~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 her grip and headed to the kitchen. "Hmm. Smells nice here. Did an angel fly over to prepare dinner for me?" I gasped, my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline. She filled a cup with water and slid it over to me before ushering me to sit on a stool at the counter. "Shut it and tell me. I will not let you weave your way out of this discussion." "I can smell pasta. And oh my goodness, is that cheese?" I tried manoeuvring myself away from her grip but she held on tight. "Spit it out, you little devil." Ugh. Fine. "Apparently, I'm to marry Ethan," I said and immediately regretted it because Ella screamed and started banging her hands on the counter. "Jeez. What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you trying to get me kicked out of my apartment?" I rolled my eyes. She stood up and grabbed my cup of water, draining it. "Sorry. You just mentioned a hot piece of cake. Forgive me for trying to douse myself with lots of water," she muttered as she filled the cup to the brim and drained it again. I sighed, rubbing my temples. Did I just say I loved this girl? I take back my words. I absolutely detest her! "Okay. I'm okay. Go on now," she urged and I told her the rest of the story, starting with the date and how our conversation went well. "But. I think something is wrong," I voiced out, my initial fear crawling back. Ella must have noticed the change in my countenance because her expression became serious, and she stared at me with unnerving focus. "Breathe, babe. You look a little pale," she said softly. "I— I don't know. This may sound weird. No, it will sound weird because I know what I saw. I just don't know how to deal with it," my voice came out shaky which was pretty pathetic to me. Ella held my hands and said nothing, waiting for me to find the courage to say whatever it is. I took a deep breath. And another. And another. I told her what I saw when I wanted to return his documents. For the first time since I had met Ella, she was speechless. Stunned. Dumbfounded. The house was silent for what felt like a lifetime. "You think Ethan is mad?" She whispered. I shook my head. "I don't think so. I know." "Oh. My. God. This is very very bad." "I know, right," I grimaced. "Okay. Has he tried to contact you since you left?" "I have no idea. It was so weird and, I don't know, out of sorts. I could not concentrate. So I didn't check my phone." Ella stood up wordlessly, and started to rummage my bag for my cell phone. Her jaw dropped when she found it. "Babe. This gist gets so freaking interesting," she whispered as the screen of my phone lit up. I grabbed it from her and my jaw dropped too. Holy shit. I had a hundred plus unread text messages. And all from Ethan. "Ruby please. We need to talk...There's something I didn't tell you... Just pick my calls please... I didn't mean to mess things up..." The rest of the messages were similar so I didn't bother opening them. As if on cue, my phone started ringing. Guess who? Yeah, Ethan, of course. I groaned and walked to my bedroom, flopping on my bed. The bed dipped as Ella sat beside me. "Why aren't you picking his calls?" "I can't deal with it right now..." "Okay. But you can't avoid him forever. I mean, if things work out you guys will be married before the end of the year." I sat up. "Exactly. This is the man I'm about to marry, El. He has a fucking mental Illness." The screen of my phone lit up with new messages and Ella switched my phone off, placing it on my bed stand. She scooted over to me and hugged me, tears finally pricking my eyes. "Let's go to sleep, my darling. We'll figure it out tomorrow," she crooned. It was way past midnight before I slept. My sleep was plagued with my day's events and I would have remained stuck in them had a noise not pulled me out. It was the sound of my doorbell ringing relentlessly. I turned around and buried my head in the crook of Ella's shoulder, willing the person to go away. The ringing stopped. And continued right back. I rubbed my eyes as I stood up, anger slowly simmering as I walked towards the door. "What the—" my voice trailed off as I saw the numerous packages on my doorstep. Cake. Flowers. What seemed to be expensive clothes. Jewelries. More cake. Perfume. A Teddy bear. All courtesy of Ethan. My scream woke Ella. And probably all of New York. Ten minutes later, I was pacing around my whole apartment not knowing how to feel. "You've probably worn holes in the floorboard by now," Ella teased. "What does he want from me, Ella? Why is he sending gifts to me?" My question was rhetorical, but it felt good to say it out. If I was alone in this house, I'd have probably gone mad too. Surprisingly though, Ethan had stopped calling. And texting. Which made me strongly believe that he was up to no good. My doorbell rang. "I'm betting that's another delivery. Maybe you're getting shoes this time," Ella teased as I walked towards the door. Her bet was wrong. Entirely off the chart. I closed the door in Ethan's face and turned to scream at Ella. "Code red," alarm bells started ringing in my head. "Code red? He's fucking here? In person? Not a robot?" "Of course he's not a robot! Ethan is at the door!" I practically yelled, my heart rate skyrocketing. "And you closed the door on him and here we are, screaming our brains out." "Just shut up and go out through the kitchen door. Don't go too far. I'll call you when we're done..." I winced, "discussing." Ella left, her glance bothering between worry and amusement. I took a deep breath and opened the door again. "Hi," I said brightly. Too bright. He held a bag towards me. I took it, ushered him inside and glanced at it. Shoes. Damnit. Ella was right. He was fidgeting nervously as he sat down, unable to meet my eyes. "I, uh, I am so sorry about what happened yesterday," his voice was quiet. I corked my head to the side. "What exactly happened yesterday, Ethan?" "My, uhm, episode." "Your what?" I was confused. What the hell was an episode? He said nothing, his eyes darted nervously. "If you aren't going to tell me the truth, Ethan, then I'm backing off from the wedding," his head jerked up and fear shone in his eyes. "Please. Please don't do that. You see, something happened and I had an accident. The accident shattered me, leaving a part of my brain in shambles," his voice caught on the last word as he swallowed back a sob. "I began to have mental episodes where I would lose total control. The episodes can be for hours or even days and yesterday, yesterday was particularly worse," he explained. I was still staring at him when he locked his gaze with mine and his eyes softened. "But something was different yesterday... And it happened when I saw you," he whispered. I blinked multiple times at him. "Wh— what are you talking about?" I stuttered. "You made the voices go away..." he revealed. "What?" I asked breathlessly. Ethan exhaled sharply and took tentative steps toward me. He came so close that I thought he was going to kiss me and all I could do was stare like an idiot. "The world went silent when I saw you... It's as if my brain acknowledged you as the only medicine to stop my episode instantly," he went on. I looked up into his eyes and for the first time, a strange heat came alive in my stomach and an involuntary shiver seized me, causing me to release it in the form of a shudder. "Ethan..." I managed to say. "I know this is crazy and I just met you but... I need you...I want to try this marriage thing with you..." It was too much to take in, too much to handle. His eyes were red with raw anguish and a tiny place in my heart shattered. I stepped away from him instantly, breaking away the magic that had taken over the air. "Leave. Please, Ethan. Go. I need space to digest what you just told me," I whispered shakily and as he walked out of the door, sadness weighing down his steps, I dialled Ella's contact. I needed an anchor. "Babe. Ruby. Listen to me. You are doing this for your dad. Do you want to watch him go down the drain? All his sacrifices wasted?" She asked. "I know what Ethan said is a big pill to swallow but please, please Ruby, don't dash your father's hope. You can't break because of this. You can't afford to," I could hear Ella's words, but I could not process them. What the hell am I supposed to do? "I...Ella. This is bullshit." "Yes it is. But for the people we love, we don't stop at the bare minimum," she whispered. My thoughts went to dad, broken and battered in a hospital. I picked up my cell phone and texted Ethan. Just a sentence. "When do we start planning the wedding? " Ella was right. We don't stop at bare minimum for the people we love. And for my dad, I'd do anything. Even if it meant getting married to a mad man.~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
~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
~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
~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
~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
~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