To the Love of My Life

“Ruby, you’re just a few days away from getting engaged to Steve! How can you still be at odds with him? You should know that all the hopes of the Gregorys rest on you. Your father is sick now, and if there are any issues with the wedding, he’ll definitely be angry to his death!”

Lady Gregory scolded her with some urgency, then paused to see Ruby’s face looking a little pale, before continuing with a somewhat softened tone, “Ruby, when Mrs. Burton came last time, she mentioned that once your father is better, Steve would help our family. How could you be so ignorant and provoke Steve? Don’t you know how to accommodate him a bit?”

Lady Gregory became more anxious as she spoke, pacing back and forth in front of Ruby, before finally stopping and saying, “You don’t have to stay at the hospital with your dad tonight. I’ll take care of everything, so you go find Steve. You two need to choose your engagement ceremony outfits, take the catalog from the hospital room, ask Steve for his opinion, and take this opportunity to please him, alright?”

Having said all that, Lady Gregory noticed Ruby still had no reaction, and her tone became stern again, “Ruby, did you hear everything I just said?”

Only then did Ruby lift her eyes, glanced at her mother’s anxious gaze, tightly pressed her lips, and gently nodded, softly saying, “I understand.”

Lady Gregory’s expression finally eased completely, and although it was only five in the afternoon, she went back to the hospital room, grabbed the catalog, and urged Ruby to go to Steve’s apartment.

–

When Ruby arrived at Steve’s apartment, it was only six o’clock. Mrs. Taylor hadn’t come by today, so the spacious apartment was empty.

Ruby placed the catalog on the coffee table, lounged on the sofa, and looked out through the French windows to see the darkening sky. Due to the cold weather, a thin layer of ice had formed on the water in the balcony pool.

Ruby stared at it for a while before closing her eyes. She hadn’t done much in the past few days, but she couldn’t help feeling inexplicably tired. As soon as she relaxed, she became drowsy.

Ruby hadn’t slept for long before her hunger woke her up. Recently, she found it strange that not only was she always sleepy, but she was also easily hungry and could eat more than usual.

Ruby initially just wanted to make something simple to fill her stomach, but when she opened the fridge, her expression changed slightly.

In the past, whenever she and Steve had issues, she would always take the initiative to please him without anyone having to tell her. But today, when her mother told her to appease Steve, the notion made her feel nauseous.

She came here mainly to ease her mother’s concerns and to ask Steve about his opinion on the outfits. She honestly had no intention to please him.

However, when she saw the vegetables in the fridge, she found herself wanting to cook a meal.

Actually, she didn’t know how to cook in the past. But during her three years in Costa Luna, since she couldn’t get used to Western food, she learned to cook by following online recipes. After doing it a number of times, although her cooking couldn’t be considered spectacular, it was at least passable.