My heart beats for you

Ruby

The moment I turned and saw her, I knew my marriage had ended before it even began…

“Do you, Asher Walter, take Ruby Lanes, to be your lawfully wedded wife till death do you part?” I smiled happily as the priest asked the question I have been dying to hear all these years.

Getting married to Asher was a dream come true for me. He was the love I had to wait for, for so long before he finally became mine.

He had a straight face on as he looked away like he didn’t hear the question. It felt as if he was hesitating because of something. So I followed his gaze and there she was, the woman who really owned his heart.

The moment I turned and saw Camila in the third row, dressed in a red dress that made her pop out hot among the crowd, I knew right there that my marriage had ended even before it started. When Asher looked at her, he forgot I existed and at that moment, I forgot how to breathe…

Asher and I go way back. We’ve been friends since childhood, and I’ve had a massive crush on him since then. Even as a child who knew nothing about love, I knew I liked him, and I always joked about marrying him when we were older. Our parents would always laugh at us, mine especially. They thought I didn’t know what I was saying, but I did.

Asher liked me too, at least then he did. He’d always ask his parents to invite my family over, and always wanted to be around me until we got into college. I found a female best friend while he found a lover.

Asher is a handsome billionaire heir with an insanely athletic body for his age, which made all the girls have their eyes on him. They all wanted to be the chosen one, but only one girl caught his attention, and it wasn’t even me.

It was Camilla, a beautiful art student with an enticing model body. They met at an art exhibition where she was one of the creators competing.

Asher fell mindlessly in love with her the moment he set eyes on her. It was as if he had never seen a woman before in his life. Funny how he was never a fan of art and I had to convince him to be my date to the exhibition. If only I had known it would be my own undoing.

From that night, Asher became crazy about Camila and forgot totally about me. He hid it from me at first, and I got so worried when he became distant from me. We were no longer talking or seeing, and whenever I asked, he would always give excuses.

I decided to go to his place one day and that was when I got my first heartbreak. I walked right into Asher, making out with Camila.

I almost went crazy. I ran out and for days, locked myself in my room and wallowed in misery. Ava, my best friend, did everything to make me talk to no avail. Eventually, she had to call Asher, and I was so happy to see him. I thought he’d come to tell me it was a mistake… maybe a one-time thing, and he was finally choosing me.

I was wrong. He did the exact opposite.

Asher sat with me, looked me straight in the eye and then confessed his undying love for Camila. As if that wasn’t enough torture, he begged me to keep it a secret from our parents.

Camila comes from a poor background. She was lucky to get into college, and somehow got luckier to get a billionaire heir’s heart. Asher was the one paying for everything, and happily sponsoring her. His parents would never approve of him marrying such a girl, which was why he hid it from everyone until I caught them.

Not only did I get my heart broken, I still got the broken pieces blended into fine purée when he asked me to cover up for him and his girlfriend.

That was enough reason to cut him off, right? Ava said so too, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I was too in love with him to just give up. I wasn’t sure I’d survive without him, so I settled for staying in the shadows. I was okay being friends with the man of my dreams, while he loved another woman.

After college, I became a lifestyle content creator and was successful at it. Asher also took over his family’s business as the new CEO. Being a very brilliant person, it didn’t take long before he reformed and took the company to great heights. They became the best and most powerful company in the country.

All this while, he was still dating Camila. He had opened a massive art gallery for her and was determined to rebrand her into his parents' taste.

But then, his competitors finally got to him after so many tries. That caused him to make some bad financial decisions that landed the company in serious trouble, and they almost went bankrupt. That was when he needed Camila the most, but she suddenly disappeared. The art gallery was suddenly gone, all funds were traced to her, but she was nowhere to be found. Asher looked everywhere, but it was as if she completely stopped existing.

He was already close to depression by the time he opened up to me, and I immediately stepped in. I helped him heal from the heartbreak and, together, we built the company from the ground, back up in only three years.

During this time, we were really close. I got to love him again and he did too. I thought I finally had his heart, and our parents saw it too. They saw how much we cared about each other, so they thought an arranged marriage would help boost our families' relationships and business.

We were at a private family dinner when they announced it. I was overjoyed and happily accepted. Asher seemed hyped up too, until he pulled me aside after the dinner, and asked me to call off the wedding. I thought it was just wedding jitters, so I refused and went ahead with the plans. He did tell me I was going to regret my decision, but I was too in love and naively dismissed it.

Walking down the aisle now, and seeing Camila exchanging stares with my husband, I finally figured out what he meant when he said I’d regret it…

“When did she get back? Why didn’t you tell me that your lover was back, Asher?” I whispered as we got on the dance floor, ready to have our first dance as a couple.

Asher was cold, and hadn’t even said a word to me all morning except when he said those two ‘I do’ words at the altar. Even when we shared our first kiss, he was looking at her. When he smiled, it was at her, but people thought it was for me. They cheered and grinned, thinking I’d won in life, in love…

“I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen to me. I asked you to call this damn wedding off, didn’t I? But you refused, you were too selfish to see that I was in love with someone else. You wanted to be happy so badly that you threw me under the bus without a second thought!” His eyes yelled the words at me, but his mouth said them quietly.

Of course, he was pandering to the guests, who thought we were in a love bubble, and whispering sweet words to each other. They were literally drooling over us, and he was busy smiling back at them too.

A public display of affection, but a private show of alienation!

“Three years, Asher, she was away for three good years. She left you at your lowest, stole all the money from her business and just disappeared. I was there for you, helped you get back on your feet and this is what I get in return. You ran back to her the minute she came back?” I let out while he just scoffed in my face.

“Can you even hear yourself? How can someone steal from their own business? She needed the money, and it was her business, so she took it. And then, thank you for reminding me that you were there for me at my lowest. I’m sure it would be nice to spend the rest of my life being reminded of that!”

“You know that’s not what I mean, Ash…”

“Please, just drop it. Let’s just dance and get out of here. I’m tired of all this charade already.” He cut me off sharply.

I wanted to say something, but I swallowed the words when I saw the look on his face.

“No, no, no, don’t do that now. Don’t look sad. You wanted this, you got it, and you have to play along now. I’ve been doing that too, so you should also look your part.” He pulled me closer and stared deep in my eyes.

My hands lingered on his chest, and my expensive diamond shone in my face, while my eyes searched his thoroughly, hoping to see even a little hint of love, but there was none. I realized then that his ring was all I was going to have, his heart would ever belong to that b*tch.

She is back and, despite everything she’s done to him, Asher will never stop loving her. He will always choose her…

The rest of the reception went off in haste. I wasn’t myself, but I tried to play my part. Asher didn’t leave my side even for a second, he couldn’t risk me doing anything to jeopardize the wedding. His reputation was at stake, but my heart could go to hell!

Everyone stood at the entrance, cheering and waving at us as we hopped into the limousine. We were all smiles too, but that ended the second the driver started the car. Asher moved away from me and became one with his phone.

“Asher…”

“Not tonight, Ruby. I’ve given you what you want. I want some peace and quiet now.” My mouth was ajar when he said this, but he didn’t care. He just kept on giggling at his screen while I sat there in silence, fighting back the hot tears in my eyes.

We finally got home and once I got out of the car, Asher closed the door and asked the driver to zoom off.

I stood there for about five minutes, staring blankly at nothing until my legs started to give out. I went into the house, and sat in the living room. I waited for hours, staring at the clock till my eyes started to well up.

I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me, I knew Asher was with her. He wasn’t going to come back home to me. Not tonight.

It’s my wedding night and my marriage of only a few hours had already ended.

And it’s all my fault. I married him knowing I’d never have all of him. I just didn’t think I’d lose what little I had this soon…