登入"What is funny?""You," he said and kept a straight face. "The way you said that, like you were bracing for a fight."I said nothing."Ruby." He said my name in that way that he stressed on the last syllable, "I am not a dictator.""You made me quit my job,""I handled that badly and I already apologized for it. That is different. I had reasons for that. An art competition is not the same thing."I looked at him. "So you are not going to tell me not to enter.""Why would I tell you not to enter a competition?" he said. "You want to chase your dreams, chase them. Enter as many competitions as you want. If you win, even better."I sat there for a second not sure what to do with that response because I had genuinely not prepared for it."Okay," I said."You seem surprised," he said."I am a little," I said."I do not have a problem with you having ambitions," he said. "I have a problem with you being unprotected in situations where I cannot account for your safety. Those are two differen
Ruby's POVI did not know what to say to that so I did not say anything. The room was quiet for a moment. Then Malcolm's eyes dropped to my wrist. He looked at it the same way he did before. That focused, still look that lasted just a moment too long.I had been waiting for the right time to ask about it and I decided that the right time was probably not going to announce itself so I might as well just do it now."Why does the mark bother you so much?" I asked.He looked up at me."Every time you see it you get this look," I said. "You went through my room because of it. You have been staring at it since you first noticed it. I want to know why."He exhaled slowly. He looked at the mark again and then back at my face."Do you know what it means," he said. "To be marked by a man."I blinked. "What?""When a man marks a woman it means something. It is not casual. It is a claim. It is saying that she belongs to him."I felt something go cold in my stomach. "And you thought someone had ma
Ruby's POVI drew for a long time after that.I was not thinking about what I was making. I was just letting my hand move and seeing what came out. That was always how the best stuff happened for me.I was maybe thirty minutes in when I looked down at the page and stopped.I had drawn a girl. She was tall. She had slim, long legs and a small waist and the kind of proportions that people described as willowy without making it sound like an insult. She was standing straight with her chin up and her arms loose at her sides like she was comfortable just existing in her own body. I stared at her for a while.She did not look like me, or she did not look like the me I saw when I looked in the mirror. She looked like the me that sometimes appeared in my head when I was not paying attention. The version of me that I defaulted to when I was imagining myself doing things, taller, thinner, taking up less space.I had read about body dysmorphia once. About how your brain could show you a version
He smiled at that. "If I were you, I would still chase my dreams. Contract or no contract. Whatever arrangement you are in with whoever you are in it with, that is separate from who you are as a person and what you want for yourself. You should not have to shrink what you want because someone else is uncomfortable with it."I did not say anything."That is just my opinion," he added."I've heard you," I said.He nodded and then reached into the bag he was carrying. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and held it out to me. I took it and unfolded it. It was a flyer, printed on good paper, not the kind people made on a home printer. It had a photo of a large open gallery space at the top and bold text underneath.ARTISTS CONNECT. ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION AND COMPETITION.I read further down. It was an open competition for artists at any level. You submitted a piece or a series of pieces. A panel of judges reviewed them. There were different categories—Painting, sculpture, mixed media, di
Ruby's POVI could not sleep properly. I kept waking up and then lying there staring at nothing and then almost falling asleep and then waking up again. By five in the morning I gave up and just got out of bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress for a while doing nothing. Then I got up, brushed my teeth, put on my gym clothes and decided to just go. The gym was quiet that early. That was the thing I liked about going before the rest of the world was awake. There was nobody to look at me. Nobody was doing that thing where they glance over and then look away too fast. It was just me and the equipment and whatever was playing through my earphones.I started on the treadmill. I was not pushing it, just a steady walk to get my body moving. I had my playlist on and I was looking at the wall in front of me and trying not to think about the email I had sent last night.I had quit a job I actually liked after one day because a man I was contractually tied to did not approve of it. When I put
"Name a number," he repeated. "Whatever you think that job is worth to you. I will pay you that. Every month. You do not have to go anywhere, you do not have to stand on your feet all day, and you can stay here and do whatever you want."I stared at him."You want to pay me to quit my job," I said."I want you to be practical," he said."That is the same thing.""Ruby, think about it logically," he said. "You just started today. You have not even built anything there yet. It is easy to walk away now before you get attached.""I already like it there," I said."You were there for one day.""And I liked it," I said again.He exhaled and sat back. He looked frustrated in a quiet way, not yelling, not aggressive, just a tight expression around the jaw and the eyes."I do not understand why you are making this difficult," he said. "I am offering to solve the problem for you.""There is no problem," I said. "I got a job. That is not a problem.""It is when you are ignoring my messages all d
The doctor and several nurses rushed in. He took his stethoscope off his chest and placed it on the woman's chest, while using the other hand to adjust something on her support device.“Mum! Mum! Please hold on mum.” June screamed and tapped her mother.I stood at the side as Malcolm paced restless
I felt like I wasn't in control of my body when I pressed my head on his shoulder. Before I could get off, his hand had already settled on my waist and he drew me closer to him.“It's going to be fine. I also have a relative who's in the hospital.”I nodded slowly and sniffed and a tear drop escape
Ruby's POVI didn't need anyone to tell me how the rest of my day would go. Waking up in Malcolm's bed was embarrassing enough. I had questions at the back of my mind, but I couldn't ask him.How did he even carry me to the room, and where did he sleep? Surely, he didn't sleep on the same bed as me
A yawn was the first thing that escaped my mouth. I opened my eyes partially and stretched my arms before closing my eyes.My forehead throbbed intensely and I took my palm to touch it. It burned like I was seated near a furnace.When the veil of sleepiness cleared from my eyes, I raised my head a







