Ruby
I caught her.
Didn't even realize till now—she's so pale.
Her waist? Tiny.
She's… fragile.
Like porcelain, like snow before it melts.
I was lost staring at her until—buzz buzz—Adam's call yanked me back to reality.
"Yeah, Adam. That's wrong. That ambush—it was planned by Kim Da-Hyun."
I knew it.
"Just stay sharp, alright? You good?"
"We're okay."
"Good. Especially be careful with Aveline."
They're using her, aren't they? To get to me.
Wouldn't be the first time love becomes a battlefield.
But for now… I didn't care. Not yet. Not while her scent still lingered on my skin.
I drove back to my villa. And of course, there she was—The Queen of Criticism:
"Where've you been, Ruby Daniel Sun?"
Ugh. That name from her mouth? Like poison.
Without even turning:
"That's my business. Not yours."
"You're a girl, Ruby."
Oh God. Not this again.
Yes. I am. A girl.
So what?
That's not a flaw, that's not a chain. That's not a silent rulebook about dresses and husbands and shutting the hell up.
Society slapped the word 'girl' on us like a tag—fragile, gentle, owned.
Guess what?
I'm the rebellion.
I'm the wildfire.
And I'm so done playing nice.
Dad gets it. He never clipped my wings.
But my mom? She called me a burden the second I said no to the cage.
How poetic.
---
Later, Max pulled me out of my spiral.
"Basketball, sis?"
Let's go.
I changed. I'm injured, sure—but I ain't paralyzed.
Of course I won.
He grinned, all cocky, "You want your reward? I'll deliver Aveline to you with a bow."
I chucked the ball at him. "Shut UP."
"Dinner treat?" I asked, smirking.
He can never say no. I'm irresistible, duh.
---
At the restaurant, I froze.
There she was.
Aveline.
With her family.
Laughing. Glowing. Alive.
I envy that—every single breath of it.
The way she clings to warmth like it's free.
Meanwhile, I survive on shadows.
Mireline spotted me. Too late to hide.
"Ruby!"
Uh-oh.
Then her parents pulled us in—"Sit! Eat! You're family!"
I tried to decline, but her mom insisted.
"You're like my daughter! Aveline talks about you nonstop."
Aveline… talks about me?
I swallowed that like hot tea.
She sat beside me, in that cotton-candy pink dress, a child in princess mode:
"No veggies!"
"Sis, I won't eat that!"
"I don't like it!"
God, I chuckled. I couldn't help it.
She was chaos wrapped in silk.
The youngest.
The wildest.
And maybe… the piece of peace I never knew I needed.