Ruby scratched her arm absentmindedly as she walked to her room.
Suddenly, as Julian started calling her, Ruby snapped out of her deep thoughts.
It still felt surreal hearing him call her that. In her past life, she had been perpetually single, too busy to even consider dating, let alone relationships. Now, she suddenly had four husbands. It was overwhelming, to say the least.
In this world, having multiple husbands seemed as normal as breathing. Back in her past life, she’d heard about polyamorous relationships, but this was on a whole other level. She couldn’t help but wonder—how did people even manage to balance multiple relationships?
Especially Angeline. She even wanted to add another husband. Ruby couldn’t understand how Angeline managed it all so easily.
Ruby couldn’t help thinking, If balancing one relationship is tough, how do you handle four?
Ruby sighed, feeling her headache grow.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Julian entered the room. He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he noticed the faraway look on her face. Something about her expression gave him a bad feeling.
"Julian," Ruby said, snapping out of her thoughts. "Call everyone to the living room."
Julian blinked in surprise, a small wave of panic rising in his chest. "But... why, wife?" he asked cautiously.
"Just call them," Ruby replied firmly.
"Okay," he said with a nod, though unease settled in his stomach. Without wasting time, he turned and hurried off to the other rooms.
The first stop was Milo’s. Unsurprisingly, Milo was sprawled across the bed, deep in an afternoon nap. Julian scowled, frustration bubbling in him.
"Hey, little Milo, wake up! Wake up!" he said urgently, shaking Milo’s shoulder.
Milo groaned, barely opening his eyes. "Let me sleep..." he mumbled, turning to bury his face into the pillow.
"No, Milo, you need to get up! Wife is back and she wants to speak with all of us," Julian said, his tone growing sharper. But Milo simply rolled over again, muttering incoherently.
"Milo!" Julian hissed, shaking him harder. "Do you want her to think you’re lazy? Or worse, do you want her to know you’re the biggest sleeping king in this house?"
Milo stirred slightly, cracking one eye open.
"I’ll just tell her how cute and innocent little Milo is, always asleep while everyone else is working," Julian said, his gentle tone become little bit sly.
Milo’s eyes widened as he clutched the blanket tightly. "You won’t dare!"
Julian smirked, crossing his arms. "Oh, I would. We all know you don’t listen to anyone except Wife. Do you think she’ll just smile and ignore it when she finds out you’ve been slacking off?"
"I wasn’t slacking!" Milo argued, sitting up with a pout. "I was... conserving energy!"
"Yeah, sure," Julian said, already pretending to head out. "Let’s see how Wife reacts to that."
"Wait!" Milo hurriedly got out of bed, his hair sticking up in all directions. "I’m coming! Don’t say anything to her!"
Julian chuckled, throwing an arm around Milo as they walked out. "Smart decision, little ghost."
Julian entered the living room with Milo, who looked half-asleep, dragging his feet lazily. Behind them, Karl and Adrian followed, both looking suspicious.
Ruby was already seated on the sofa, carefully checking the items in her bag. Seeing them arrive, she stood up, brushing invisible dust off her sleeves.
"I need to talk to all of you," she said firmly, her gaze steady.
"What is it now?" Karl asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. Adrian, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, his expression neutral.
Ruby hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to begin. She took a deep breath.
"You don’t like me," she finally said, her voice calm but steady. Her words were directed at Karl, who scoffed immediately.
"Of course, I don’t. You already know that. I don’t call you stupid wife for no reason!" Karl said, his tone mocking as he pulled a face.
Ruby stared at him, her lips curling into a polite but obviously fake smile. "You know, you don’t have to call me stupid wife anymore," she replied, her voice sharp but composed. "Because I’m planning to divorce."
Her words dropped like a bomb in the room, leaving a stunned silence in their wake. All four of them froze, their eyes wide with shock.
"What?" Julian’s voice trembled, the usually calm man visibly shaken.
"No! Wife, please, no!" Milo suddenly cried, his drowsiness completely forgotten. He bolted toward her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, his face pressed against her arm. His tears wet her sleeve as he began to sob uncontrollably. "Wife, I swear, I’ll change! I’ll stop sleeping all the time, I’ll stop causing trouble! Please don’t leave me, wife!" he begged, his voice filled with desperation.
Ruby looked down at him, her expression unreadable. She sighed, gently patting his head as his cries grew louder.
"I’m not planning to divorce you..." Ruby said softly, and Milo immediately stopped crying. Instead, he clung to her tightly, rubbing his cheek against her neck like a spoiled child.
Ruby blinked. Wait... don’t tell me he learned how to fake-cry from Karl...
She cleared her throat. "I’m planning to divorce all three of you."
The room fell silent. Milo froze, his grip loosening slightly. Her eyes flickered to Julian, who had turned away, covering his face with his sleeves. She could see his shoulders trembling slightly.
She felt uncomfortable but quickly brushed the feeling aside. It’s for the best, she told herself. If they don’t want me, they shouldn’t have to be stuck with me.
"Julian..." she called out softly, her voice filled with concern.
He shook his head, refusing to look at her. His trembling hands wiped away the tears streaming down his face, his sleeves damp from the effort. His usually gentle expression was gone, replaced by a strained, hardened look. He was trying his best to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to break through.
His eyes turned red, the mossy green color now glistening like leaves after a fresh rain. His soft, plump pink lips had deepened in color, reddened from how hard he had been biting them. His intense gaze locked directly with hers, as if he was trying to see straight into her soul.
—To be continued...🪄