“What happened? Where’s Ruby?”
Liz rushed to Asher when she arrived at the ER entrance. She had been brought there by Eren with minimal explanation.
“She’s inside,” Asher pointed at the ER door.
“How is she?” Liz inquired, then turned to look at Ed, who was also staring back at her.
“You’re alive,” Ed grimaced. He wasn’t relieved to see Liz; instead, he was angry.
“What exactly have you been doing? What kind of trouble are you involved in to cause this? Or are you deliberately trying to make Ruby sick? Is this pretense over, and now you’re back to your old ways?”
Ed was furious because Liz appeared perfectly fine while Ruby had to be in the ER.
“You’ve always thought I was pretending?” Liz was a bit taken aback. Seeing Ed’s calm demeanor all this time, Liz assumed Ed believed and understood her. She thought he might find i
"Are we not going back?"Asher was puzzled when Liz kept walking instead of crossing the street to return to the hospital. They had already left the café.“Later. Ed doesn’t want to see me right now—and it’s unlikely he’ll let me see Ruby. He’s not easy to forgive.” Liz wasn’t naive enough to believe Ivy's words that everything would be fine once they’d calmed down. Even if Ed was calm, it didn’t mean it was safe.“Is your relationship that bad?” Asher was honestly surprised—shocked by the argument they had earlier.While living at Ed's house, he hadn’t noticed much. He observed that they never fought, but they also never spoke. Ruby was always between them—or AJ making noise. That covered up the reality.“I’m a bitch. Something like that. I lied, pretending I was pregnant with his child, and then miscarried, torturing him for years. It&rsqu
"Over there."Ibanez, who had followed Liz running, pointed out where Ruby was. This was the recovery room, and this was supposed to be good news. Being transferred to a recovery room meant Ruby was no longer in critical condition."Ruby!"Liz opened the door and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she saw Ruby sitting up against the pillows."You're okay!" Ruby also exclaimed with relief when she saw Liz rush in and stretch out her hands. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes."You're okay... you're okay," Ruby sobbed, letting her tears flow as Liz bent down and hugged her.At first, Liz hesitated, but the hug didn’t feel bad. It was warm, in fact, and appropriate. Ruby’s tears quickly became contagious. It felt good to know someone had been waiting for her, concerned about her.“Don’t scare me like that again. I thought you were stranded somewhere or sold off.” Ruby squeezed Liz's arm as she looked
"Oh, so there are two of you, too."Ruby pointed at Eren and Asher in surprise. This was the first time she had seen them side by side. Eren had just entered the dining room after putting one of his children to bed.“You met me at the hospital.” Eren was even more surprised that Ruby couldn’t tell them apart, especially since she had met them one after the other.“Well, I thought you had cut your hair, and then earlier... it was long again. I thought it was magic.” Ruby laughed at her own foolishness now. She had mistaken Eren for Asher, thinking he had cut his hair, and was of course astonished when she saw the real Asher with his long hair.“They're very easy to tell apart,” Liz commented.Ruby, Eren, and Asher all hissed simultaneously. Liz, of all people, had no right to say that.“Aren’t you the one who chased after me and argued fiercely because you thought I was Asher?” Eren
“I thought that house was the only building on this island.”Liz was surprised when she saw a bustling settlement at the end of the road. There was a luxury hotel, bars, and restaurants. Other luxury villas were also scattered about. The island was larger than Liz had imagined, and she had only seen one side of it earlier that day.At night, the island was more alive. The people who had been lounging by the water or in the shade earlier were now gathering under the lights, laughing and chatting.“Val rented out some plots of land, and it was a beneficial decision. She earns a decent amount of rent, and most of her businesses are doing well. Especially in summer like this,” Asher explained.“This island belongs to Val?” Liz was surprised again.“Yes, but she doesn’t really care about it anymore. Val spends most of her time in the city. Anne-Marie doesn’t come here often either, usually only durin
Asher still remembered. He was angry. He was extremely angry at that moment, but his anger quickly subsided upon witnessing Liz's tears. For a moment, he didn't care as much about the laptop, which normally couldn't even get scratched.It wasn’t just that he was unsure of what to do, but he was also confused because Liz didn’t look like other women he had seen when they cried.“You’re crying, but you don’t seem like you want pity. You look like someone being blown by a storm, but trying with all your might to stay standing, clinging on with just one finger if you have to.”Fragile, but not broken. Buffeted, but not destroyed. Liz endured. She made a mistake, accepted the consequences, but didn’t crumble. She rose again afterward, defeating despair and pride.“And it’s the same every time. Whenever I see you cry, I don’t see you as weak. You’re strong, and I find that amazing,” Asher s
"Are you sure?" Matteo inquired once more, as Ed's plan seemed quite ambitious."Yes. It won’t be quick to execute, but it’ll be headed in the right direction. I also need to prepare the right people."Matteo nodded. "I’ll help. Gemstones are the safest bet. Diamonds are the easiest, and their business moves fast. No one will be suspicious if a large amount of money flows through there."Ed simply nodded. He would defer to Matteo in this regard. "Thank you," Ed said.Matteo didn’t have to help him, but he was willing. Ed hadn’t even asked for this much involvement—he’d only sought advice initially, not Matteo’s full participation."It’s no trouble. I know more because I’m older. And consider this... let’s say it’s a form of apology. After all, it was my son-in-law who panicked and caused this mess."Matteo grumbled while glancing over at Eren and Anne-Marie, who were out
"‘You all…’”Ed stared at something on the floor with a disgusted expression, followed by a startled scream and a stream of heavy, coarse curses.“Asher? What the… Oh…” Matteo, who finally caught up, saw what made Ed curse.Asher and Liz were lying on the floor of the speedboat, covered only by towels, and frantically searching for their clothes. They had just woken up after hearing Ed’s curses.Fortunately, their clothes weren't far away, so Ed and Matteo quickly turned around and sat back down. There was no way they could watch that ‘show’ any longer.“Liz?” Ruby, of course, recognized the voice that came next, full of complaints and curses.“Wait… WAIT!” Liz, in a panic, stopped Ruby from coming up, still busy pulling on a blouse that was half-soaked. It wasn’t dripping anymore, but it was still wet. It was her only option.&ld
“He’ll ask you for details when you return, won’t he?” Asher whispered, referring to Ruby, of course.“Yeah. She’s that type, but she’s not bold enough to push yet.” Liz smiled faintly.She knew Ruby would become a very chatty little sister someday. Even earlier, her eyes were darting eagerly between Liz and Asher, wanting to ask many things but holding herself back.Ruby was still in the cautious stage since their relationship was still fresh, but one day she wouldn’t hesitate anymore.Liz used to think that would be terrifying, but now she couldn’t wait for that moment to come. She wanted to see Ruby without hesitation, to be able to talk and ask open questions.“Get up and ask Anne-Marie for new clothes. It may be summer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t catch a cold.” Ivy had already climbed onto the speedboat and pointed at Liz’s wet clothes. She was still teasing, her laughter audible, even though the boat’s engine had roared to life and they