Knock. Knock.
Ruby lifted her head from the papers, her voice steady. "Come in."
The door opened and Adrian stepped inside, his tall frame filling the space. She smiled faintly when she saw him, a small spark of relief. "Adi?" she said softly. Unlike usual, Adrian’s face was carved into stone—expressionless, cold, unreadable.
He crossed the room slowly, his eyes sharp as a blade. "How was the date?" His voice was calm, but there was a weight behind it that pressed against the air.
Ruby tilted her chin, keeping her composure. "Fine, I guess," she said casually, though her eyes betrayed a tiny glint. She expected a lecture, maybe even his quiet scolding, but his next action stunned her.
Without warning, Adrian’s arms came around her from behind, heavy and firm, wrapping across her shoulders. He leaned her head back until her gaze was forced upward. His breath brushed her ear and his voice dropped low, sharp with restrained anger.
"You have been such a bad wife," he murmured, each word deliberate. "Even with four husbands, you still go on a date with that fat ghost?" A smirk tugged at his lips, but his eyes remained icy.
Ruby let out a quiet chuckle, unshaken despite the fire in his tone. "And what are you going to do about that, Adi?"
He tilted his head, his mouth brushing dangerously close to her ear. "What am I going to do? Nothing." His voice lingered, low and deep. Then suddenly he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss.
Ruby’s eyes widened, her breath catching. Slowly, instinctively, her lids fell shut and her body melted into the unexpected intensity. Adrian’s cold control slipped, replaced by something fiercer, something he had kept buried too long.
His breath was warm, steady, overpowering, brushing her skin like fire. Ruby’s pulse quickened as his lips pressed harder, and before she could think, her body betrayed her heart. She kissed him back. The moment stretched, deep and consuming, every second pulling her closer.
Adrian’s hand slid to her throat, holding her firmly yet with a strange care, as if he were punishing her but also afraid she might slip away. His lips moved with restrained force, intense and deliberate, like a ghost who had been holding back for far too long.
Ruby’s fingers curled against his robe, clutching the fabric as their breaths mixed. The kiss was not gentle. It was raw and charged, sensual. Every inch of her felt alive under its weight, her heart pounding so loud she thought he might hear it.
For once, Adrian did not hold back. He devoured her with his kiss, and Ruby, caught in the storm of it, let herself fall deeper, matching him with equal fierceness.
When he finally broke the kiss, his lips lingered just above hers, his forehead pressed to hers. His voice came out low, rough, almost a growl. "You are mine too, wife. Do not ever forget that."
"I am yours too," Ruby whispered, her voice low and certain, cheeks still warm. She straightened in her chair, smoothing her robe as if to gather herself, while Adrian leaned casually against the edge of her desk, his tall frame looming.
"Details," he demanded flatly, his tone leaving no room for escape. His sharp eyes locked on hers, colder than ice. "He did not touch you, right?"
Ruby raised a brow, lips curving faintly. "Adi," she said softly, but the steel in her gaze matched his. "Do you really think I would let him?"
Adrian’s jaw clenched. Beneath his cold expression his thoughts burned. That fat ghost, sitting there, daring to imagine my wife at his side. His fingers tightened on the desk. If he ever saw Louis near her again, he would shred his wardrobe piece by piece and leave him robe less in the street. Let us see how he likes dating my wife without a robe to wear.
Ruby tilted her head, studying him quietly. "He talked about money, about houses, about everything he wanted from me. But touch me? No. He did not dare."
Adrian’s face softened only slightly. He leaned closer, his voice dropping low and dangerous. "Good. Because if he had, I would have done more than strip him of clothes."
Ruby’s lips twitched into a small, funny smile.
"So how is work going?" Ruby asked, trying to steer the conversation back to something steady and ordinary, because the office felt too small for the heat of everything else.
Adrian let out a short, dry laugh that did not reach his eyes. "Work is fine. Everything is fine here except my private life." He tilted his head and the corner of his mouth quirked into a cold smile that made her skin prickle. "My wife is marrying someone else."
"Adrian!" Ruby snapped before she could stop herself, cheeks warming. "We should not even talk about him." Her voice faltered on the name as if it tasted wrong.
He shrugged, unreadable. "Right. Important things only," he said. "How about we go to your village? Sue your aunt for snatching your parents property. I believe your parents’ contract will still be in that house or in the old registry. If we get their papers, we will have proof."
Ruby blinked, the idea like a bright flare in her chest. She had not let herself think that far. The words tumbled out with a sudden rush of hope. "That is perfect. If we get the contract and the company logs, we can show a pattern. We can show it was not an accident."
Adrian’s jaw softened for a moment. "Exactly. The sooner we collect real documents, the faster that fat ghost’s little parade ends. We do not need him showing off while a century of damage sits in a drawer." He sounded annoyed, but the plan in his mind was neat, cold, and sharp—comfortable to him in a way a fight never was.
Ruby felt something in her chest unclench. She leaned forward, fingers splayed on the desk. "When do we go? Who should come? We cannot walk into that place without a lawyer and—" She stopped herself, thinking of her husbands who would follow her anyway, thinking of Kaelan in a coma and the thin thread of worry that tugged at her even when plans were being made.
To be continued... 🪄