Chapter 24
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Torren flinched but didn’t back away.
I moved beside Ephraim, looked Torren dead in the eye, and spoke so quietly only he could hear.
“The last man who called me ‘wife‘ destroyed our son’s life without lifting a finger to save it,” I whispered. “You don’t get to call me anything anymore. Not even my name.”
He swallowed hard. “Therese…”
“If you ever try to make me feel small again,” I added, tone like ice, “I will destroy everything with your name on it. Do you understand me?”
His lips parted, but no words came out.
I turned away without waiting for a response and stepped into the car. Ephraim followed, calm and composed, like nothing had happened, though I felt the tension in his body long after we sat down.
As the door closed behind us, he took my hand and kissed it again. “You didn’t need me back there,” he said softly. “But I’ll always be there anyway.”
I rested my head against his shoulder.
“I know,” I whispered. “And that’s why I’m marrying you.”
**
RUBY’S POV
I stared at myself in the mirror, wine glass in hand, swirling the last few drops like they held answers. My mascara smudged down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. The silk nightgown clung to my skin, expensive and soft, but it couldn’t stop the chill crawling down my spine.
I could still see it.
Torren’s eyes locked on her.
Not me. Not even Ruby Massaro, the perfect picture beside him all night. It was her he watched. Therese. Like some saint reborn from ashes. Like she hadn’t vanished and left a
war behind.
I set the wine down and touched my stomach. Flat. Empty. Cold.
There was never a baby.
Just timing, tears, and the right words whispered in the right ears. A man who thinks he’s losing a child won’t walk away. Guilt is more loyal than love. I should’ve had him on a leashi
by now.
“Mommy?”
I turned and saw Jude rubbing his eyes, hair messy, dragging his blanket like a ghost. He looked so small, standing in the doorway.
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“Why doesn’t Daddy come home anymore?” he asked. “He used to bring me robots. Remember? And the chicken from that place I like. Do we need to run away again?”
My breath caught for a second. He remembered that. The last time we ran.
I crouched in front of him and smiled softly. “Daddy’s busy right now, baby. But it’s okay.”
“Did I do something bad?” he mumbled, bottom lip trembling. “Did I make him mad?”
I smoothed his hair back. “No, no. You’re perfect. It’s just… Daddy and Mommy are actors, remember? We pretend sometimes.”
His eyes widened. “Like in a movie?”
“Exactly,” I said, voice sweet as honey. “And tonight, we need to make the world believe our
movie is real.”
He nodded slowly, confused.
“Do you remember when your toy robot broke and you screamed so loud the neighbors thought the house was on fire?”
He nodded again, smaller this time.
“Do that. Just like that. Scream and cry like your favorite toy broke. Can you do that for Mommy?”
His voice was tiny. “Will Daddy come back if I do?”
I kissed his forehead. “Maybe, baby. Maybe he will.”
He looked down, then gave me a shaky little nod. “Okay.”
“Good boy,” I whispered, eyes gleaming.
I picked up my phone and dialed Mico. Let my voice shake, just enough to sound real. “Mico? It’s Jude. He’s burning up, I don’t know what’s wrong. He collapsed and I–I’m taking him to the hospital now. Please call Torren. Please. He needs to know. Tell him it’s
bad. Tell him to come.”
We arrived at the VIP suite like a scene from a drama. Nurses rushed out when they saw me, mascara streaked, heels in hand, carrying Jude like a porcelain doll. I gave them fake charts, slipped a nurse an envelope. I told them what to say and how. They didn’t even blink.
IV hooked. Heart monitor blinking. Oxygen mask for show.
I sat beside his little bed, eyes glassy, back straight, waiting.
One hour. Then two. Then five.
Mico came. Asked questions. Brought juice. He paced like the loyal dog he was.
But Torren never came.
No call. No flowers. No message. Just the steady, robotic beeping of fake machines and the weight of my own humiliation pressing on my chest like a stone.
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By dawn, I snapped.
ונוחוח
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I ripped the flowers from the vase and flung them across the suite. They hit the glass wall and shattered everywhere. Nurses ducked. Mico shouted. I screamed at all of them.
“This is a Massaro child! Do you hear me? Get bett
deserves better than this joke!”
Nobody answered me the way I wanted. Not even the walls.
cet the head doctor! My son
I locked myself in the bathroom and stared at myself again. Still pretty. Still Ruby. But not enough. Not his anymore.
And that bitch?
She thought she could walk back into his world and steal the crown like it always belonged to her. Like I hadn’t bled for it. Lied for it. Faked every pregnancy test and sob story for it. So I grabbed my phone and I typed slowly, each word dripping in poison.
To Therese:
You filthy little ghost! How dare you come back from the dead and confuse my Torren like this. He’s mine! He’s always been mine. You will pay f this. I promise you. One way or
another.
I hit send and smiled.
She wanted war? She was going to get one.
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