3. THE CRAZY BILLIONAIRE

~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.