Chapter 16
She couldn’t say how long she sat there for just clutching her chest in despair and sobbing till her chest felt like it would explode into a million picers She lud loved Ethan for as long as she could remember They had talked about getting married and having a lot of children. She had wanted five, and alot of dogs. They had talked about leaving the busy city of New York to go somewhere more quiet, somewhere like the countryside where they could lase on a farm and raise their kids in peace. They had talked about growing old together. He said she was his soulmate, and she had thought that he was it for her. She believed they were endgame But now, none of it mattered anymore. She wasn’t his soulmate and he wasn’t hers
hung lad been a lie. And the worst part of it was that she felt guilty for even feeling sad about it. She thought of her mother lying there in a hospital bed, unmoving, and decided she didn’t deserve to feel bad. Not when her mother was going throughs so much worse in that hospital bed. When she was finally able to get herself to stop crying, her shirt was covered in tears and snot, and one look in the mirror showed her that she didn’t look much different either. She looked disgusting. Sighing heavily, she trudged to the bathroom and washed her face, then went into the clover to find something else to wear: She didn’t have any of her things with her since they had left it all at the apartment and hadn’t gone back, so she had to settle for another one of Alex’s shirts. She picked a plain black one this time and put it over her head, giggling at the way it completely swallowed her small frame. She was about to leave when something caught her attention. She squinted and took a closer look at the section of the closet where she had just chosen a shirt, and she saw a wooden picture frame. She reached for it, wondering how she had missed it before. Her heart sank when she saw the picture in the frame. It was a picture of Alex and his ex, Natalie. He was looking at her face with a big smile on his face, and she was staring right at the camera, unaware of the look of love and attention he was showering on her. Her hair looked perfect–like the wind had blown at just the right time as the picture was captured forever. She kept staring at the picture with her hands trembling. It had been over a year since they broke up, and he still had a picture of her. She wondered how often he looked at it. Did he think of her every time he came in here?
Her heart constricted painfully as she put the picture back, and it had nothing to do with Ethan this time. Alex had made it clear to her that he would never love her. But she could still remember the way that he was with Natalie, how much he loved her. Every single person could see that Natalie was his entire world, Ruby wasn’t someone who prayed for much–she believed that praying for her mother to wake up was the greatest thing she could ever ask for. But deep down inside of her, she had always hoped that she would have a family of her own someday, with a husband that would love and cherish her forever and wouldn’t switch on her the way that her father had And now, she couldn’t even have that. Not now that she had sealed her fate with Alex Blackwood, She couldn’t have dreams of a romantic life with him. She couldn’t even hope for it. Alex had made that very clear, and she couldn’t delude herself into thinking that he would learn to love her someday. She couldn’t set herself up for heartbreak like that. Not again. She walked out of the room biting her lip. She may be Alex’s wife now, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t regret it or switch up on her one day. If her father and brother could turn their backs on her, it meant that Alex could 100
She walked downstairs to the living room to see Tina and another woman she couldn’t recognize there, surrounded by thousand racks of clothes and shoes.
“Sweetheart, come. Tina waved her over. “I was just about to come get you
“Do you run a clothing store?” she asked, staring wide eyed at the clothes.
“No silly, Tina laughed. “These are for you, and don’t worry, they’re all in your size. Alex said you didn’t have your things with you
“Oh wow she marvelled, still looking at the clothes. She didn’t remember telling anyone what her size was, but she didn’t say anything about it. Tina always had her way. And she had to admit, the Blackwood’s stylist worked fast. She looked through the clothes, shoes and accessories with Tina, picking out the ones she liked. Everything in there was exactly what she had expected the wife of Alex Blackwood to wear. Semi–formal, classy and very expensive. Her eyes bulged as she discreetly looked at the price tag on each item. It was the kind of stuff she used to wear too, long ago when her mother was still awake.
When the stylist left, Tina sat her down and held her hands in hiers. “I know we didn’t get to talk at the wedding and I didn’t get to congratulate you. I am happy for you, Ruby, but I do hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” she looked Into Ruby’s eyes with a sad look. “Alex… he’s not looking for love. He has been pretty vocal about that for as long as I can remember. Ein glad that you’re the one he married, but at the same time, I wanted more for you. And I know your mother dors too
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Chapter 10
Kuby nodded slowly, with a farm emile on her lips. She didn t fail to notice that Tina spoke about her mother in the present sense, and she was very appreciative of that,
Ales has been through a lot Tina continued, “and I’m not sure he’ll be able to give you a chance. I hope he does, I really do And I know that if there’s anyone that can mend his heart, it’s you
She nodded, putting on a strong front even though her heart was sinking “I know. Tina. I know what I signed up for, and III deal with the consequences
“Call me mom. You’re my daughter in law now” Tina said, squeezing her hands,
Ruby forced a smile on her face and nodded at her.
“I’m selfishly glad that it’s you. You have no idea how much your mother and I wanted you two to end up together. And if things were different, if the Blackwood name wasn’t what it was and didn’t destroy every hint of love, then maybe you and Alex would have had a perfect life together.
Tina’s words surprised her. She had always known the woman to be a hopeless romantic, so when had the become so jaded?
hat happened along the way to make her like that? She wondered what the cause might be. She looked up at the older
ith a heavy heart. “You two wanted Alex and I to end up together Not me and Scott she asked, disregarding the other comments Tina had made
Tina laughed. “Of course not! You and Scott are so incompatible, for so many reasons. Tina paused, looking like she had
ething else to say but decided against it. I’ll be on my way to see your mother soon. You should settle in okay! I’ll get the staff to bring all these to your room.”
She sighed as Tina walked away, wondering about all the things that might have been left unsaid.
