Chapter 80: All That Matters
The golden rays of the evening sun peeked through the half-closed blinds of the cozy guest room in Rayna’s Florittle apartment.
Outside, birds chirped softly as the town settled into a calm hush, but inside the quiet room, Ruby sat curled on the edge of the bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her phone was clutched tightly in her trembling hand, and silent tears streamed down her cheeks.
She’d been sleeping peacefully because she was jetlagged only to be awaken by the sound of her ringtone.
With sleepy eyes, she’d picked up the phone wondering who had been calling her. Her heart had skipped several beats when she realized it was Stefan. The same man she’d been married to in Ivy’s name for over six months.
The man whose child was growing inside of her. Though that alone wouldn’t have broken her to the point she was now. He was also the man that had betrayed her the most.
Her mom, Ivy, Elizabeth, they’d betrayed her but Stefan? He did more than that. But it was all her fault. She had known he wasn’t hers in the first place but had gone ahead to fall for him. Now she was hurt.
She’d thought he’d called by mistake by he called the first time but the dam in her eyes had broken when he called the second time.
What did he want? Why had he called? Did he know she was the one with the phone? Was that why he’d called? If that were true then why hadn’t he dropped a message? Why didn’t he try to call her again? Does he know everything now?
Had he seen the ultrasound result? Was that what had set off the alarm in his head? Was he comparing her with Ivy now? Was there any differences? All these questions kept ringing in Ruby’s mind after Stefan called her line and the more she tried not to think about any of that, the more she thought about it.
Rayna, humming lightly and balancing a bag of fresh groceries in her hand, pushed the front door open with her hip and stepped in. She had taken her time at the store, picking ingredients carefully, thinking Ruby might be in the mood for something warm and homey tonight. After all, it had been over six hours since Ruby retreated into the guest room to rest since she was jetlagged. Sixteen hours of travel from Zeden was no joke, especially for someone pregnant.