to shake myself out of the pain. But I didn't. Doing that would only draw attention to me, and I really needed to get to Ruby. To salvage the situation. But if I let out this scream of horror and pain that was building in me, they would detain me and stop me from going to Ruby, so I swallowed it. Gritting my teeth in pain and dizziness, I made it to a side door that led outside the hospital. A cab pulled up as soon as I managed to drag myself to the sidewalk, and I stumbled inside. “The.. River…Riverstone's Villa, please,” I gasped in short breaths as I spoke, and the cab man
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: 93. THE WALKING DEAD ~A FEW HOURS EARLIER~ ~ETHAN My body felt as though it was being dragged through mud as I tried to regain consciousness. Straining against the strange sensation, I opened my eyes. I was in a hospital. The ‘drop drop’ sound of the drip sounded like a ticking bomb to my ears, and I closed my eyes, trying to shut the sound away to no avail. Wires ran across my body, connected to different types of machines, and my heart rate picked up as I tried to remember what happened. My head hurt so bad though, and it made it so hard to think, so I relaxed a bit, trying to coax the information out of my brain. Something was at the edge of my brain, something important, but I couldn't access it. It was as though my brain was asleep, and reviving it would take a lot to work. Footsteps sounded down the hall, and I closed my eyes immediately, pretending to be asleep. Two people stepped into my room, and I could feel their scrutiny as they peered down at
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
Chapter: 92. FALLING INTO PLACE ~RUBY Everything clicked into place for me. How he always seemed to know when something happened, how he always appeared out of thin air whenever Mr A struck. It explained how he knew about my allergy. He must have read about it in the marriage document I exchanged with Ethan. Oh my goodness. My knees got weak and could not hold me up any longer, so I slid down the floor, the coolness grounding me a little bit. Ella was worried, and she stood up from the couch to join me on the floor. “Baby. What is it again? What did Patrick say?” Her voice was choked with worry and panic, while my mind whirled at the extensiveness of Richard's cruelty. “Mr. A. Richard is Mr. A,” I managed to whisper, and the tremor of shock that went through Ella reverberated in me. “How…why…” she wanted to talk, but words eluded her, as they did me. “God. Richard's scheme was so…” I tried speaking too, but I could not wrap my head around it. Everything that has been wrong, that ha
Last Updated: 2024-05-08
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