Chapter 41
RUBY
She was rummaging in Alex’s part of the closet again, and her heart twisted painfully all over again at the sight of the photo of Alex and Natalie. They had been married for months now, and even though she was the one he fell asleep with every night, it still felt like it was Natalie he dreamt about when he closed his eyes. She couldn’t help but think back to the way he had used her countless times to make Natalie jealous. She thought of the way he held her in his lap that day on the rooftop bar. It was all a show… for Natalie. The door to the closet suddenly opened, and she jerked at the unexpected sound, startled. The picture frame slipped from her lingers and landed on the floor, the glass shattering into a million pieces. She let out a gasp and immediately crouched, picking up the pieces, only to it herself with one as she did so. She hissed in pain as a drop of blood appeared at the tip of her finger.
“Fuck. Ruby,” Alex cursed, rushing over to her.
She looked up at him, panic engulfing her. “I- I’m so sorry, she told him with a shaky voice. “I shouldn’t have touched it, I was just looking for a shirt and… I’m so sorry. I’ll replace the fractie, Alex. The photo. it can be saved, so don’t worry about
it
His gaze dropped to the broken frame and she watched as his eyes widened for a second and his jaw ticked. He sighed and shook his head, and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach She felt both ashamed to have gotten caught touching this photo that was evidently very precious to him, and incredibly hurt that the person in the picture with him wasn’t her.
He bent down and lifted her into his arms in one fell swoop like she weighed nothing. One hand was behind her back and the other underneath her knee. She gasped and threw her arm around him. “What are you doing?” She whispered, her hazy with confusion
eyes
Alex shook his head. “You’re so clumsy, Ruby. You need to be more careful. What if you cut yourself really badly? And what if that cut leaves a scar?”
He took her to the room and put her down carefully on the end and knelt down in front of her, assessing her hands. He brought her finger to his lips and sucked on it, taking the blood with him. She had never seen him look so worried and concerned.
“Alexander, I’m fine,” she said. “But the photo..
He smiled at her, and there was a hint of something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite place. “I should let you smash everything in our bedroom if that’s what it’ll take to finally make you call me Alexander outside of bed”
He looked at her and she pulled her hand to her chest, and cradled it, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
“Fuck the photo,” Alex said. “It has no place in our bedroom. I should have gotten rid of it the day that I married you. I’m so sorry, Ruby
She stared wide eyed at him. This was the first time he had ever spoken about the bedroom like it belonged to both of them And he wanted to get rid of the photo too.. she doubted that he knew just how much that meant to her. He cupped her cheeks gently, his eyes blazing with sincerity.
“I’m sorry, Ruby,” he apologized again.
She shook her head, feeling flustered. “There’s nothing to be sorry about,” she told him, feeling conflicted. She really didn’t feel like she even had a right to be angry about the picture. Alex might’ve made a lot of promises to her, but the one thing he never promised her was love. It has always been clear to her that whatever feelings and emotions he had were reserved for
Natalie alone:
“Stay here,” she said as he grabbed his phone and walked out of the room.
A minute later, the housekeeper walked in with cleaning supplies with Alex right behind her. He hovered over the poor woman and watched her clean with a frown on his face. “I don’t want a single shard remaining when you’re done. If my wife
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Chapter 41
cuts herself on even the tiniest piece, I’m firing you.”
He thre
threatened the womati
10477%
Ruby looked up at him in surprise. He had changed since the incident with Marcus and Scott. When he looked at her now, his eyes were always filled with remorse. He was treating her better now, and while she was enjoying this softer and more caring version of him, she wished it wasn’t born out of guilt,
He looked back at the shards on the floor and walked back into the room, pausing in front of her. “How do you feel now?” He asked. “Are you in pain?” He glanced over and grabbed her funds, checking for more cuts.
She shook her head, still a little weirded out at his display of attention. “I’m fine,” she assured him. But he only continued to check like he hadn’t heard her before kneeling in front of her again to check her feet.
Her eyes widened even more in shock when Dr Taylor suddenly came rushing into the bedroom. “Mr Blackwood,” he greeted, walking over to them.
“Alex, please tell me you didn’t call the doctor over because of a tiny cut, she whispered.
Alex pursed his lips into a thin line and ignored her, turning to the doctor instead. My wife cut herself,” he said, still on his knees in front of her.
He cheeks were bright red at that point and she hung her head in shame before gathering to courage to look at Dr. Taylor. “I’m, it’s just a paper cut, there’s no need to worry,” she told him a small voice.
Alex shook his head and held her finger up for the doctor to see. She had to give it to the doctor though, he somehow still managed to keep his expression blank. This isn’t just a paper cu She could get infected. There are some cuts on her feet too. Alex informed him.
Dr. Taylor nodded and knelt down in front of her, a medical kit on the floor beside him. “I see, Mr. Blackwood,” he said, nodding, as though Alex was right and her injuries were actually fatal.
She looked at Alex wide eyed. “You can’t just call a doctor over because of some tiny little cuts, Alex!” She whisper shouted. “You don’t think he had much better things to do with his time?
Dr. Taylor tried his hardest to suppress his smile, but he failed, while Alex just ignored her reprimands. Alex was staring at the doctor so hard that even she was nervous. All he was doing wits touching her hand and feet, but the way Alex was looking at him was so threatening that she instantly felt bad for him. Dr. Taylor and her both breathed a sigh of relief when he was done, and Alex finally relaxed when he packed up his stuff. He greeted them politely before walking out, no doubt wanting, to be anywhere but there with them and Alex stared at the closed bedroom door. “I don’t like him,” he said. “I don’t like the way he looked at you, the way he touched your feet. He’s too young to be a doctor anyway. I’m requesting another background check on him.”
Ruby bit down on her lip to keep from bursting out laughing. “You don’t like the way he touched my feet?”
Alex looked at her, dead serious and nodded, showing that he meant exactly what he said.
“I mean, yeah, he’s quite handsome, isn’t he?” She said, teasing him.
He frowned and gritted his teeth. He grabbed her chin and turned her face toward his “You’re mine, Ruby. Don’t you even dare dream about anyone else.”
She smiled at him provocatively. “Oh, yeah? And what will you do if I don’t listen?”
He looked at her through narrowed eyes and lifted her into his arms, repositioning her on the bed before leaning over her. “Ruby, donTtempt me. Your injuries won’t stop me.”
She laughed, she just couldn’t help it. “Injuries, huh?” She whispered, her fingers tracing over his face. She pulled him closer and kissed him, startling him.
He grinned and lowered himself on top of her, kissing her gently, carefully. She whimpered underneath him. eager for
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more. “You do realize that I’m not actually injured, right?”
He held himself up on his elbows and looked into her eyes. “But you are,” he said. “I don’t want to see you hurting in any way, Ruby, I don’t want any harm coming to you–not even something so small as a paper cut”
She smiled at him, her heart twisting painfully. He was hurting her every single day by withholding the one thing she wanted the most. Things had gotten much better between them lately, and he had never treated her this well before, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t enough
It wasn’t love
