At her husband's house, Ruby spent the night alone, as expected.
Tossing and turning in her bed.
She kept calling her husband, but he kept ignoring her calls.
"What has gotten into Tom?" She muttered to herself as she headed to the bathroom, half asleep.
She couldn't have dinner last night, and now her stomach was making some weird noises.
She went down to order someone to cook breakfast for her.
There was a uniformed house help, cleaning the table in the living room. Ruby took a chair and leaned her elbows on the table.
"Who is the chef here?" She asked the woman who frowned at her and then shrugged.
"We don't have a chef."
"Oh," Ruby pulled down her lower lip, "So who will cook breakfast for me? Or is it your responsibility?"
The woman who had moved to cleaning the showcase turned around this time to face Ruby, "And who are you exactly?" She placed her fist on her hip.
Ruby wished Tom were here to introduce her to the servants. In her previous life, he asked all his house help to tend to Ruby's wishes.
They were supposed to take orders from her instead of the mistress of the house. Sienna.
Not anymore.
"I'm Tom's wife. Now go and make me some cereal. I've got other important things to do."
The woman made a face and then resumed cleaning the showcase. Ruby waited for her to go to the kitchen, but the woman stayed there.
Maybe this one needed to be taught a lesson.
"Didn't you hear the first time?" Ruby got up and shot a fake smile at her. She headed to her and held her elbow a little too tightly, "Didn't I say, I want breakfast?"
The woman looked down at Ruby's hand on her arm and then tried to shove it away, "Leave me. And don't start with this wife crap. He brings wives every other day and then divorces them the very next day. But we?" She smirked, "We stay!"
Ruby stood there open-mouthed.
Is this woman playing with me?
"You think I'll believe you?" She smirked and slapped the young maid's back, "Where is my husband? Call him, and I'll tell you who will stay here."
The maid couldn't take the insult. She turned and pushed Ruby with all her strength. Ruby stumbled backward, her heel slipping against the floor as she crashed into the table behind her.
A sharp gasp tore from her throat as pain shot through her side.
"Bitch!" She crawled and held the maid's leg to pull her, making her slip on the floor beside her. The poor girl landed with a thud.
Before she could slap Ruby, her hair was in Ruby's grip.
Lost in their fight, neither of them heard the door open.
"What the fu*ck is going on here?" Tom's voice boomed in the living room, making both the ladies stop in their tracks.
Ruby was the first one to stand up abruptly. Before she could say something, she found a girl clinging to Tom with a nonchalant look.
She used to be Ruby's best friend in her previous life, and both of them came together to make Sienna's life miserable.
"I know you!" Ruby tried to smile through her messy hair falling over her forehead and then quickly tried to brush it back, "You are Lara!"
She headed to her excitedly and offered her hand for a handshake, "I'm Ruby."
Ignoring her hand, Lara made a face and turned to look at Tom. The question was clear in her eyes, How does this bitch know me?
Tom just shrugged his shoulders. Ruby got Lara's confusion and gave her a thoughtful glance, "You are Tom's cousin. Right?"
Tom and Lara regarded her for a moment, and then they cracked up.
"Goodness. She's funny," Lara remarked, leaning more into Tom.
They were laughing at her as if she had gone crazy. Ruby was unsure what was wrong with her statement.
None of them tried to offer her an explanation as Tom snaked his arm around Lara's tiny waist and headed to their room.
The same room that Ruby just slept in.
"Wait!" She tried to stop them, "That's our bedroom!"
Tom stopped at the door but didn't turn around, "Then move your things from here because this is my room."
Ruby couldn't utter a single word when she saw Tom pulling Lara inside and closing the door behind them. She was not a fool who couldn't understand what they were doing behind closed doors.
B…but…but weren't they cousins?
She had completely forgotten about the maid who lay on the floor beside her. The girl took the opportunity and fled from the room. She didn't want to lose the job.
***
After tossing and turning all night, Sienna finally got up and went to the kitchen to make coffee.
She settled herself on the couch, cradling the hot cup in her hands.
Demons of the past weren't letting her sleep. She could never forget how Tom brought his mistress home on the first day after their wedding.
Lara and Ruby became best friends and made her life a living hell. At that time, she was so worried about her father's accident that she handed him the property file, her only financial security.
But now?
Now, she was the owner of his entire business.
"Rough night?" She jumped when she heard Hunter's voice behind her. Tightening her grip around her cup, she tried to push away the distracting image of his se*xy body, flashing through her mind.
When Hunter didn't get any response, he moved to the sofa across from her.
"What are you thinking, menace?"
With a sigh, she leaned ahead and decided to talk just for the sake of it.
"Dad's business. He named it to me, and now I think I should sell it to someone," For a bit, she chewed her lower lip.
With a nod, he raised his legs and propped them on the coffee table, "Why sell it? Why not run it? Instead of looking for a job, go for business."
Job? Does he know that I'm looking for a job?
When her eyes snapped to his face, he quickly threw his arms in the air in defense, "I didn't eavesdrop. You were talking too loudly to someone on call."
She was talking to Lina about getting a job in Tom's office. She also remembered telling her how she wanted to destroy him by staying close to him.
Now she didn't know how much Hunter heard her.
Well! Whatever it was. She needed to stay confident but more careful in the future. She didn't know this man at all and wasn't aware how much to trust him.
He offered no response, focusing instead on the coffee mug Brian had handed him.
Sienna stayed there for a few more minutes, then decided to get up. She must have taken only one step when Hunter's voice stopped her cold.
"If you want to defeat someone," He said while observing the geometrical pattern on his mug, "Beat them in their own game, sugar. Nothing hurts a man more… than a woman taking away all his contracts just like that."
He lifted his face to look at her, "Strip him of his deals, and he'll bleed without a wound."
Hunter snapped his fingers, got to his feet, and walked out of the living room, leaving Sienna staring after him, open-mouthed.