Novels by Ruby Andrews

"That's the man who attended my parents' funeral."The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Silence followed. Heavy and uncomfortable. Marcus stared at me, Adrian did the same. Neither looked convinced, neither looked relaxed. My hands shook around the tablet. "I know him."Marcus frowned."Elena, you were four.""I know."My voice cracked."I know how crazy it sounds."Because it did. It sounded impossible. A four year old shouldn't remember faces, shouldn't remember strangers standing near a grave, shouldn't remember anything but I did. Not everything, only pieces, small fragments, broken memories yet that face wasn't one of them. That face stayed for years. For some reason, I never forgot. Adrian took the tablet from my hands. His expression darkened. "You've seen him before?"I nodded.Fear settled inside my chest."At the funeral."Marcus rubbed his forehead."This changes things."My stomach tightened."What things?"Neither answered again. Always silence, always secr

"Ask Adrian why your father chose him before your parents died."The words crashed into me. My entire body froze. For a second, nobody moved, nobody moved, nobody spoke. The stranger stood there calmly, as if he had just revealed something ordinary but nothing about it felt ordinary. My pulse hammered inside my ears. Slowly, I turned towards Adrian. His face had gone completely pale. Fear twisted inside my chest not because of the stranger but because of Adrian's reaction. He knew something and suddenly I was terrified of what that something might be. "What is he talking about?"My voice shook. Adrian didn't answer. The silence made my stomach drop. "Adrian."Nothing. I took a step forward "What is he talking about?"The stranger laughed softly."Interesting."Marcus immediately moved in front of me."Who are you?"The man smiled."You can call me Daniel.""That's not your name."Daniel's smile widened."Maybe not."Police officers started moving toward him. The moment they did, hi

"Someone just kidnapped Vivian."The words slammed into me. For a second, I thought I heard Marcus wrong. "What?"My voice came out weak. Marcus looked just as shocked as I felt. The phone remained in his hand. His expression was grim.."Who called?"He didn't answer immediately.That scared me because Marcus always had answers. Tonight, he looked completely caught off guard. Because Marcus always had answers.Tonight, he looked completely caught off guard."Marcus."He finally looked at me."It was Adrian's head of security."My stomach tightened."So it's real."Marcus nodded. A chill ran through me. I should have felt angry, I should have felt satisfied after everything Vivian had done, I should have felt something ugly. Instead, fear settled inside my chest because kidnapping wasn't normal. This wasn't gossip, this wasn't betrayal, this was dangerous. "When did it happen?""About thirty minutes ago."My heart sank. Thirty minutes. That meant Vivian disappeared shortly after Adr

"What was that?"Adrian's voice followed me across the room. I didn't answer. I couldn't because if i opened my mouth right now, the truth might come out and I refused to give him that. Not after tonight, not after tonight, not after everything. The tiny pieces of the hospital report remained scattered across the floor between us.A few minutes ago, that paper held the happiest news of my life. Now it was nothing but trash. Just like my marriage. Adrian took a step forward. "What did you tear up?"I grabbed my suitcase."None of your business."His eyes narrowed."Elena."I laughed bitterly. The sound surprised even me. "You suddenly care about my business?"His jaw tightened."I'm serious.""So am I."I walked toward the door. He moved in front of me immediately. My chest burned. "Move.""No."The answer came fast, firm, possessive like he still has the right. Anger exploded inside me. "You lost the right to stop me the second you handed me divorce papers."Something flashed acr

My entire body went cold. Vivian is pregnant with my child.The words echoed inside my head again and again. For a moment, I couldn't hear anything else, couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. I just stood there staring at Adrian. Waiting for him to take it back, waiting for somebody to laugh and tell me this was all some horrible joke. Nobody did. Beside him, Vivian lowered her eyes and rested a hand on her stomach. That single movement shattered whatever remained inside me. A sharp pain spread through my chest. I felt sick, actually sick. I laughed suddenly. The sound shocked even me because it wasn't laughter. It was heartbreak. Raw, ugly and humiliating. "You got another woman pregnant?"My voice shook. Neither of them answered immediately. That silence said enough. I nodded slowly. "Oh my God."Fresh tears filled my eyes."You really did it.""Elena.""No."I raised a hand."Don't."Adrian's jaw tightened."Listen to me.""Why?"My voice rose."Why should I listen n

"Sign the papers, Elena."The words didn't register immediately. I blinked once then twice. My smile slowly disappeared. "What?"Adrian pushed a document toward me. His face was cold, calm like he wasn't about to destroy my entire world. My fingers tightened around my phone. Just a few hours ago, I had left the hospital with the happiest news of my life. I was pregnant. I had spent the whole day imagining this moment. I imagined Adrian smiling, imagined him pulling me into his arms, imagining us finally becoming a real family. Instead, divorce papers sat between us. My chest tightened painfully."What is this?""Read it.""No."His eyes lifted."No?"My voice shook."I asked what this is."His expression remained unchanged."It means our marriage is over."The room seemed to spin. I stared at him, waiting, hoping, praying he would tell me this was some cruel joke. He didn't. A laugh escaped me. Broken, disbelieving. "You can't be serious.""I'm serious."My heart slammed against m