To the Love of My Life

Steve Burton, who had been silent since entering the room, only nodded politely at Lady Gregory and continued to remain silent.

Russell helped ease the atmosphere, and both Lady Gregory and Maxwell Gregory chimed in. Nonetheless, the mood was still a bit awkward.

Steve had not spoken a word since he arrived. His extraordinarily handsome face showed no particular expression, and his eyes looked at no one. Occasionally, he would stare at the teacup in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

Ruby Gregory was also silent. She politely sat with Steve and Russell in the living room for a while before finding an excuse. She said softly, “I have work tomorrow, so I’ll go pack my things and prepare to return to the city.”

After receiving Lady Gregory’s approval, Ruby stood up, smiled at Steve and Russell, and went upstairs.

Steve waited for quite some time after Ruby had left before his gaze slowly shifted towards the staircase, appearing somewhat unfocused.

After a long while, the phone in Steve’s pocket rang. He stepped outside the room to answer it. It was a telemarketing call. After hanging up, Steve stood at the entrance to the Gregorys’ residence for a moment before going back in and, taking advantage of the call, excused himself by saying that the Burtons had called about a matter that needed his attention.

–

Ruby returned to her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed, lost in thought.

Deep down, she kept wondering how much of the conversation she had with her parents was overheard by Steve.

She had roped Edric Reat into this charade to deceive her parents and, by extension, Steve.

To avoid arousing Steve’s suspicions, she deliberately understated the duration of her pregnancy by forty days. Edric even enlisted the help of a reliable friend to alter the date of her pregnancy screening at the hospital.

Thus, even if Steve were to investigate her pregnancy and question whether the child was his, according to the altered records, the timeline would indicate that Ruby had conceived after their engagement had been annulled. He would then realize that the child in her womb had nothing to do with him.

Although he had once personally administered contraceptives to her and she hadn’t felt too distressed at the time, the fact that he had covertly given her contraceptives disguised as vitamins was something she could neither forgive nor comprehend.

She had said that she would never put her child at risk.

Consequently, she would never, under any circumstances, let Steve know that the child she was carrying was his.

Initially, she felt forced to make such a decision. Out of necessity, she had to deceive everyone into believing that the child inside her was not Steve’s. Having no other options, she pretended that the child was Edric’s and that they were preparing to get married.

She and Edric had, in fact, agreed on this fake marriage. Edric would find an excuse to delay the wedding, and once the child was born after the full 10-month term, the nuptials would be canceled.

When she made these arrangements and decisions, she knew that Steve would find out about her marriage to Edric sooner or later. But when he did, she realized how truly heartbroken she was.

The distance between her and Steve had grown even more considerable, which saddened her.

Ruby didn’t have much to pack. By the time she went downstairs, Steve had already left. Meanwhile, Russell was still chatting with Maxwell Gregory and Lady Gregory.