4. Guardian angel
1238 Words
In a soft and loving voice, Ruby replied, "I cannot forget the eighteen months I spent with you."
“I waited for you. Why on earth did you not come?"
He looked at her and added, “Why didn’t you appear? Didn’t even say goodbye."
Ruby's thoughts wandered back to the awful day. As he was being discharged, he had been hoping she might stop by one final time. To prevent herself from interacting with him, she had instead convinced a nurse to make up a story.
"I was wondering why you never showed up," he said, extinguishing his cigarette. "Then it hit me, you may have had a lot of patients. Maybe I was never that important. I thought we had… I don’t know, something special. Maybe I was never that important. I thought we had… I don’t know, something special.”
Ruby bit her lip. Unable to say, she had left her position at the care center after he had departed. She had started a new chapter somewhere else, working in the admin department of childcare instead.
"You know what? I appreciate everything you did for me."
Ruby did not say anything. She got a faint, bitter grin.
After a long silence, James eventually asked, "But why didn't you marry Benjamin? He's loaded."
“Benjamin’s father and mine were best friends. They set up our marriage when we were kids. After my dad died, Mr Harries took over my dad’s business. I got engaged to Benjamin. And… I don't know when he merged everything into Harries Corporation.”
James squinted, looking for a corporate setting that he was familiar with.
"Power Enterprise!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah... I'm Thompson Jason's daughter," Ruby said sadly.
James was taken aback. "And when did he kidnap your mother?"
Ruby lifted her head to see his endearing face. "It was the moment you unexpectedly entered my life. I began living at the care center as soon as I took on your case. That's when Benjamin got the chance to kidnap my mother."
James saw the repressed grief in her eyes as he stared into them.
"I was all in on your treatment. He kept showing up at the care center, pushing to get married, like it was all just some race to him. Then I saw who he really is. He started threatening me when I didn’t give him the answers he wanted.”
James looked at her, shocked. While caring for him, she was also struggling with that nightmare. Yet, every day, she'd been there with that bright smile and strong approach, as if nothing was wrong.
Ruby lowered her head as tears welled up. “I had to agree…”
“Then… what made you run?”
“I found him with my cousin. I overheard him telling her that after the wedding, he’d… he’d kill my mom and lock me up.”
She turned her face, attempting to conceal her tears. "To this day, I don't know how I found the courage to run."
Ruby's smile had been his lifeline, the light that drew him back from the brink when he'd nearly given up. Seeing those same eyes, now filled with tears, broke something inside him.
James reached out and grabbed her shoulders firmly. He stared into her tear-filled eyes.
"I swear to you," he added quietly but firmly, "I'll take back Power Enterprise and release your mother."
Ruby kept looking into his eyes filled with courage and power.
Next morning…
After having breakfast, and watching James leaving for work, Ruby felt like she was making progress. She knew that there were only three months left. Ruby needed to concentrate on the goal at hand, how to figure out how to conceive with James, despite their difficult past and his undying love for his wife.
She forced her feelings aside, understanding that their arrangement did not allow for sentimentality. It served only as a means to an end; a contract. The sound of her phone ringing broke her reverie.
Maya!
"Did anything work out?" Maya asked.
"No..."
"You are stunning. It ought not to take this long."
"He loves you so much that he doesn't even sleep in the same room, let alone in the same bed."
"He hasn't called me yet after I left, so I thought things were done."
"I’m trying."
"I'm sending you some drugs. Drug him if it's needed. Seduce him in any case."
"Okay."
"And remember you don't have much time."
"I know."
Maya hung up.
Soon later, a parcel arrived. Ruby opened it only to find a collection of provocative lingerie and nightwear neatly folded inside. Under the exquisite textiles, a little packet of drugs was tucked away. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized this wasn't an innocent mix-up.
…
James was a rich businessman. Nobody could stop him from attaining his goals if he set his mind to it. He felt uneasy after hearing Ruby's bearing the night before, so he sent his assistant, Oscar Campbel, to look into Ruby and Benjamin's past. Oscar arrived at his cabin in the evening with a detailed report.
"Sir, the reports have arrived."
Sitting in his revolving chair, James looked like a monarch, absorbed in a serious project. When he heard Oscar, he hurriedly glanced up at the black file he was clutching.
Oscar placed the file in front of James, noticed James had set down his pen, and quickly grabbed it.
He opened the file and quickly scanned it. His surprise deepened with each word, and it showed on his face as coldness. Oscar noticed his cheeks deepening and his eyes moving quickly.
Whatever Ruby had stated the night before was true. Benjamin had arrived at the care center where Ruby worked and where James had been admitted. Benjamin had hit her there several times.
As James read through the papers, he realized that Ruby had not left the care center on the day he was discharged. Instead, she worked till the evening. Then why did the nurse lie?
That evening, Benjamin appeared and attempted to force her. She had somehow managed to flee.
James closed the file and sat back in his chair, smoking a cigarette. He took a deep suck on his cigarette, his thoughts racing with memories and realizations. Ruby had stood by his side for eighteen months, never hinting at the problems she was facing. He remembered how many nights she had spent caring for him, always with a smile on her face. She had been a source of strength and comfort, never expressing her fear or pain as a result of Benjamin's actions.
James experienced a feeling of guilt. How did he miss it? How could he not have spotted the signs? He took another suck on his cigarette, the smoke wrapping around him like the fog of his thoughts.
James realised he had to help Ruby and repay her for everything she had done. Determined, he crushed out his cigarette and got up.
"Stop all other investigations," he instructed. "Focus on this—now."
Oscar paused, clearly puzzled. Why was this case taking priority over finding who wanted James dead?
"Sir… We still don't have any leads on who..."
James spun, his eyes steely and unwavering. But before he could provide any additional instructions, his secretary's voice blasted over the speaker in his office.
"President, the chairman is on his way up to see you."
- Writer
