Chapter 3 BBRB 3

"Why are you so confident that I can carry your baby?" Ruby muttered without looking at the other person.

"I'm so sure. Because you always take care of your health, never drink alcohol or smoke," said Victor, who had been quietly snooping on his adopted sister's free-living activities.

Ruby would no longer be surprised by Victor's words of truth. Victor had the money; he had the power, and Ruby must have been the one being monitored all this time for personal gain.

"Umm. It turns out I've been monitored all this time," Ruby replied with a small nod.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked Victor upon hearing Ruby's casual reaction.

"Why don't you ask the people you hired to keep an eye on me? They'll know if I have a boyfriend or a guy just having sex," Ruby continued with a yawn, feeling sleepy from Victor.

"No. I wouldn't believe you if you were having sex. Because you already said that I'm the first man to get your virginity," explained Victor, who recalled little Ruby saying out loud that the first man to have sex with her was Victor.

"Damn it! Do you still believe what a 13-year-old girl said back then?" Ruby chuckled and shook her head, laughing at Victor's words.

"Let's prove it," Victor said, approaching Ruby quickly and almost kissing her as the distance between them grew thinner.

"You want to touch trash? Has your ideal type of woman gone down a notch?" Ruby said she was not going to be swayed by Victor's glare.

Victor was again at a loss for words. He leaned back and grinned. The Ruby he knew and the Ruby he had just met after all these years had changed. This time, there was a more challenging side, making Victor even more eager to get his hands on Ruby.

"No. I won't touch you. You'll only be pregnant with my son," Victor retorted.

"How can I get pregnant if you don't have sex with me?" Ruby replied, pushing her hair up.

"IVF. I just borrowed your womb," Victor explained.

"Can't you rent another woman's womb? As a more classy, educated woman, you have the money and power to do it too," Ruby said, rejecting Victor's wishes.

"No. I don't trust other women. I only trust Rubyjane."

Victor paused as Ruby moved her body forward and placed her hand on the surface of Victor's body, her other hand pressing against Victor's thigh. Their eyes stared intensely at each other; Ruby seemed to want to devour Victor, who was already dying of nausea at Ruby's actions. Fuck! Victor's concentration is broken. His eyeballs flickered up and down Ruby's sexy jaw and lips. Ruby looked sweet, with a faint smile and sharp, mesmerizing eyes. How many times does Victor swallow his saliva? But he remembers that he has someone's heart to protect. Victor quickly pushed Ruby out of his way.

"I'll drive you home; just think of the things I said in my house! If you still try to resist or run away, I will not hesitate to look for you to the end of the world," Victor muttered, taking a glance at Ruby before starting the car.

"What are the benefits of carrying your baby?" Ruby said as she closed her eyes.

"You get all the perks and unlimited money. All you have to do is get pregnant, and I'll marry my woman while you're pregnant," explained Victor, who had planned this with his beloved Charlotte Matthews.

"Umm. So you're getting married when I'm pregnant? Pretty cool! It's like a movie, but it's real in Rubyjane's life," Ruby added with a small nod.

"It's only temporary, Ruby. You only need nine months to get pregnant; after that, you're free to do whatever you want and go wherever you want," Victor said as he drove to Ruby's apartment, which he already knew.

****

An hour and two hours passed until 3 am. Ruby was still sitting on the sofa in the living room of the apartment, laughing a few times and then returning to her reflective state of mind.

"He chose me because I'm healthy. I don't smoke, I don't drink alcohol, and he even knows I've never had sex with any man," Ruby said with a sad smile.

She picked up a can of beer and gulped it down quickly. In just seconds, all the water in the can moved into her stomach. It's not the first can, but it's already the fourth. Ruby opened a pack of cigarettes and started to light the lighter. For the first time in Ruby's life, she smoked, not because she wanted to, but because she didn't want to be in this complicated situation.

She didn't. She was not an expert; many times, Ruby failed to exhale the smoke and choked on the first taste of tobacco that touched her taste buds. But Ruby continued to enjoy the cigarette between her fingers until it was finished.

"To hell with what Victor said," Ruby said, putting out her cigarette and lying quietly on the old sofa.

Just as Ruby's eyes were about to close, Victor's words before they parted came back to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"What for?" asked Ruby, her back to Victor.

"We're going to the gynaecologist," was the last thing Ruby heard Victor say.

***