Chapter 6 : Childhood Rival 2

“Weren’t you the one who liked it so much before? You used to enjoy it so much, now you complain that women are like leeches. Aren’t these leeches the ones who made you happy every day?” Chris shook his head at his younger brother. He understood very well the playful, non-committal relationships between the beautiful social butterflies and his brother.

“I’ll admit that, but after a long time, it gets boring, you know, Chris. I understand how you felt when Ruby was always following you around like a shadow.” Theo couldn’t help bringing up the girl from the neighboring house. His older brother paused slightly when he heard Ruby’s name.

“Why do you seem to be especially interested in Ruby?”

“I’m not especially interested, don’t be nonsense.” Even now, Theo’s expression looked amused in a way that made his older brother raise an eyebrow in surprise.

“Where did you go just now? I saw you coming in through the front door,” Chris changed the question.

“I went to see Ruby.” Chris immediately turned to face his younger brother.

“You said you weren’t interested.”

“I just wanted to see that kid. We haven’t met in a long time. She should be around…” Theo counted on his fingers as he spoke.

“Twenty years old.”

“Twenty-five,” his older brother corrected him. Theo paused for a moment, surprised that the person who remembered Ruby’s age most accurately was his own brother.

“You really remember accurately… really twenty-five.” Theo thought again. Everything his brother said was true. He leaned back against the sofa, staring at the ceiling as if he had something on his mind to ponder.

“And did you see her?” It took Chris quite a while to ask, since he had been waiting, and his younger brother still hadn’t spoken up.

“I only saw Amber, Chris. She said Ruby was sleeping—apparently tired from her work the previous day. People like her can clean too. I don’t know if she was lying; maybe Amber did the cleaning by herself.”

“Ruby really did the cleaning herself,” his older brother also confirmed.

“Oh, you were at home too. By the way, is she the same as before? Still clinging to you all the time?” Theo seemed particularly interested in his young rival. There was a hint of resentment in his eyes.

‘Why do you have to wait to go swimming with Chris? You can go with me. Chris isn’t free, and I’m free today.’

‘I don’t want to go with you. I only want to go with Chris.’

How many times had Theo been embarrassed by Ruby, and how many times had his good intentions turned into a source of amusement for her? The desire to win over her instantly added color to Theo’s life.

“I only saw her for a few minutes. I can’t really say what Ruby is like; I need to take time.”

“I think Ruby will show her true self soon. Right now, she might still be pretending. People don’t really change who they are. Chris, don’t be soft. I don’t want my sister-in-law to be that brat.”

“That will never happen, Theo.” Chris was quite confident about this, which happened to align perfectly with his younger brother’s expectations.

“Good, very good.” Theo winked at his older brother before whistling and walking upstairs in a cheerful mood.

On the other side, Ruby, who had woken up late, was stretching on her bed to shake off her stiffness. When she looked down at herself, she flinched slightly, as her T-shirt had slipped low enough to reveal her full chest. She remembered that when she went to bed, she had been completely drowsy. If she wore a bra to sleep, Ruby wouldn’t be able to rest, so she always took it off before going to bed. But because of the long T-shirt she liked to wear to bed, the neckline had stretched so much that it revealed almost everything. Even so, she still favored this particular sleepwear. Its worn and loose state made her sleep far more comfortably than any of her newer pajamas.

She got out of bed and opened the window wide. She liked looking out at the lawn of the neighboring house, where all the trees, big and small, were lush and green. She accidentally looked up at the second floor of the house and knew that the room with the tightly closed windows and never-drawn curtains was his. If Chris opened the window and leaned out now, their eyes would probably meet.

‘Such a silly thought, Ruby. Chris isn’t free to play staring contests like when we were kids.’

Back then, the houses were at the same height, not staggered like this. Often, when Chris opened his window, he would see her making a playful face, waiting right at her own window. Thinking that, she lifted her hand to smooth out her large, wavy locks. And before Paula’s housekeeper returned, she and her mother had to clean that house two more times. She quickly showered and changed clothes before heading downstairs to see her mother.

“You’re here already? I’ve got some desserts for you to have before the meal,” Amber said as she prepared the breakfast table and set out the sweets for her daughter.

“I thought I’d help you a little, Mom, but I woke up late.”

“It’s alright, Ruby. I’m used to it. Today, there weren't many dessert orders, so I finished in no time. Come, let’s eat.”

“Okay, Mom. I’ll get some eggs for you.” She hurried to put the egg onto her mother’s plate while also eyeing the coconut pudding.

“Mom, did you make coconut pudding two days in a row?”

“Yes, there were only orders for coconut pudding, so that’s all I made. But I changed the filling inside.”

“Here you go, your egg, Mom.” Ruby placed the plate in front of her mother. She gazed at her mother’s cooking with fascination before closing her eyes and breathing in the aroma deeply.

“You’re acting as if you’ve never eaten my food before, Ruby. Why are you making that face?” Her mother’s words evoked a pang of guilt in Ruby.

“It’s been such a long time since I came to see you, Mom. Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad. We still see each other almost every day anyway.” Amber and her daughter kept in touch regularly through video calls. Only occasionally did she visit her daughter, but she never stayed at her ex-husband’s house. Instead, she stayed in a hotel and let her daughter take her out, not wanting to cause any discomfort for her ex-husband’s new family.

“Oh, Theo came to see you just now.”

“Theo? That Theo?” Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Normally, she and he didn’t get along very well, so why would he want to see her today?

“Yes. He said he wanted to see you, but I told him you were still asleep, so he excused himself and left.”

“He probably came to pick a fight with me,” the young woman muttered.

“You haven’t seen each other for seven years, and you still think he came to pick a fight? Ruby, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t know, Mom. Theo practically hates me. If he came here, it definitely means he intended to cause trouble.” Ruby was quite confident in her negative thoughts.

“No, don’t think like that. Theo probably just wants to visit you. I even invited him to have some dessert with us, but he said he was busy and had something to do.”

“Good then. I didn’t really want to see him anyway.”

“Alright. If you don’t want to see him, then you don’t have to. Let’s just keep eating.”

“Alright, Mom.”

That morning meal was filled with the warmth of mother and daughter. How long had it been since Ruby last smiled from the heart like she did today? She had already decided that from now on, she would live her life to take care of her mother and hold on to this happiness for as long as she could.