Chapter 15: Desperate Solution
Ruby’s mind raced as she sat motionless, her gaze fixated on the window, though she barely registered the outside world.
Stefan’s suspicions were growing—she could feel it in the air, thick and suffocating. The dinner tonight, orchestrated by Elizabeth, was more than just a casual get-together. It was another piece in the web, another layer of the charade that she was barely holding together.
The realization was gnawing at her now: she was living on borrowed time. Every conversation, every glance from Stefan felt like an interrogation.
How long before he pieced it all together? How long before he saw through her carefully crafted mask and realized the woman he thought was his fiancée wasn’t his fiancée at all?
She stood up abruptly, pacing again, but this time her steps felt heavier, more deliberate. The unknown person who had messaged her was still lurking in the back of her mind. They knew something. They had proof. And they were waiting for her to slip, to make the wrong move.
Ruby’s eyes flicked back to the phone on the bed. There was no way she could sit idle and wait for this person to make their next move. She had to control the situation—take the reins before things spiraled completely out of control.
But what could she do? Who could she trust? Elizabeth was playing her cards close to her chest, and as much as she hated to admit it, her mother wasn’t someone she could rely on either. She had to think of something—anything—to keep herself from being exposed.
Ruby took a deep breath and reached for her phone again, scrolling through her contacts. She needed a plan, and she needed someone who knew how to navigate a game of secrets and lies. But who?
Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers idly tracing the edges of her phone. She needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn’t judge her, someone who could help her think clearly.
Her mind drifted to Rayna. They’d been best friends for years, and despite everything going on, Ruby knew she could trust her.