The Last Wife

four

• brutal truth •

Ruby

three months ago,

Immediately Erik drops me off, I hop out and bolt to my house.

Furiously, I bang the door and lie against it, crying my eyes out. I'm so angry at myself! Angry at myself for losing Erik. And I'm so angry at Harvey! Angry at him for picking this particular night to propose to me.

It feels like I've lost Erik forever. Like I will never have him back. Just the thought of it completely tears me apart. And it scares me to death. It feels like I'm going through the break-up all over again. Just that this time, there's no shimmer of hope that we'll ever get back together again. And I'm afraid that I've lost the love of my life. The man I've learnt to seek comfort and confide in. So how am I supposed to just live without him?

After I got so used to spending my days with him and laughing with him and making meals with him and eating beside the fire with him? How am I supposed to live with the memories of him? How am I supposed to be okay with not making more memories with him?

I dash to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine. But even wine can't wipe away the pain. I take the second glass. And another one. Trying to drown the pain. But my heart is still tearing apart.

Why did I have to get myself into this? Why did I have to sacrifice love for this stupid revenge plan! Now I lost the man of my dreams! The man that brings me so much comfort and peace! The man that made me so excited for life again! So excited for new adventures and making memories! And it's all my f*****g fault! I really wanted it to work so bad. I was literally desperate for it to work. And now it's dead...

I toss myself on the couch and switch on the TV. I should just binge on some silly comedy show and drain the wine.

Maybe that will help...

Help me forget this pain...

The pain of losing him...

****

The loud ring of my phone mercilessly pulls me from sleep.

I don't know how I drifted to sleep on the couch. I wake up with a stupid migraine and every part of my body aching.

"Hallo?"

"Precious! Good morning!"

"Morning," I say with a croak.

"Did you see the little gift I sent you?"

"Gift?"

I dash to the door when the bell rings. A huge package is sitting at my doorstep. I take it in and quickly unzip it.

A gorgeous lace gown with glittering pearls all around is tucked inside. It looks new and expensive.

"Oh my God! Harvey! It's perfect!"

"Not as perfect as you."

"Thankyou!"

"You don't have to say thanks. I told you that I'll buy you the finest things the first day we met. I'm just keeping my promise." He pauses. "I love you, Precious."

"Love you too, Harvey." I lie.

It really sucks to lie. Not because I feel sorry for Harvey but because I feel sorry for Erik. It's only him that I love. It's him that I should be telling these words to...

"I can't wait to see you dressed in that gown. You'll look perfect on our wedding day."

The excitement in his voice scares me. He just proposed to me two seconds ago and now he's all over the place, picking gowns for our wedding day. I wonder how long he's been planning this...

"I have a set date for our wedding," he informs me. "I already have an event planner working on our big day. Everything is set."

"You have a set date for our wedding?"

"Yes. The fifth of July. I hope that's okay with you..."

"Yeah, it's fine! But isn't it a little too soon?"

"It's never too soon for love."

"But three months is a short time to plan a wedding, Harvey."

"The event planner is the best in the country. Stop sweating. Everything will be perfect. Just relax and trust me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Let me get into a meeting. I'll call you later. I love you."

Awkward silence stretches between us, probably him waiting for me to say I love him back. When I don't respond, he eventually hangs up. f**k! How am I supposed to get used to saying I love him back? A man that I hate so much? A man that's the reason I lost my mom and my childhood and now the love of my f*****g life. God! I hate him!

Alex calls me some few minutes after Harvey.

"Good morning, future Mrs. Ford."

"Ew! I hate that name."

"Well, get used to it." He pauses briefly. "You don't sound excited."

"Erik just broke up with me!" I blurt out, making my way to the kitchen.

"But you guys broke up a few days ago."

"Yeah, but he called and I thought we are back together and we had some hot s*x but then we broke up again. Unfortunately, he was at the proposal party last night and he watched another man go down on one knee for me."

"No way!" He gasps. "Your life is a f*****g movie!"

"And I don't get paid for starring in it." I pour myself some wine and gulp the drink.

"Heartbreaks suck but I'm glad he's gone. He was a huge distraction. Now you don't have anything standing in your way."

"What the f**k, Alex! I just broke up with Erik and that's your way of making me feel better?"

"What? I'm just telling you the truth. We both knew he was a distraction. You should thank God I didn't wipe him out myself."

"You really don't have a heart, Alex." I pause. "Maybe that's why Miles couldn't stay with you."

I hang up on him.

Sometimes Alex can be very insensitive. Sometimes he does it intentionally and other times so innocently. He has this bad habit of knocking you with the brutal blunt truth especially when you don't need it.

And in this case, I know he's telling the truth. I let Erik be a stupid distraction. I let him stand in the way of our plan. Something that's so crucial to me and Alex. We have to make Harvey pay for what he did to our mommy and family. And I was letting a man get in the way of that...

The break up might be a blessing in disguise.

Maybe I lost him to focus on what's important. And what's important is the revenge plan. I'm doing this for my mom. And my family. Maybe it's worth it that I lost him.

I lost the man I love...

****