Chapter 03

Bella's POV

"Where am I going?" I put the phone down on the table. "Is it any of your business?"

Logan's face went dark. He dropped the bag of fruit on the chair.

"Since when did you get this twisted, Bella? You dragged Ruby to a meat grinder. A damn meat grinder! She could have died."

I turned my face to the window.

"I'm talking to you."

I said nothing. My wrists throbbed under the bandages. He didn't even look at them.

Logan sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "After all the years we've been together, you should trust me. Ruby is like family. Please don't get jealous anymore, okay?"

His phone buzzed. He read the screen, and his whole face changed. He stood up at once.

"I've got something more important to do, so I can't check you out today. Go home yourself."

"Something more important?" I laughed, and it hurt my throat. "Really?"

He was already out the door.

***********

An hour later, a young nurse knocked and came in with a wheelchair.

"Bella, let's go downstairs for some fresh air. It'll do you good."

She pushed me down the long hallway. At the end of it was a big room with a gold sign on the door. VIP Suite.The door was open.

Ruby sat up in a wide bed full of pillows. Her arm had one small bandage on it. Flowers covered every table.

"For you, Mother." Danny handed her a box of chocolates.

"And this one's from me!" Sophia gave her a drawing with a big red heart on it.

Ruby hugged them both. Then she put on a sad face.

"Your mother's always loved you both, you know. Now she's in the hospital too. Are you sure you won't go visit her?"

"She deserved it," Danny said.

"Yeah." Sophia climbed onto the bed. "We like you more than her."

The nurse's hand froze on my wheelchair.

Two other nurses walked past us, whispering.

"Look at that. The woman in that VIP room just got a scratch, but her husband and kids are freaking out."

"They even brought in the best specialists from the city. For a scratch!"

The young nurse bent down beside me. Her eyes were kind and confused. "Excuse me, ma'am. Where is your family?"

I looked through that open door. Logan was fixing Ruby's pillow. My children were laughing on her bed.

"Those people," I said quietly. "They're my family."

********

I took a taxi home alone.

That evening, Ruby came back too. Logan carried her through the front door like a bride. The kids danced around them.

Ruby sat on the sofa and slipped her feet into her house shoes.

Then she screamed.

"Ruby!" Logan dropped to his knees and pulled the shoe off. Three shiny thumbtacks fell onto the floor. A small drop of blood sat on her heel.

He held one tack up in front of my face.

"Thumbtacks. Did you put them there, Bella?"

"No."

"Stop lying!" Danny shouted. "Who else would do it?"

Logan stood up slowly. "Are you getting back at Ruby just because we got her out of that factory first?"

"I said it wasn't me."

"Bella, you didn't hear a word I said at the hospital, did you?" He shook his head. "I am disappointed in you."

"I said it wasn't me," I repeated. "That's all."

"Dad!" Danny grabbed his arm. "How much longer are we gonna let her get away with this? She's gonna kill Mother someday!"

Logan looked at me for a long moment. "Hopeless."

"Throw her out!" Sophia cried. "Don't let her back in until she says what she did!"

Logan opened the front door and pointed at the cold night.

I walked out. The door shut behind me.

I sat down on the porch steps and looked at my bandaged wrists. Years ago, I cut my finger slicing apples for the kids. Just a tiny cut. Logan ran for the first-aid box like the house was on fire. Danny and Sophia cried and kissed my hand.

"Mommy, you're our heart," Sophia had said. "Just stay home and be our queen."

I laughed at them that day. "I'm fine, really. If you took any longer to bandage it, it would have healed on its own."

Now all their trust and all their love belonged to Ruby.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"Logan. Danny. Sophia," I whispered into the dark. "I swear to you, this is the last time I cry for you."

*******

Near midnight, the door opened.

"Up," Logan said.

I stood and walked past him without a word. He followed me to the bedroom and watched me with a frown.

"Since when did you get so cold?" he muttered. He held out a glass of water and two pills. "Here. Take your meds."

"A carrot after the stick?" I didn't reach for them. "I don't need it."

He set the glass down hard. "I asked the staff. They saw Ruby step on the tacks by accident. They fell from the notice board in the hall. Don't be mad at her anymore."

I stared at him. "You threw me out. And now you tell me not to be mad at her?"

"Bella, there's something you don't know." He rubbed his face. "Back when the company was running out of money, Ruby gave up her family heirloom as collateral so we could get the loan. I owe her."

"What?" My breath caught. "She did?"

"Without her, we'd have gone broke. That's a debt I can never repay." He stepped closer. "So I want you to be reasonable. Even after that big mistake you made, I didn't divorce you. You know how much I value our marriage."

"I wish you didn't."

"See? You're still talking out of anger." He touched my cheek. "You are the love of my life, Bella. As long as you behave, I'm not going to divorce you."

I moved his hand away.

"But I am done with you."

His eyes went wide.

Then a scream tore through the house.

"Dad! Hurry! Something's wrong with Mother!"

Logan ran.. Ruby lay on the floor of the guest room, her eyes closed, her body still. Danny shook her shoulders.

"Mother, wake up! Wake up!"

"Mother!" Sophia sobbed.

Logan pushed through them and fell to his knees.

"Ruby!"