~RUBY
I was singing along to Doja's Agora Hills when my phone rang for the millionth time. I sighed, immediately knowing who the caller was before even checking the contact name. When has Ella never stressed the hell out of my life? I clicked the red icon, cutting the call and turning up the volume on the car speaker as the song started all over again. "Kissing and hope they caught us…" "Whether they like it or not…I wanna show you off… I wanna show you off…" I continued to sing, nodding my head to the beat when my phone rang again. I sighed as I reduced the volume and clicked the green icon. "Dude, what the hell? Where are you?" she practically yelled immediately the call went through. My shoulders shook with laughter at her outrage and I let her steam without interruption. "Are you even listening to me?" she asked and I rolled my eyes. "I am. I was waiting for you to stop shouting," I replied and she gasped. God, this girl has to be the most dramatic human ever. "What do you mean, shouting? I've been waiting for you for the past 30 minutes and now you're claiming that I'm shouting? Seriously?" "Ella. Calm down. Don't blow my head off. I'm almost at the mall okay? I'm like…two streets away. Chill. Nobody's in a hurry," I replied, still nodding to the beat of Agora Hills playing in the background. "Whatever. Just be snappy about it and get here in the next five minutes or I'm going to kill you for real this time." "Aye, aye captain. Now get the hell away from my phone. You're distracting me from listening to my sweetheart," I snapped lightly and ended the call. I turned up the volume of my speaker again as the traffic light turned red and continued to sing. I've been obsessed with this song since it got released and I absolutely cannot get enough of it. "Somethin' different about you... Love it when he hits and smacks too... Baby, let me lick on your tattoos... That's true that I like PDA, take it to a seedy place…" I kept getting bemused glances from cars on the other side of the lane but I didn't care. They could stare all they liked. I was getting really engrossed in the song, raising my voice and bobbing my head frantically when my phone rang again. "I'm stuck at a red light you dolt. Stop calling me and disturbing my song," I screamed at her without bothering to reduce the volume, glaring at my phone screen as though she could see me. "Oh my freaking goodness. Are you listening to what I think you're listening to?" She screamed— literally screamed. I bet she would be kicked out of the mall if she kept up with the crazy attitude. The light turned green and I sped off, singing at the top of my voice and I could hear Ella singing along with me. "Oh. Now that I'm playing our favourite, you're no longer screaming at me?" I chuckled. She ignored me and when the last chorus faded, I turned off the speaker. "I'm here, dolt. You don't need to—" I started to say when my car jolted forward, the momentum threw me off instantly. "Hmm? What were you saying?" she asked but I was too stunned to speak. If I was right, and I hoped as hell that I was wrong, then someone had just hit my car. "You know what, El? I'll be with you very soon. Gimme a few seconds," I said and hung up without waiting for her reply. I stepped out of my car and was shocked to see my bumper ripped off. What the hell? I swivelled to the car that committed the heinous act and saw that the owner was sitting comfortably, nodding along to whatever he was listening to through the headset. I stormed towards the car, stewing with righteous rage. He was so far gone into what he was listening to with his dark shades on, so I proceeded to bang my hands on the hood of his car to get his attention. "Uhm…ma'am? I think you've got the wrong car," he called out, rolling down his window. I glared at him and continued to bang my hands on the hood, sending a silent message for him to step out of that car and face me. "If you want to vandalise other people's properties, I can direct you to a safe place where you can do it without getting arrested," he sounded amused, which only fueled my anger. I marched towards him, my expression murderous. "Step out!" I ordered, placing my hands on my hips. He only continued to stare at me with that annoying amused expression and I banged my hands on his hood one more time. "Step the fuck out of that car, you asshole!" I screamed, breathing heavily. I was beginning to draw a crowd but I didn't care. He sighed, rubbed his temples and stepped out of the car. Holy shit. My anger sputtered for a second, taking in this man in all his glory. He was ripped and those muscles looked so heavenly that I could get lost exploring forever. His eyes were green, which immediately became my favourite color and his hair— oh my freaking goodness!his hair. They looked so soft and I suddenly wanted to run my hands through them. This man was hot as hell, damn. There was also something familiar about him but I just couldn't place where I had seen him. He stepped towards me and one look at my face, froze him in place. Oh my goodness. Is he checking me out too? I could feel my cheeks turning red and I turned away, trying to hide my blush when my eyes landed on my broken jumper. That jolted me out of my mindless fantasy and my anger came rushing back. I turned back to glare at him. "Aren't you going to apologise?" I snapped, crossing my arms across my chest. "Apologise? Sorry but you were the one who was banging on my car." "Because you ran into me and ripped my bumper off," I screamed, my hands forming into fists. The audacity of this man! He took a step towards me. "Look. I don't know what your deal is. But you're causing a scene and well, I've got better things to do than to argue with someone like you." "What do you mean, someone like me? You're so rude and arrogant. I will teach you a lesson," I spun around and saw a policeman eyeing our exchange. I walked towards him and explained what happened. The guy was leaning on his car, his arms crossed as we walked towards him. "Arrest him," I ordered and flicked out my tongue at the offender, expecting him to react. The policeman took one look at him and stepped back, looking between us anxiously. "Erm…ma'am. I'm afraid I can't…uh…make an arrest. This young man is Ash Riverstone. He—" he started to say but the guy cut him off, stepping up to me. "Little Miss Fireball. Are you sure you want to keep this man uncomfortable? He obviously can't do anything to me. Why not just let us forget about this little…squabble and go our separate ways?" he said softly, his eyes boring into mine. That was when it all began to make sense. Of course, the Riverstone brothers. They were the most powerful family in our city and they were above the law. They were twins, one twin was calm and cold and the ideal businessman while the other twin was this annoying man. My phone rang before I could reply and the guy turned away from me, dismissed the officer and drove off without another word. "What? I'm on my way in," I snapped at Ella and hung up as I stormed into the mall. Ella must have sensed my foul mood and said nothing as we proceeded without shopping. I was still so mad over what happened that I could not stop thinking about it. The audacity! And to think I thought that blubbering police man was actually efficient. Bunch of fools, both of them. I just repaired the bumper last week. And now I had to repair it again! Ella tapped my shoulder, shaking me out of the pit of anger I was in and gestured towards my bag. "Your phone's ringing, girl. What are you so engrossed in?" She said lightly as I checked who was calling. My hiss could be heard in all of the city. I dropped the phone back into my bag and went on with what I was doing. The phone continued to ring and after the fifth ring, Ella sighed. "Just pick it up, babe. I don't know what crawled up your ass but that call seems important. No one would be persistent if it was not about something urgent," she urged and I gave in. "What?" I snapped at the caller. His reply took the air out of me, and the shopping basket dropped from my hands to the floor. "Ruby? Ruby. Who was that?" Ella asked, panic evident in her voice. "Patrick. He said my father collapsed at the office today. He had a heart attack," I whispered to my best friend, as the first set of tears rolled down my eyes.~RUBY I sped towards the hospital, overtaking cars and running past red lights. My heart was pounding heavily against my chest, threatening to burst out of my body. My father. The light of my life. My world. The man I loved most in the whole wide world. He was hospitalized. Had an heart attack. Immediately the hospital appeared in my line of sight, I slammed down the brakes and flung myself out of the car without bothering to park carefully. I ran into the hospital and immediately saw Patrick. I grabbed his arm, shaking him violently. "What the hell happened to my father?" I asked, my voice raw with fear and panic. He eased himself out of my grip and continued pacing, running his hands through his hair. "Just calm down, okay? Calm down. He's stable now," he said in an attempt to dilute my raw panic. But his words were not working on me. He was as panicked as I was too. "Who the fuck are you to tell me to calm down? My father is lying in an hospital bed helplessly and
~RUBY My head was pounding as I raced home, trying to decipher what just happened. His name kept ringing in my head, no matter how much I tried to shut it out. Ethan. Ethan. Ethan. I was so out of sorts that I debated driving over to my dad's when it occurred to me that he was still in the hospital, recovering. I decided to head home instead. I walked absentmindedly to my door, fumbling with the lock. When the door opened from the inside, my insides lurched. "Ruby," Ella screamed, drawing my name out and I flinched. She dragged me inside, oblivious to the turmoil going on inside me. "I saw your text. So I decided to come over to wait for you. I need the full gist. Which son did you meet? Was it the badass, sexy Ash or the broody, hawt and definitely delicious Ethan?" She squealed and the tension dissolved from my body as a smile tugged at my lips. I loved this girl. Not that I was going to tell her. I rolled my eyes, concealing my smile as I eased myself out of
~ASH I woke up with a groan, my head pounding violently. I groaned, cursing the excess way I drank yesterday. My cell phone beeped and I rolled over, using my hands to search for the device. I bumped into a warm, naked body and I tensed. The blonde followed me home? I sighed as I pried my eyes open and stared down at her. Desire gripped me and I smacked her, not giving her a chance to wake up on her own. She groaned, a small little sound which reverberated all the way to my member, making it hard and ready. "Come to daddy," I whispered and she sat up immediately and straddled me, her tits bouncing. I grabbed them and buried my face in it, her moans urging me on. My phone beeped again and for some reason I couldn't decipher, I had this weird urge to check it. So I did. The notification had my desire dissipating immediately, anger making my jaw tick. Damn Ethan. I dropped the phone and stared at the blonde sitting on me, waiting for me to give her the time of her live.
~RUBY Ava Max was playing somewhere, dangerously close to me. The sound of her singing was disturbing my sleep and I turned over, pulling my pillow to cover my ears. She continued to sing. I'm going to kill Ella. I sat up with a groan, stretching, my body deliciously sore as I searched for Ella. She was the only one who tortured me with loud music every morning. Apparently, this morning was not exempted. As I looked around though, unfamiliar furniture stared back at me when I remembered that I was no longer at home. Memories of my wedding floated past the fog in my head and I gasped. If I was married, then it meant that I was in the Riverstone's mansion! Then that sound...my phone was ringing. I scrambled out of the bed and grabbed my phone from the bedside stand. As soon as I saw the caller's ID, I groaned. Yeah, my decision to kill Ella still stands. I'd gladly accept my jail term. "Why on earth are you calling me this early? I have a beauty sleep to c
~RUBY The silence in the room was loaded. The air became tense and strained. Or maybe it was just me. I had no idea why I was reacting to Ash this way. It was probably because he was a jerk to me. Ethan said nothing, he just corked his head to the side as he watched his brother. "I uhm," Ash cleared his throat. "I think I might have done something bad last night," he said. The way he glanced at me and then at Ethan made me immediately suspicious. What have you done, you agent of devil? Okay, probably not devil. More like agent of confusion. "Just get on with it, Ash. Suspense is bad for the health. Keeping newlyweds in suspense is bad etiquette," Ethan said and I smiled. His sense of humour was top notch. My sweet, funny husband. "I think I might have booked a hotel reservation for your honeymoon," he said sheepishly. I snorted. I did not believe his act for a second. He was a pretending jerk. His eyes glinted with amusement when he caught me glaring at
~RUBY "Ruby? You okay?" Ella's voice floated to me from my phone speaker but I was too distracted to give her a response. I hung up and placed my phone in my pocket. Ethan hadn't noticed me yet, he was shaking the water out of his hair. "Damn, man. You look really delicious. I want to sink my teeth into you," I crooned as I looked him over and he yelped, stepping backwards. "Ruby! What are you doing here?" His voice was hoarse and his cheeks turned beet red as I continued to ogle at his perfect, delicious, definitely eatable body "Darling husband. What do you mean what am I doing here? This is our bedroom of course," I teased as I took a step towards him. He immediately took a step backwards and I chuckled. "Come on. Don't be shy. We are married, after all," I said as I continued to tease him by walking closer. "Don't come closer." "Make me," I purred and his whole face went kaboom, redder than a tomato. "Stop. Just stop. I'm embarrassed. I forgot to take
~ETHAN "Ethan. How do I look?" She asked. And I turned away from the wristwatch only to come face to face with her. Her. Mine. Her. A screeching sound immediately began to disturb my sense of hearing, and sight, and common sense. No. No. No. Who is she? Her...dead. Alive? Standing right before me. Bleeding on her car seat. My bedroom. An hospital room. Tears. Laughter My heart began to pound as I tried to concentrate on the lady standing before me. She looked worried, her eyebrows pinched my concentration as she tried to talk to me. But I could not concentrate because she split into two, her doppelganger dressed in a short, pleated skirt and a cashmere cardigan, a bow on her lush, black hair. Black hair. Red hair. Same face. Same body structure. Black hair, red hair. "Ethan? Ethan. Oh my goodness. My God. You're scaring me. What's going on?" She asked, panic creeping into her voice as I stared at her, my eyes twitching. Two univers
~RUBY My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. I somehow felt that what happened with Ethan was my fault. All I wanted was a compliment. I didn't expect him to lose it when he saw me. So yeah, the guilt was eating me real bad. I made sure he knew none of this though, as I continued to pat him on the back. His shoulders heaved softly and I knew he was crying. God. I can't even imagine how hard things must be for him. My poor boy. I started to hum a sound I don't remember recall listening to, but it stuck by me all the same. His breathing seemed to become easier as I hummed and I held him close, trying to convey that I'd always hold him whenever he was down. After a while, Ethan sniffed and pulled away from my embrace. "Hey. You okay?" I asked softly but he looked away, his cheeks becoming slightly red. He didn't look at me. I moved closer to him, not minding my dress and his nakedness. "Ethan? Talk to me. Are you okay?" I asked again and Ethan jerked his he