"Calm down, Ruby. I'm not your enemy here. Elena was the one who called me." Kai explained calmly.
"Elena?!" Ruby's eyes widened.
"Yes... She said she couldn't talk to you because of your ex's mother."
"Oh!" Ruby lowered her head in embarrassment while stroking herself inwardly.
"May I sit down?"
"Where are my manners...please do." Ruby offered a faint apologetic smile.
"Thanks" Kai slid into the opposite chair, his gaze never leaving her.
"So what did she tell you?" Ruby asked suspiciously, slightly infuriated by Elena's decision to involve Kai in her crisis.
"She told me that your ex's mother is planning on spending a week at her place and that you are currently stranded here."
"Donna is staying for a week at Elena's house?" Ruby's jaws dropped.
"That's what Elena said."
"But...oh god...this is not happening to me." Ruby turned her face away, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as the reality sank in.
Aside from Elena's house and Derek's house, she didn't have anywhere else to go except back to her country home, where she had been banished. And worst of all, she didn't have enough money right now to rent a place of her own due to the current project they were handling at the company.
Kai gently reached forward and took her trembling hands into his, forcing her to look back at him. "You don't have to worry your pretty head about this, Ruby." We've got this.
"Please don't ask me to come live with you because I won't." Ruby angrily yanked her hands away, her frustration spilling over. "I just need some space to breathe and figure out my life. Is that too much to ask?" She furiously wiped the tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.
Kai's chest clenched with anger at her broken state. Anger flickered in his heart toward Derek and his mother for making her suffer like this.
"I'm sorry, Ruby." He whispered, offering her his scented handkerchief which she accepted with a muffled thanks. "I wasn't planning on asking you to come live with me."
Kai pulled out a folded brown envelope and slid it over to her. "I wanted to give you this."
"What's that?" Ruby eyes the envelope suspiciously.
"A deed to your new house."
"My new house?!" Ruby's voice cracked in shock. "Kai, I can't…"
"Before you say no, hear me out first." His tone was calm but firm. "You don't owe me anything. After this week, you can go back to live with your friend if you want. Think of it as a private getaway instead of a hotel. No one will bother you there. Not even me. I won't come unless I'm invited. I just can't stand aside and watch my wife stranded or living in a hotel. Please, Ruby, don't reject this. I promise, I won't intrude."
Ruby let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping. "But I can't keep taking advantage of you, Kai. You're always doing so much for me, and I feel so indebted. How am I ever going to repay you?"
"Do not forget you're my wife, Ruby. You owe me nothing."
"But you know this isn't real," She said softly, her voice trembling. "We only got married so I could get back at Derek. After a while, we're supposed to go our separate ways. I don't want to take advantage of you anymore."
Kai smiled softly. "But I'm not complaining, Ruby."
"I am." Ruby sighed. She thought briefly before adding. "Can I at least make a down payment? And please don't tell me no because this will be the only condition of accepting this house from you." She said, picking up her phone and opening her banking mobile app.
Kai chuckled softly. "I don't think that I have much of a choice. Do I?"
"No, you don't. Let me have your account details." Ruby replied in a businesslike tone.
Kai watched her with quiet amusement as she tapped swiftly on her screen. Moments later, his phone buzzed twice.
When he checked the alert, his smile widened at the figure that appeared.
"I know two thousand dollars for a down payment is a little," Ruby admitted, her voice low with both apology and determination. "Almost all my savings is invested in a project my company is currently handling. But I promise to make more payments at the end of the month after we've made sales."
"That's fine," Kai said warmly as he rose to his feet, extending his hand toward her. "Shall we?"
Ruby's eyes glistened, a smile breaking through her tears as she placed her hand in his. "Thank you."
You're most welcome."
-
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Moments later, Kai's car glided into a serene neighbourhood, each home more elegant than the last.
Finally, his driver pulled to a stop before a pristine white duplex that stood tall and commanding...the warm glow of its lights spilling across the driveway.
Ruby's eyes widened as she whipped her gaze to Kai.
"Please, don't tell me this is the house I made that ridiculous two thousand-dollar down payment for?"
Kai's lips curved into a boyish grin. "Well… you did say you wanted a place to breathe."
Ruby's jaws dropped.
"Kai! This isn't a house. It's a palace. Do you have any idea how many decades I would have to work to pay back my deby?"
Kai chuckled as he stepped out of the car and helped her out. "I don't remember asking you to pay for it."
She glared at him, though the corners of her lips betrayed a threatening smile. "Has anyone told you that you are very annoying?"
"Severally," he teased lightly, taking her hand to usher her toward the entrance.
The door swung open to reveal a tastefully furnished interior that left Ruby almost gasping for breath.
From the gleaming marble floors to the velvet drapes, and the soft golden lights streaming from the window, it was simply paradise on Earth.
Ruby stopped short, her breath hitching. "Kai…" she whispered, torn between awe and outrage. "This is too much. I can't...I won't accept this."
Kai turned to her, his voice steady but gentle.
"You already did. Remember your down payment. And just so you know, I have no plans of returning that two thousand dollars."
She gaped at him, half furious and half amused. "You're shameless. What could you possibly do with that change?"
"A lot, sweetheart." His eyes danced with quiet amusement.
Just then, a warm voice interrupted them "Welcome, madam Ruby."
Ruby turned to see a slightly mature, kind-faced uniformed woman step forward with a polite smile.
Kai gestured toward her. "Ruby, this is Mary. She's the housekeeper. She'll help you settle in and make sure you're comfortable."
Ruby opened her mouth to protest again, but Kai raised a finger, silencing her.
"I have to be somewhere right now. Rest and don't let anything trouble you. I'll be just a call away if you need me."
Before she could form a sentence, he leaned forward and pressed a polite, lingering peck against her cheek.
Ruby froze, heat rushing to her face, as she stared at him, eyes widening.
"Goodnight, wifey and sweet dreams," Kai whispered tenderly before exiting the house.
Ruby stood frozen in place, blushing like a teenager who had just been kissed for the first time as she watched him leave.