Chapter 35
ALEX
He watched Ruby interact with his brother over dinner, both of them giggling and making inside jokes. One week. He had been gone for just one week, and he came back to his wife and brother being two peas in a pod. He hadn’t forgotten how Scott was against their marriage. It was obvious that Scott loved her. Maybe he’d been selfish by readily agreeing to marry her. He had rushed into it when he realized that his usual jokester of a brother wanted her. The guy who was never serious about anything was willing to spend the rest of his life with her, just so he wouldn’t have her instead. so he took her away before his brother even had a chance.
He watched her giggle at something Scott said, and his whole body just screamed “Mine“. The need to claim her as his own, was unreal, and it was something he had never experienced before, not even with his ex–girlfriends. Not even with Natalie. He didn’t understand where it came from. Maybe it was just because Ruby was his wife, and as his wife, she was supposed to be his. Maybe it was simply because he owned her, and he had never liked sharing his things. Whatever it was, he didn’t like
it
He took her in, and the way his heartbeat quickened irritated him. She was wearing a tight white dress today and her beautiful eyes were glowing. She had curled her hair, and it fell in big loose waves around her face. She looked like a beautiful mermaid or something, like a siren. All he could think about was how those curls were going to look on his pillows tonight. No, there was no way he could let her go. His phone buzzed and his mood dropped even further when he realized that it was yet another text message from Natalie.
Natalie: Please, Alex. I just want to talk. The way we left things… Neither one of us got any closure.
Closure? Yeah, he did have countless questions. But getting answers to those would do nothing to undo the pain she had inflicted on him. It wouldn’t take away the fact that she cheated on him. He locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket, feeling torn. Part of him wanted to take her up on her offer to talk. He wanted to know why she did what she did, he wanted to know if she had left simply because she thought that he wasn’t rich any longer, but there was another part of him that took great pleasure in ignoring her. Natalie hated being ignored, and it must be driving her insane that he was doing it. His brother grinned at him, and he realized that Scott must have said something. He hated that Scott’s face annoyed him these: days. He loved his brother to bits, but he hated having him around Ruby. She seemed to bask in his attention though, her face radiated with a kind of happiness that he had never seen in her. He couldn’t help but wonder, if he had stayed away a little longer, would she stray like Natalie did? Would she leave him for his own brother?
“What?” he snapped at Scott who was still trying to get his attention
Scott groaned, annoyed that he had to repeat himself. “I said, don’t you think Ruby looks beautiful today? I picked her entire outfit. Top to bottom”
Alex gave her a once over, and her cheeks reddened slightly. “Entire outfit? Isn’t it just a dress? It’s beautiful, by the way.”
Ruby’s smile dropped, and he realized that he complimented her dress, but not her. Rookie mistake. “You’re gorgeous, Ruby. As always” Some of the frost in her eyes melted, and she smiled at him, making his heart beat just a little quicker.
“Yes, her entire outfit. What, did you think she was naked underneath?” Scott asked and their mother coughed, sending him a warning look at the same time that Ruby hit his arm, her entire body tensing. He was tempted to pull his brother over the table and demand clarification on his statement.
“Are you trying to tell me you picked out Ruby’s lingerie?” He asked Scott, staring him down. His voice sounded harsher than he intended it to, and he watched as Scott’s eyes widened slightly. He could tell that Scout didn’t expect him to react as strongly as he did, and he ignored the question. He turned to his wife instead. “Ruby?” He asked. She didn’t reply either and looked down at her plate. It was like he was back in the past. The two of them putting on a united front against him. Except this time, Ruby should have been on his side. He dropped his cullery and let it clatter loudly on his plate. He sat back, folding his arms over his chest. He saw Ruby and Scott glance at each other, both looking panicked and he had his answer.
“Why exactly are you picking out my wife’s lingerie?” He asked Scott, pinning him down with a stare The Scott is just joking, Alex
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10:25 Wed, Oct 16
Chapter 35
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He glared at Ruby, annoyance taking over him. She was his wife, yet she was closer to his brother. He stared at Ruby, and he waited for her telltale sign. There it was. She blinked twice, she had always done that whenever she lied, since she was five years old. And he doubted that she even realized it. He felt his anger rising. He was usually well in control of his emotions. he was known for his poker face and for being good at leaving his emotions out of his decisions. He couldn’t have been able to grow his own business into what it was today without that. But as soon as it involved Ruby, all of his famed rationality seemed to go out the window.
“Ruby, a word please,” he said, tipping his head toward the stairs Excuse us mother,” he said to his mother.
She nodded at him with a small smile on her face and he got up He headed towards the stairs without checking if Ruby was following behind him. He walked slowly, trying his best to regain control of his emotions. Ruby’s heels clicked behind him, confirming that she was there. He closed the door behind her and led her straight past the sitting room, into the bedroom. She was fidgety, yet another thing that hadn’t changed about her She always used to fidget whenever she knew she did something wrong. “Sit,” he told her, pointing to the bed. She sat down at the edge, and he knelt down on the floor in front of
her.
“Explain. I told you to get the thought of being with anyone else out of your mind. That I won’t tolerate rumors about you. So why the fuck is my brother insinuating that he picked out your underwear? Did you forget who you belonged to in the week I was gone? Do I need to fucking remind you?”
He pushed her legs slowly apart and watched as her dress rode up to her thighs. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t stop him. As her legs parted, the tiniest scrap of white lace he had ever seen came into view.
“What the fuck?”
鱼
