~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 ~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 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 eve
~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