60 Nights with a Billionaire

8. I don't care anymore

"I want to apologize," James stated in a hushed voice.

Ruby lowered her gaze, "You don’t need to apologize."

“If I don’t make this right, how am I ever gonna look you in the eye?”

Ruby peered into his deep eyes before slowly turning around. “It’s me who should apologize,” she whispered. “I hate that I’m the reason you feel this way.”

James softly held her shoulders and rested his chin on her head.

“You were there for me when I needed it most. I got used to that… used to you.” His voice softened, carrying a weight of truth. “After I left, I haven’t slept the same, not once. But last night… it’s like I can’t forget this truth.”

Ruby closed her eyes to avoid crying.

James turned her back slowly, looking into her eyes with sadness, "Have I hurt you too much?”

Ruby bit her lip and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

James touched her face and whispered, “Will you… can you forgive me?”

"Do not say that. I can't see shame in your eyes.” She cried.

James couldn't resist Ruby's simplicity and drew her in, embracing her tightly. Ruby closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, allowing tears to fall.

"I swear, I feel like beating up your boyfriend," he said, his voice heavy with fury. "Why should you have to go through this? Perhaps he isn't as good a guy as you think.”

Ruby hugged him even more tightly. "Please do not say anything about him, James. He's a nice guy."

A searing twinge of jealousy struck James, but he attempted to shake it off. Little did he know that there was no boyfriend at all.

The warmth of James' embrace seemed to take away all of Ruby's pain, and she allowed herself to sink deeper into his arms. But James' head was elsewhere, preoccupied with his unfaithful wife and Ruby's reckless boyfriend. He gradually pushed back and took a few paces away, his back to her. Ruby watched him in a stupor, her gaze following his broad shoulders.

"You should've never hidden from me that day," he added, his voice full of fury.

Ruby immediately realized he was referring to the last day at the care center.

"If you'd told me even once that you wanted to get away from Benjamin, I would've removed him from the world. Completely."

She lowered her eyes. "What's the point of bringing all that up now?"

"You've lied. You did not leave. You were there." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Why didn't you want to see me?"

"It's been one year, James. I can scarcely recall any of it." Ruby's voice wavered.

"Then why won't you look me in the eyes?" He held her chin up to meet his eyes. She swallowed anxiously, and he knew. She had concealed on his final day.

"I kissed you," he replied, looking at her face. “I apologized. Were you angry about that?"

She shook her head and grabbed his hand. "No, James, I've moved on from… that night."

As he gazed at her torn lips, the image of blood on the sheets came back to him. She had been a virgin, and he had stolen it away from her in his carelessness. Swallowing hard, he said quietly, "You should've been in my life a long time ago."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Ruby standing astonished and perplexed.

…

Benjamin sat in his office, hands gripped on the desk, his face red with rage. Papers were strewn around the room from where he hurled them, and his voice rang out as he quizzed his assistant, William Brown.

"Why did we lose it?" He snarled, his eyes tightening as if a storm was approaching. "This was supposed to be a sure thing!"

William murmured hesitantly, "Sir…it seems Miller's team moved faster and offered…better terms," under Benjamin's angry gaze.

"Better terms?" Benjamin seethed and slammed his fist on the desk. "I don't pay you to make excuses. How could we allow them to sweep in and steal something right from under us? We settled everything with the decision committee."

William stood motionless, terrified to move or talk. Benjamin's gaze was piercing, almost boring a hole through him, his pride and patience damaged by the painful defeat.

Benjamin leaned back, clenched his jaw, and his voice became low and cold.

"Did you get CCTV footages of that damn hotel?"

"Sir... Mr Miller is not giving permission…"

"f**k!! That James Miller, bastard!" Benjamin became outraged.

"Get out," he hissed. "And don't come back without a plan to fix this."

Benjamin did not wait to be told twice before fleeing, leaving Benjamin alone with his fury and fantasies of revenge.

Benjamin sat behind his desk, enraged. The deal he'd just lost to James Miller was a blow to his ego, and he couldn't get over the burning rage that was engulfing him. His fingers trembled as he lit another cigarette, the smoke swirling into the air as he whispered to himself.

"I'll make him pay for it. "I'll find his weakness and crush him."

His thoughts were interrupted by the abrupt sound of his phone vibrating on the desk. Without glancing at the screen, he grabbed it, and the name "James Miller" appeared on it. His heart skipped a beat and his jaw tightened. He tossed the cigarette aside and answered the phone, his voice full of malice.

"Are you getting a little too angry?" James' voice broke through, silky and sarcastic. "But don't worry, this is just the beginning."

"James Miller, you—"

"Yeah," James chuckled, obviously enjoying the situation. "It is my name. Remember it. It's simpler to remember than the amount of money you lost."

Benjamin tightened his grasp on the phone, his teeth crunching. "What the hell do you want? You…"

Before he could finish, James interrupted him again. "You will find out soon enough. "Good luck, Benjamin."

When the line went dead, Benjamin threw the mobile across the room without thinking twice, seeing it slam into the wall.

"Damn him."

The sound of the mobile cracking seemed to feed his rage even further.

The yearning for revenge cluttered his mind. James Miller. The name kept repeating in his head, a continual reminder of the humiliation he had just experienced. He could not afford to lose in this manner once more. Benjamin was aware that he needed to identify James's weakness to overpower him and force him to submit to his wishes.

He was startled out of his reverie by the sound of the door opening. William hesitantly entered, looking as anxious as ever.

"Is everything okay, sir?" William hesitated before asking.

Benjamin yelled, "Everything's fine." his eyes still blazing with rage, “We must find out about James Miller's life. Look for anything, anything at all that can give me the upperhand.”

William gave a swift nod. “I get it, sir. I'll get started straight away.”

With his hands clutching the desk's edge, Benjamin took a seat again. "I'll defeat him. No one laughs at me and gets away with it." His jaw tensed as he remembered James's arrogant expression.

The game had begun.

In the Miller Headquarter…

James hung up the phone and relaxed back in his chair. He lighted a cigarette, the tip gleaming as he took a slow draw. The smoke swirled about him. His eyes, dark and impenetrable, revealed nothing as they peered ahead, calculating. When James inhaled, the atmosphere felt thick, like the stillness before a storm.

Oscar glanced up at James. "What's the next move, sir?"

James looked icily as he let out a plume of smoke. "He's already taken a big hit. Let him suffer for now.”

Oscar paused. "Madam is staying at a Venture Hotel in Yang City. She is hiding there, the team confirmed.”

James inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Painful memories were evoked by the mention of Maya, particularly the picture of Ruby, broken and bloodied. Seeing Ruby in that state was even more painful than the betrayal.

James flatly answered, "Let her hide," and snuffed out the cigarette. "Stop following her."

"But sir..."

With his back straight, James turned away.

James murmured, "I don't care anymore," and left without saying anything else.

James moved towards the farmhouse. His car was moving at a higher speed than normal. He battled to keep his emotions from spilling over into anger; it was the only way he could stop the storm that was brewing. Strangely, he'd never felt more compelled to leave the workplace and go home than he did now. He was right; he'd become accustomed to her presence and constant warmth. That intimacy, that calm attachment, remained with him even a year after he left the care home.

As James' car approached the farmhouse, he noticed the figure in the pond. Ruby sat peacefully, cradling a little white bunny and tenderly rubbing its fur. James swallowed saliva. She loved everything and exuded an unending warmth. It transported him back to the day two and a half years ago when he opened his eyes after his accident. Ruby was the first person he saw, and she was smiling. From that moment, he began to believe that her very presence could heal him.

He'd grown addicted to her in those early days, needing her close by merely to breathe a little easier.

He would ring the buzzer and call her name even if she only briefly left his room. And as he began to walk, he would go out and find her on his own, exploring every hallway and nook of the care home, constantly requiring her soft presence close by.

James exited the car and leaned against it while lighting a cigarette and staring at Ruby. Despite her wounds and the frost seeping into the nighttime air, she seemed oblivious and engrossed in her world as she gathered flowers and played with the rabbits.