To the Love of My Life

Ruby Gregory hurriedly objected, “Dad, don’t.”

Maxwell Gregory and his wife looked at Ruby simultaneously.

Ruby pressed her lips together and said, “If he doesn’t want to marry me, making a phone call won’t change his mind. It would only humiliate us and might even result in some malicious gossip, making us look even worse.”

Ruby’s mom interjected, “So we’re just letting this go? That’s so unfair to Ruby.”

Struggling to put on a smile, Ruby lowered her eyes. Unfair? It was. While she had given her innocence to Steve Burton, it didn’t mean he had to take responsibility for her. If he didn’t want her, even if she begged on her knees, he wouldn’t give her a second glance. So she had to bear the injustice alone.

Maxwell, who had been silent for a while, suddenly asked, “Ruby, did you and Steve use any contraceptives that night?”

Ruby was taken aback, then shook her head.

Maxwell asked again, “Ruby, think carefully. Did you do something wrong or upset Steve, causing him not to take responsibility for you?”

Ruby furrowed her brow slightly. Over the past few days, she too had been wondering if she had done anything to offend Steve, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find a single issue.

Ruby shook her head again in reply to her father’s question.

Maxwell contemplated for a moment and said, “As Ruby just mentioned, hastily calling The Burtons now might indeed humiliate us. However, if Ruby were pregnant, things would be different.”

So, they waited again.

This time, they waited for half a month.

During that half-month, Steve never contacted Ruby. They were like strangers now, with no connection to their once inseparable, innocent friendship.

One morning after nearly half a month, when Ruby saw her period had arrived, she knew she wasn’t pregnant and that there was no point in waiting any longer.

The day after her period started, Ruby completed the necessary paperwork to go abroad. And on the day her period ended, she boarded a flight to Costa Luna.

Their night of passion was just like a dream, leaving no trace and causing no ripple in their lives.

–

Three years later.

–

Today, this was the fourth gathering Steve had attended.

The gathering took place in the Chess and Cards Room of the Capital Club, with three full tables of people enjoying a lively round of games.

Each person had a beautiful young girl by their side or in their arms, trying to please their male companions in various ways.

The room was bustling with chatter, as people discussed a variety of random topics. Suddenly, the man sitting across from Steve asked, “Mr. Burton, can I ask you something?”

Steve sat in the middle of the central table, playing his cards quickly and precisely without saying much.

The woman beside him was polite and understanding, not overly clingy like the other women in the room.

Upon hearing the question, Steve raised his head slightly, chewing on a piece of fruit that his companion had just fed him. After taking a couple of bites, he replied calmly, “Hmm?”