Ruby
Everyone knows what happened.
And I know it too — I lost something I can never replace.
Kim Da Hyun… that name burns like poison in my veins.
He will pay for what he's done — not in mercy, not in time, but in pain. He dared to touch what's mine and that's his death sentence.
Aveline.
My wife.
My love.
My life.
She lies there now, wrapped in silence — her hands still, her breath soft, her world cruelly dimmed.
And I keep swearing to protect her, to heal her, but… how do you protect someone from the truth itself?
Because the truth is — her dream's gone.
Dancing, the only thing that made her soul glow like sunlight, the one thing she called hers…
It's gone.
She doesn't know yet.
And I don't have the heart to tell her that she'll never dance again — not like before, not freely, not without pain.
Every time her blue eyes find mine, there's hope there.
That childlike spark that says, "Ruby, when will I dance again?"
Every time the rain starts to fall, she runs to the window like she used to, whispering how she wants to dance barefoot again — in the cold, in the storm, in me.
And I just smile.
Lie.
Pretend.
Because I'm Ruby Daniel Sun — the one who's never afraid of blood, power, or death.
But right now… I'm terrified.
Terrified of seeing her break when she learns the truth.
She's stronger than anyone I've ever known, yet so fragile when it comes to dreams.
And I, the one who promised to give her the world,
might be the one who tells her it's gone.
I light another cigarette, watch the smoke curl like ghosts around my fingers.
The night feels colder when she's sleeping and I'm drowning in guilt.
"I'm done hiding," I whisper to the empty room, my voice cracking.
"No more lies, Aveline."
Because if love means anything — it means she deserves the truth, even if it tears us both apart.
---
I was on a call with Max — giving him instructions to handle the companies with Luna and Adam. My voice was steady, cold as always.
Then I hung up.
And in the next heartbeat — I heard it.
A sharp, shattering sound.
Coming from my study.
I froze. My pulse stuttered. I walked fast — almost ran — and the moment I stepped in, my chest collapsed.
Aveline was there.
On the floor.
Surrounded by broken glass and scattered papers. Her hands trembling, clutching one of my files — her file.
And the room… the room was wrecked. My desk overturned, the lamp broken, drawers open like ripped wounds.
I took a step forward. "Aveline—"
She looked up, her eyes red, wild, and soaked in tears. And then she threw the file right at me. Pages flew like snow, like a storm of truth I never wanted her to see.
"Ruby!" she screamed, her voice cracking. "You knew! You knew I couldn't dance anymore! You knew that was my life and you hid it— you all did! WHY?"
Her voice shattered into sobs. "How could you do that to me? Why did you give me hope?"
I dropped to my knees, reaching for her, but she kept pushing me away, fists hitting my chest in weak, desperate strikes.
Her punches didn't hurt — but her words did.
Every word cut deeper than any blade.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. My throat burned, my hands trembling as I tried to hold her arms. "Aveline, I'm sorry, I—"
She looked at me then — really looked.
And her eyes… they weren't the eyes that once loved me. They were broken glass. Shattered light.
Before I could say another word, she staggered to her feet, stumbling toward the stairs.
Her leg, her ankle — she could barely walk, but she didn't stop.
"Aveline, listen!" I called after her.
"Don't, Ruby!" she screamed back, voice shaking. "Don't!"
Then she started destroying everything she could touch — the vase, the lamp, anything within reach. Every sound of glass breaking felt like my own bones splitting.
I ran after her. "I'm sorry, my love, calm down—Aveline, please!"
My voice cracked.
I grabbed her before she could fall again, wrapping my arms around her. She struggled, clawing, screaming — trying to escape.
But I held tighter.
Because I couldn't lose her too.
She kept hitting my chest, her small fists against my ribs, then finally she broke — hands clutching my collar, face buried against me as she sobbed harder.
And I just held her.
Because what else could I do?
I was the reason her light went out.
---
I held her tightly—gently, like holding something that could shatter all over again.
"I'm sorry," I whispered against her hair, my voice barely breathing the words.
She didn't answer.
Didn't push me away this time either.
So I carried her.
Her body was trembling against mine, and even though she wasn't fighting me anymore, her silence hurt more than her screams ever could.
Step by step, I walked us back to our room. The air felt too heavy to breathe, like even the walls were watching us quietly fall apart.
I laid her down on the bed, careful—like one wrong move could make her disappear.
Aveline turned her face away, eyes open but distant, lost in some storm I couldn't pull her from.
And that's when I saw it—
my arm.
The bandage around it was soaked through, the fabric a dark, ugly red.
The blood had started to slide down, tracing my wrist, dripping to my knuckles.
I didn't even feel it at first.
Only when I saw the crimson on my skin did it hit me—
the sting, the weight, the exhaustion, the guilt.
And for a second, I almost laughed at myself.
Because somehow… I was bleeding again for her.
Aveline's eyes flickered to my arm, widening when she saw the blood dripping down my fingers.
Before I could even say a word, she pushed herself up—still crying—and caught my wrist.
"You dumb," she whispered, voice trembling like her breath was breaking.
I didn't argue. I just let her pull me along.
She dragged me to the bathroom, the sound of our footsteps echoing in the silence, broken only by her soft sniffles. She opened the drawer, her fingers shaking as she grabbed the first-aid kit.
I watched her, the way her tears kept falling even as she tried to focus, how her lips quivered every time she blinked too fast.
When the cotton touched my skin, I hissed—sharp and quiet.
"Deserveable," she muttered, not looking at me.
I smiled, small and broken. She was furious, but her hands still trembled gently as she cleaned me. Her care was stubborn—angry—but full of love she refused to admit out loud.
With my uninjured hand, I reached out and brushed her hair back behind her ear. For a second, she froze, those blue eyes meeting mine—wet, tired, furious, beautiful.
"Don't butter me," she said, voice low and shaky, pretending to glare.
And I laughed, breathless. Because even when she's mad, she still fixes me—piece by bleeding piece.
---
She finished cleaning the wound in silence, her fingers careful but trembling. The faint sting of antiseptic filled the air, mixing with the sound of her quiet breathing. When she finally wrapped the bandage around my arm, I didn't even think — I just pulled her closer.
Her hands landed softly on my shoulders, like her body remembered me even when her heart wanted to push me away. But her head stayed down, her face hidden, refusing to meet my eyes.
"Rabbit…" I whispered, voice barely there. "I'm sorry."
That broke her. She looked up, tears spilling again, and cupped my face with both hands. Her touch was gentle, but her words were sharp enough to cut through me.
"You promised me, Ruby," she whispered, her voice trembling so hard it hurt.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning. "Yes… and I meant it. If you can't dance—" I took her hands, pressing them against my chest, "—then I'll dance with you."
She froze. Her eyes searched mine, deep blue and trembling, like she was trying to find truth buried somewhere inside me. Her lips parted, but no words came — just the sound of her heart breaking in the silence between us.
"You're too stubborn to admit it, Ruby," she finally breathed.
I smiled — tired, cracked, but still her Ruby. "Yeah," I said, brushing a tear from her cheek with my thumb, "I'm stubborn. That's why you're mine."
And for a moment — just a heartbeat — she didn't pull away. She just leaned her forehead against mine, tears sliding down, her breath tangled with mine… both of us breaking, both still holding on.
---
Aveline stood there, her fingers still stained with the faint pink of my blood. The silence between us was heavy, like the world was holding its breath.
She turned away, walking toward the bathroom door — her steps slow, her posture straight, like she was holding herself together by sheer will. I didn't call her name. I didn't dare.
At the door, she paused. The light from the bathroom spilled across her hair, the blue streaks of sadness still clinging to her. She turned her head slightly, just enough for me to see her face.
And there it was — a tiny, broken crack in her expression. A ghost of a smile she tried to hide.
My heart clenched. It wasn't forgiveness, not yet. But it was something. A sign that maybe, just maybe, I hadn't lost her completely.
The door clicked softly behind her, leaving me alone in the quiet — her warmth still lingering in my arms, her voice echoing in my head.
"You promised me, Ruby."
I sat there staring at the door, bleeding and trembling, my lips curving into a faint, hopeless smile.
"I'll keep that promise," I whispered to the empty room. "Even if I have to dance through hell for you."