~ASH When I walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water, I was not entirely surprised. Of course, this was Ruby. She was the most impulsive person I had ever known and probably the most reckless too. I sighed, dropping the glass of water. Ethan had asked me to watch over her, but what was the point of watching over someone who did not want to be watched. “Well, let her go and do something stupid, as usual. I’m sure Ethan would be more than willing to clean up her mess,” I muttered to myself. I settled down on the couch, preparing to watch a football match, but I could not concentrate enough to turn on the TV. What if she went and did something dangerous? What if she went and hurt herself because her friend was nowhere to be found? What if she went and got into an accident? There would be no purpose to using her as a punishment to my brother if she accidentally ended up in a hospital, right? And besides, that was not the type of punishment I wanted for my brothe
~RUBY The police arrived in record time, and I watched numbly as the thief was taken away. We were standing outside now, and Ash had wrapped his arms around me. I was too tired to push him away, again. The tears had stopped, as well as the shaking. But I was still trembling lightly. "You alright?" Ash asked softly and I nodded. "Okay. They should be here any moment," he said, mostly to himself. "They? Who are you—" I started to ask but was cut short by the sound of the ambulance siren blasting noise as it entered the neighborhood. Ash must have called the ambulance, and I felt grateful that he was here, with me. I shuddered to even imagine what would have happened if he had been late, even for a minute. Or if he had not come at all. The medics came rushing down and started attending to me, taking care of my bruises and cuts. They asked no questions as they led me to the back of their van, and a female medic, who must have noticed my slight tremors wrapped me
~RUBY My heart stopped working. It literally stopped breathing, and I was surviving barely on anger. I wanted to do a lot of things, and on the top of the list was beating the officer up till he was unable to use that foul mouth of his again. The last thing I wanted to do was still bent on beating him up. Probably not to death but maybe to the point of incapacitation. Of course I'd destroy his mouth first. I was pretty sure he saw the murderous intent on my face because he chuckled as he leaned back on his chair. That was what did it for me. That damn chuckle made me fly up and I lost my temper. "You, Detective Cole or whatever you go by— you owe me an apology. I will not—" My voice came out too strong on the last word, and his eyes flared, but I was past caring. "I will not allow you, or anyone else defame my best friend. In fact, if not that it seemed like a waste of my precious time, I'd sue you to court for daring to say those...filthy words!" The
~RUBY Ethan and Ash rushed to my side immediately. My hands were trembling badly now, and I had turned as white as sheet. "What is it? What is in the goddamn document?" Ash asked, his words cold and impatient. I could not speak so I passed the document to him wordlessly. “These are records of business done in the black market! Human trafficking! Shit! They sell mostly girls!” Ethan exclaimed as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That's not even the worst part. It's a modeling agency called Amber. Ring a bell to you?” Ash asked. I gasped as it began to make sense. “Amber Homes,” I muttered. “Hold up, let me look it up on the internet,” Ethan said and I watched as he typed fast on his phone. Then he shook his head dejectedly after a few minutes. “Shit! This is huge!” Ash was now holding his phone too. “There were some complaints about about their dark business. A girl claimed the modeling agency was just a sham to cover up the real thing they did.
~RUBY The explosion shook the ground, and the impact of it had people scrambling for safety. Etham grabbed my wrist and dragged me down to hide under our table. My heart, which never really settled from its earlier pounding started again. We were under the table for a few minutes, when Ash popped his head to glare at us. "Come out. We need to go and check on the Detective. It was his car that exploded," he said as he strode away without waiting for us. Ethan helped me up and we rushed after him. A crowd had gathered around the exploded car and I held my breathe as we made our way through the them. The Detective...rude as he was, was the only key we had to unravelling Ella's whereabouts and I sure as hell wasn't hoping to see his dead, burnt body. We walked hurriedly towards the remains of the smouldering car, taking care not to get too close to the ruin. What if the Detective had gotten into the car by the time it blew up? I shuddered at the thought of the
~RUBY I sobbed as I watched Ella on the drive home. My eyes never left hers and she didn't stir until we got home. Ash carried her into the house, and she stirred as he placed her down on the couch gently. Ella was restless, shifting her body one way and the other as if to find a comfortable spot. She was whimpering, her hands weakly batting away invisible hands. I sat down beside her and shook her awake gently. "Ella. Ella, open your eyes. You're safe now," my voice was laced with tears as I watched my best friend fight an invisible opponent. She gasped at my touch, and opened her eyes, looking around in fear. When she was calmed down enough to focus on my face, she cried out with hope and joy as she hugged me, latching on to me like I was a lifeline. "Ruby. Ruby. Oh my God, Ruby. I thought I wasn't going to see you again. I was scared. I was so afraid," she sobbed and my heart tore into tiny, unrecognisable pieces at the sheer panic in Ella's voice. My eyes f
~RUBY I froze, my gaze pinned on Ella's sleeping form. As if she sensed me looking at her, she opened her eyes. "Ruby. I–I don't want to stay here. Can we go home, please?" She whispered and I nodded, trying so hard to hide the fear and panic from my face. I nodded, and walked outside the hospital room to find my husband. The Detective had left, Ash was leaning against the wall, and Ethan was pacing nervously. "Ella wants to go home. Can you arrange that?" I smiled shakily and Ethan, who was too agitated to notice how slightly I was shaking, nodded and walked away from the hallway. I turned away from Ash, too exhausted to even think of him. I knew I should tell someone about the call, but I didn't want to bring about another conflict into all this chaos. And I didn't even know where to start from. I walked back into the room, and helped Ella to stand. I knew Ethan would deal with the medical authority so we didn't need to worry about them not letting Ella leave.
~ASH I couldn't sleep. My heart was pounding like crazy and I kept thinking about that moment in the terrace. How her lips felt when I kissed her. The small, tiny gasp that echoed in the back of her throat when our lips touched. The way her stiff and rigid body softened towards mine for a moment. The way she leaned in, opening up to me as her restraint crumbled. The way she tasted. Good lord. I know I've kissed her a lot of times during the nights I sneak up on her, but this— this was different. It was tender and sweet and beautiful and— It made my heart race. Sweet baby Jesus! I blushed hard when she left, my racing heart making it hard for me to hear anything else. I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to kiss her so bad and I thought about it all night that it made me mad. I should not be thinking about kissing her again, at least not this way. The only time I should kiss her should be when I'm pretending to be her husband and fucking her brains
~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
~RUBY It's been twenty four hours since the trial, Ash's kidnap, and the accusations, but it felt like years to me. I laid on my hospital bed and didn't say a word. There was nothing to say, anyway. Ella and my father exchanged worried glances all the time, but they could not help me. So they waited for me, and I waited for my husband. If only Ethan had listened. If only I had been strong enough to save them both. If only I hadn't found the diary. If only… Damnit. There was no point in wishing things had happened differently, but I couldn't help myself. If I had a genie, I would not even ask for three wishes. What I would have wished for was for Ethan to come back to life, and set things right. If he came back, I would make him listen, and the three of us would raise the kid together. I would not even give a damn about Richard and his shenanigans. He could go to hell for all I care. All I wanted was Ethan. But a dead person always remain dead. They never ca
~RUBY I was shaken from facing that crowd and telling the truth, but I was glad I did it. I was so scared, that I feared I would not be able to speak, but I did it. “My darling. I'm so proud of you,” Ella whispered as she hugged me, and I sagged against her, watching them lead Ash away. Cole went with them, and the courtroom bustled around me and Ella. No one paid attention to us though, so I let my facade down, and let her hold me. I felt weak, since I didn't allow my body to recover before rushing all the way here, letting Ella brief me in the taxi. The short burst of energy that carried me through the whole process of running here and giving my account was gone now, and my body ached so bad. “I'm so tired. I feel like my legs are going to give out any minute,” I groaned and Ella shifted her weight slightly away from mine. “Come on. Let's go back to the hospital,” she said and I nodded. We made our way slowly through the court room, Ella calling for a taxi as we wal
~ASH I was shocked. Surprised. Befuddled. Stunned. I didn't expect Ruby to wake up soon, and from Cole's expression, he didn't expect it too. But she was here and she was awake, and that was all that mattered. I was happy. She seemed okay, no matter how weak she looked. She was okay. Even if I was sentenced to jail or death, I would die happily. The judge started at her words. “You are a witness to what happened?” He asked. “Yes, I am.” The prosecutor stood up with an uncomfortable expression, and Ruby, standing in the witness box, took the oath of truth. “Speak, witness,” the judge ordered. “Ethan, my husband, invited us both to the restaurant. He was acting weird, but I was too absorbed in the information I wanted to pass across to them to notice. It was when he showed us the pictures and started acting up that I noticed. I tried reasoning with him, but he was too far gone in his answer to listen. It was when he wanted to hit me that Ash stepped in and s