Chapter 2 : Shadow of the Past 2 ​

That still didn’t stop her from trying to make him her boyfriend. Ruby went even further by sending a photo of her and him in swimsuits to Chris’s girlfriend, falsely claiming that he had feelings for her—even though it was just a normal sibling-like swim outing.

‘Sending those stupid pictures to make Molly misunderstand—what’s wrong with your mind, Ruby?’

‘Because I love you, Chris.’

‘But I don’t love you.’

‘But I’ve loved you for a long time. Molly came after me.’

‘Love me or what? Love shouldn’t look like this. This is more like a slut. From now on, please don’t come to my house. Keep some distance from me and Molly.’

‘I will come!’

‘Ruby!’

‘I came to see you. Paula never stopped me.’

‘Little brat! Well, I’m curious to see if you’ll dare come again.’

Chris stared at her strangely, then pushed her against the bedroom wall. Ruby began to sense that something was off because Chris had never been this rough before. At most, he would just scold her for pretending not to listen.

‘Do you know, Ruby? Any man in this world can have sex with any woman he doesn’t love. If you want, I will do it. That might be good too—it would just end things quickly.’ His hands pinned hers above her head.

‘Chris!’ He yanked her shirt until it stretched out.

‘If this is truly what you want, then maybe I should give in. Afterward, I’ll move forward with Molly, and you’ll have what you wished for. You’ve been playful for so long; perhaps it’s time to let go.’

‘Chris, don’t!’

Chris kissed her for the first time, but it was a kiss Ruby would remember for the rest of her life. It was full of anger and hatred, crushing her violently until her lips swelled. Every touch was rough and vulgar.

‘After you’re mine, get out of my life too, little brat!’

At that moment, her hands went icy and her body rigid before he violated her beyond just kissing and external touches. She pushed him with all her strength, then ran out of his bedroom, crawling under the fence to get back home—too embarrassed to let her mother see her. That lesson made her realize the truth: he hated and was displeased with what she had done. Ruby didn’t dare go near Chris’s house again. It so happened that her father wanted her to live with him, so she decided to leave, taking with her this nauseating feeling.

Seven years passed, and everyone had to grow up. Thoughts inevitably changed over time. Today, as she looked back on the past, Ruby saw only a reckless young girl who acted without thinking. Living with her father had changed everything: her perspective, her mindset, and the way she approached life now required seriousness and reasonableness. Yet, while Ruby had changed, her heart remained the same. She didn’t know how many lovers he had, but in her own heart, there was still only him. She couldn’t cut him out or shake him off; it was as if he had been embedded in her consciousness forever.

After finishing putting away her clothes and taking a bath, she opened the window and looked around the house. At the big house next door, she wondered which room Chris slept in and how he was doing. Over the past seven years, she had wanted to know but hadn’t dared to ask, afraid that curiosity might reignite the love of the past. That was enough; she didn’t want to feel that shameful embarrassment again. She turned back, collapsed onto the bed, and closed her eyes. A long time passed before her mother came up to wake her for breakfast.

“All of these dishes are your favorites, my dear.” Amber had chosen to cook only her daughter’s favorite foods for every dish.

“Thank you, Mom. You’ve made so much food—will we be able to finish it all?” Ruby counted the dishes and saw there were four in total. She wasn’t sure if the two of them could eat it all.

“This is a welcome back, my dear. You can put the rest in the fridge and eat it the next day. Eat more. You’ve gotten too thin, if you ask me.”

“Hmm, that can’t be true. I think I already have a good figure.” The daughter looked down at her own body, arguing with her mother.

“Okay, even with a good figure, you still need to eat. Oh, tomorrow I have to go clean Paula’s house, Ruby. You’ll stay home alone.”

“Clean Paula’s house?” She was puzzled, as it was something new she had just heard.

“Over the past few years, whenever the housekeeper was away or took a long leave to go home, Paula would hire me to clean the house instead. Now, Penny and her niece have gone back to deal with some family issues. They’ll be back in a week, so Paula hired me to do the housework during this time.”

“Uh, so you will do it, Mom?”

“Small jobs are still money. Besides, Paula pays well, so I do it. Whoever hires me, I’ll do it. It’s better than doing nothing.”

“And what about your desserts, Mom?”

“I just prepare them for the customers as usual. When they come to pick them up, I’ll give them the desserts. Then I go on cleaning again.”

“Then how about this? Tomorrow I’ll help you clean Paula’s house. That way, it will get done faster.”

“Can you really do it?”

“If Mom can do it, why can’t I? It’s just cleaning the house.”

“Alright, alright. Actually, I want you to rest for a long time—not have to work hard like I do.”

“It’s alright, Mom. One night of sleep is enough to recover. Cleaning is only in the morning, isn’t it? After that, there’s still plenty of time to rest.” She smiled at her mother, not wanting her to work hard alone. Whatever she could help with, Ruby wanted to share the burden.

“Are you sure you want to go clean with me?” Her mother raised her eyebrows in doubt, because going to clean Paula’s house also carried the risk of running into someone.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Ruby nodded at her mother.

“Tomorrow is Tuesday. I think Chris will probably go to work early,” Amber said, as if she understood her daughter’s unease.

“Yes, it’s better not to see him.” Ruby forced a smile. Just seeing the roof of the house made her heart flutter; she couldn’t imagine how fast it would beat if she saw Chris in person.

“Don’t you want to know about Chris?”

“Knowing wouldn’t change anything. I’ve done so many wrong things to Chris, so I don’t want to make things difficult for him again.”

“It’s good that you think that way, but I think it’s also good to know a little.”

“Mom.” The young woman gave her mother a slight glare.

“Chris isn’t married yet.” Just hearing this from her mother made the spoon of food in her hand poised in mid-air, as if what she had believed wasn’t true: I’m going to marry Molly.

“Didn’t Chris say he was going to marry Molly?”

“Well, they were almost going to get married. Suddenly, the woman went silent. Later, I found out from Paula that she had met someone new, so they broke up. As for Chris, he’s had new girlfriends from time to time, but I haven’t seen him agree to marry anyone. Now, it seems he’s still single. He’s thirty-four and still hasn’t settled down with anyone.”

Amber spoke as she observed her daughter’s expression. What she saw was a look of surprise, but not the excitement and joy she had seen in the past. Back then, her daughter’s eyes would sparkle every time she mentioned Chris.

“Really? Anyway, it doesn’t concern me. It’s better for each of us to go our own way. Mom, I’m embarrassed about the past. I don’t know how I could have done those things. Each one was so shameful. It’s no wonder Chris was annoyed and scolded me back then.”

“My daughter has really grown up. I wasn’t wrong to send you to live with your father.”

“When I lived with Dad, I couldn’t just waste my days away, Mom. Every day, I had to work and help out. Dad is very serious about the lives of the workers on the farm and our family. He taught me to take my own life seriously, too. It took me a full two years to adjust.”

“But it was worth it, wasn’t it, Ruby?” Amber saw the benefits of sending her daughter to live with her ex-husband; it was worth the time they were apart. If Ruby had stayed with her, she would have surely become a spoiled child, as she had in the past.

“Yes, it was very worth it. I’ve become much stronger. I don’t throw tantrums or act spoiled like I used to, Mom. You can rest easy now, no need to wash my clothes or do the dishes for me. I can do everything myself.”

“Hearing that makes me feel at ease.” Amber knew very well that she had raised her daughter the wrong way, indulging her to the point where it almost ruined her. Fortunately, there had been a turning point that allowed Ruby to see things more clearly.

After dinner, the mother and daughter washed the dishes together. Then they sat watching TV and talking, like people who hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Around nine o’clock, they went their separate ways to sleep.

A sudden flash of light filled the room, which had been dark for many years. The young man on the second floor of the neighboring house peeked through the curtain to look. He remembered very well whose bedroom that was.

‘Ruby.’

He slid his tie off and tossed it into the laundry basket, then unbuttoned his shirt. Chris had just walked into the room. He hadn’t turned on the light yet, because the light from the neighboring house had caught his attention first. Had that brat come back, or did Amber just turn on the light in her daughter’s bedroom? It was unusual, unlike every other day, because that bedroom had never been lit since its owner moved to the province seven years ago. He closed the slightly open curtain and turned on the light in his bedroom, trying to focus on the work he would do tomorrow rather than thinking about that brat from the past.

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