~RUBY The world stopped moving. The waves of the water below us, Ash's quiet breathing, the sound of the waiters pattering somewhere far from our table, the slow, sensuous music. Everything faded away. I was frozen on my seat, unable to breathe, unable to move. Ash's lips were parted midway, and Ethan seemed to be the only living thing in this environment. Dread filled me. Ash's eyes never left mine, and memories of the kiss floated through my mind. I remembered how he kissed me suddenly, how guilt flashed in his eyes when I slapped him. And I remember us being very alone. Which meant that Richard must have planted a spy on us. My breathe hitched when I remembered how smug he was, how utterly confident he spoke when he asked me to be set free. ‘Go and undo yourself, Ruby.’ Oh my God. This was what he meant. Ethan was still staring at me, lethal malice in his gaze. I knew there was no way I could get through him or convince him that it was not what it lo
~RUBY I gasped. Horror filled me as I watched my husband and his brother fall to the other side. The broken railing fell away, and I heard it land into the water. My feet refused to move for what seemed like hours, but when I heard nothing, I forced them to move. They were okay. They had to be. I refused to think about the alternatives. Thinking in that line would only horrify me further, and I was already having issues keeping my fear down. Looking around, I realized that I could not call for help. Ethan had booked the whole place, and the waiters were no where to be found. I walked to the edge of the cliff with shaky legs, and took a deep breathe. Look down, Ruby. Look down. I didn't want to look down. I didn't want to see the body of my husband and his brother impaled on some rocks in the water. I didn't want to see, but I had no choice. I had to. Swallowing my fear and horror, I looked down. There was no bodies on the water. No blood. Broken ribs
~ASH Ruby went limp in my arms, and the terror that had seemed to soak into my bones gripped me again as I tried to shake her awake. My head was pounding from everything that happened, and I had a very hard time wrapping my head around it. Ethan was gone. I stopped shaking Ruby for a while to look down, but his body had still not floated to the surface of the water. Fear crawled from the abyss of my being and lodged in my throat. “Help,” I yelled. My hands were trembling and I almost dropped Ruby, but I held on and tried shaking her awake again. “Jesus. Ruby. I need you. Don't go unconscious on me, please. Baby. Wake up. Wake up,” she didn't do as much as stir, and tears filled my eyes as I continued to shake her. My life had been upended in just one evening. How did things escalate this fast? And it was all my fault. I caused it. My blind rage made me do something foolish, and I threw a stone at my perfect glass house. I should be the one at the bottom of t
~ASH I was taken to the police station, and no one listened to me when I tried to explain. I yelled, screamed, threatened to beat them up, and cried. But they didn't listen. Dumped unceremoniously into a cell, my head bowed with shame and guilt and anger. I was prepared to tell the truth, but the police seemed determined to hear and see lies. So I said nothing and continued to simmer in pain. The cell door opened, and I was led out by a skinny police who smelled like rotten food. He poked me with his baton and directed me to the investigation room. His rotten breath and rude attitude made me want to bash his head in, and by the time I was seated before a detective in the interrogation room, I was shaking with anger. The detective smiled, an oily, slimy thing that made my stomach turn, and I growled at him in return. “Hello, Mr. Riverstone. I trust you're comfortable?” He asked, his uneven teeth making an appearance. They were trying to rile me up, but I was not goi
~ELLA I dropped down on my bed with a groan as I searched around for my phone. Finding it on the blanket beside me, I yawned as I picked it up and opened it. Work had been demanding these days, and as much as I looked forward to working with this brand for years, sometimes, I just wanted to go home and sleep. Most especially, I wanted to see my baby. Ruby's contact had been unreachable the last few times I tried her contact, but I didn't really pay attention to it. It was probably due to the fact that I was calling from a great distance, and at unorthodox times, too. Checking the time difference, I was glad to see that it was just morning over there, so I opened my phone and was about to click on the call icon when a breaking news flashed on my phone. I was about to swipe away when a very familiar name caught my eye. Riverstone. Heart thudding at this sudden news flash, I sat up and opened the news. My jaw dropped open. The headline was: DISASTER AT THE RIV
~ASH The days passed in a blur, and the only people I saw were the wardens, bringing in terrible food at irregular intervals. I had nothing to do, so I thought long and hard about what happened. It should have been obvious that Ethan had lost his sense of reasoning when he called us both for a meal. But then, his episodes had always been explosive, so I was surprised, still am, to think about how calm and collected he was. How did it escalate that quickly, though? One moment Ruby was looking so happy as she ate, and the next she was frozen with horror, as Ethan reached out to hit her. Come to think of it, the fight should not have ended the way it did. The wooden rails should have been sturdy enough to take both our weights. How did it break so easily? My brows furrowed in confusion. And hold on, I remember about six waiters bringing in platters after platters of food, and where the hell did they disappear to when Ruby was screaming for help? They could not
~COLE The agony on Ella's face as she beheld her comatose friend made my heart shatter over and over again. But there was nothing I could do about it, except to hold her and comfort her, praying for Ruby to come into consciousness. We were sitting at the waiting room as usual. It had become a routine between me, Mr Lakewood, and Ella. I tried as much as possible to be here, despite the fact that I had so much to do to help Ash’s case. “I don't understand how or why Richard could kill the boys’ father and that girl. If we are going with what Ash told us, then we have a whole lot to do. Richard has to pay for his sins,” Ella said suddenly after several long minutes of silence. “Ash wasn't lying. He was serious. More serious than I've ever seen him,” I replied and she stood up and started to pace. “There is no evidence though. I mean, Ruby must have found out somehow, but she's lying there, unconscious, unable to help. There's no way to prove that, and I doubt anyone woul
~ASH Today was the trial. I was so restless that I could not sleep, and when dawn finally broke through the dark, gloomy clouds, I didn't know how or what to feel. I could not decide if I should be happy that we were about to get this over with or I should be in high despair. When the officers came to lead me out of my cell though, I had come to a decision. It was unfortunate as hell to be in this position. I hadn't eaten properly in days, and my head felt faint. Bowing my head in defeat, I let them lead me into the black Maria that was to convey me to court. There was still no lawyer. Cole had not gotten back to me and I was sure I would lose control if Richard turned out to be my lawyer. But I was still scared. Asides from Richard, I was scared and tired and lonely. I wanted this to end so bad. I wanted things to go back to the way they were. I would gladly leave the country for Ethan and Ruby. If only he wasn't dead. But he was. And everything was ruined.