Ruby
"Welcome back!" Keya greeted as soon as she noticed me near the doorway of the Bevine mansion. I flashed her a smile in return, although I didn't fail to notice the sad glint on her cheerful expressions.
"Keya, where is Cason?" Vexon inquired.
"In the bedroom," she replied.
He nodded and went away without another word. I started making my way towards our bedroom with Keya trailing behind me.
"So how was everything? When is the graduation ceremony?" she asked.
I replied, "The results will be out within three days and the graduation ceremony is the day after that."
She beamed in excitement. "I'm sure you will do great, Ruby."
I smiled. "What about you? What are your plans for college?"
She lowered her gaze, her fingers starting to fidget with the edge of her dress. We stepped into the bedroom and took a seat on the couch. I placed my hands on her and asked in a soft tone, concern lacing my voice, "Is something wrong?"
Keya shrugged and started, "I don't want to study anymore, Ruby. I just want to be a homemaker, and nothing else. I want to raise kids, feel loved, and take care of everyone. Plus you know, I was never great in studies. So..."
"What did Cason say?" Curiosity grew within me since I had no objection in that matter.
She breathed out, "We had an argument about it last night. He wants me to be self-dependent."
I let out a humorous chuckle, saying, "These brothers really are cut from the same clothes, I swear it." Noticing her lips pulled in a thin line, I gave her hand a light squeeze, assuring her, "I will talk to Cason."
She smiled softly and thanked me.
After talking to her quite a bit longer, I freshened up before deciding to take a walk through the hallway because I was bored.
All of a sudden, my phone chimed, indicating an incoming message. As expected, it was from River. A week ago, he apologized for his behavior and we became friends, since then he has been constantly chatting with me, yet I preferred to maintain some distance.
River:
Hey! How are you?
Ruby:
Fine.
River:
Cool. Are you back in Toronto?
Ruby:
Yup...
River:
Awesome! Let's meet up then. Tomorrow?
I thought about it for a few seconds while continuing my walk. I always gave him cold replies, yet he never stopped trying to become my friend. Also, not trying to flirt with me anymore got him an extra point.
As he was trying so hard, I should not become a stick in the mud and extend my hand for a healthy friendship as well.
Ruby:
Sure.
River:
Meet me tomorrow at Starbucks at 5.
"Ouch!" I heard a squeak as something bumped with my feet, and a thud echoed throughout the corridor. My gaze shifted down to find a small girl sitting flatly on the marble floor, her straight, long, dark brown hair covering her face.
Since I already had a love for kids, I bent down and picked up the child on my arms. "Are you hurt, baby?" She pushed away a few strands of hair from her face, letting me get a good look on her face.
How pretty!
The little girl had really pretty bright green eyes, which complimented her pale complexion.
Whilst I was observing her, she wrapped her tiny arms around the neck, clinging onto me as if I was her only life support, and started crying. She started saying some incoherent words; I only caught the word 'Mom' which she referred to me.
My eyebrows rose up in surprise as I got goosebumps."It's okay. I'm here. Don't cry," I tried to calm her down, ignoring the fact that she just addressed me as her mom. "Show me where you got hurt, baby."
She pointed to the back of her head, so I blew some air to it, soothing her pain, rubbing my hand on her back lightly in circles, assuring her, "It's okay. The pain will go away soon."
Just then the sharp clicking of heels echoed throughout the corridor. Everley flinched and clung onto me tighter, clutching my dress fabric into her tiny hands. "Oh my goodness! What happened to Eve? Why is she crying? What did you do, Ruby?" Newana exclaimed, shooting me a look of accusation.
So this was Everley Bevine, the four-year-old daughter of Newana and Kace.
A smile bloomed on my face as I cooed her in my arms.
Newana tried to snatch Everley from me, but she snuggled closer to my chest and mumbled, "Mom."
"Baby, she's your mom," I whispered. She glanced at Newana and then back at me.
"You're my mom. She is my momma," Everley stated as if this was the truth I never knew.
I stiffened. I couldn't comprehend what she was saying.
"What are you saying, Eve?" Newana snapped, which resulted in Everley hugging me tighter.
"Oh, God, Newana." I huffed and glared at her, making her narrow her eyes at me.
"What's going on here?" the confused voice of Vexon interrupted our conversation as he stepped in between us. His puzzle expressions soon turned into a goofy grin when his eyes fell on the little bundle of cuteness in my hands.
"Won't Ev give her uncle a hug as well?" he teased, pinching her cheeks. Without another word, she jumped onto his arms and beamed in delight.
"Uncle Vexon! It's the first time I'm seeing you in person," she chirped, clapping in excitement.
Vexon noticed my confused expression and clarified, "I never saw her physically. It was always on a video call." After I nodded, he glanced at Newana, who was still shooting daggers at me, and asked once again, "What's wrong?"
She rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Eve called her mom."
Vexon glanced back at me in amusement. I raised my hands up in the air, shaking my head side to side. "Not my fault. I was on the phone, and she bumped into me and fell down. I was just trying to calm her down, and she ended up calling me her mom."
"So you pushed her," Nafeesa spoke out of nowhere, and Newana frowned.
"You know, I saw one of your fake nails on the dining table," Newana informed, which was clearly a lie.
Nafeesa let out a dramatic gasp. "You're joking," with that, she dashed downstairs.
Newana received a call and excused herself.
Vexon and I took Everley to our bedroom and played with her for a while, until Newana came back and took back her daughter with her, not before sparing me a narrowed glance.
"That was weird. Why would Eve call me mom? Not like I have a problem but Newana seems insecure," I spoke up. Never had I ever thought someone would call me mom. The thought of being a mother always scared me. It was too much of a responsibility that I wasn't ready to take.
"Because she also knows that you will be a great mom," Vexon whispered in my ear, purposefully letting his warm breath tickle me. A shiver ran down my spines at the thought and his intimacy.
"Shut up." I turned away my face, knowing that my cheeks were turning red.
Vexon chuckled and stood up to head towards the washroom.
"Vexon, I need to have a conversation with Cason. He needs to understand that Keya doesn't want to study anymore," I told him.
Vexon turned around and furrowed his brows, questioning, "Why?"
"She wants to be a homemaker," I replied.
"Cool. Then talk to him," he said and closed the door after entering the bathroom. I let out a sigh and made my way to Cason's and Keya's bedroom.
I politely knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it for me.
"Come in," Cason's voice came from the other side, and I entered. Seeing me, he greeted, "Hey, Ruby. What makes you come here?"
"Hey," I responded and gave him a short side-hug.
"Where's Keya?" I asked him. He motioned towards the washroom. I nodded and took a deep breath before letting out, "Cason, Keya told me about the argument."
Cason shifted his gaze and gritted his teeth.
"Hey, listen," I urged. "I know you want her to be self-dependent. Even so, she made her own choice. She wants to wait for you at home, wants to raise your kids, and take care of everyone with love and plenty of time. There's nothing wrong with that."
He twitched his lips and said, "I know that, Ruby. But I'm almost never home. I have an office in the morning and Mafia work at night. I can't give her all of my time, so while I'm out, she can stay distracted with studies or work. In that way, she won't feel lonely."
"That's her choice, Cason. She is ready to wait for you. Just accept that. Also, you will remain tension free when she's at home," I explained.
He thought for a while before finally giving in, "Actually, you are right. Thank you. I will resolve everything with her." Cason gave me a small smile.
"That's great," with that, I turned around to leave. At that moment, Cason received a call and he started talking to the other person.
"Bro, give me your charger." Orson barged into the room.
"The last time I checked, there was no one in the room," Keya joked when she got out of the washroom.
I gave her a thumbs-up as she walked past me out of the room.
"Port eight? Okay, I will leave at ten tomorrow," I heard Cason say over the phone. Seeing that Keya and Orson had left already, I also quickly got out of the room.
I bumped into Kace on the way, to which I quickly muttered out an apology and walked past him.
I released a deep sigh as I reached our bedroom. "Done preaching already?" Vexon's sudden voice made me jump.
"Geez, Vexon, you always scare me." I put a hand on my chest dramatically. "Anyways, answer to your question, yes. He agreed, "I said and went to change into my shorts before settling on the edge of the bed.
Meanwhile, Vexon was standing in front of the dressing table, fixing his hair.
"Do you have to go to the base today?" I inquired him, secretly admiring his muscular body. He was in his trousers and shirtless. It was hard for me not to ogle him.
"No, not today."
"What about dinner? Did you have it yet?"
"Yeah, in the office."
"Then come here. Let's cuddle and sleep," I offered. He instantly turned to face me, leaving the playtime with his hair hanging in the air.
His eyes glinted with a mischievous look. "Isn't my wife becoming too clingy these days?"
I rolled my eyes at his comment. "No, she isn't. It's just a one time offer. Take it or leave it," I declared and grabbed my phone to show that I also had other business than him.
Vexon grinned and quickly joined me. At first, I was too shy to wrap my arms around his bare waist but I quickly adjusted because it felt way too comfortable to resist��not to mention, his body was mine only.
Only I had the right.
We cuddled for a while until we heard a faint knock on the door.
"Come in," Vexon said, sitting up. The door slowly opened, and Everley stepped with a blue bunny on her hand.
"What happened, Ev?" he asked.
She instantly ran towards the side of the bed and raised her arms, motioning me to pick her up. A big smile evolved on my face as I picked up the cutie.
"Momma and Papa are talking loudly. I can't sleep," she told us. I flashed her an assuring smile and patted her head affectionately.
I exchanged a look with Vexon. Newana and Kace were having an argument, no doubt.
"Can I sleep with you, Mom?" she asked me politely. I nodded and made her lay in between me and Vexon. "This is Mr. Rain," she introduced me to her blue bunny.
"Hi, Mr. Rain," I chirped. "Now sleep. It's already late," I murmured and stroked her hair. She drifted into sleep while Vexon watched the little angel snore lightly, along with me.
And for the first time, I never felt any lacking in my life. Somehow, I felt complete.
