Chapter 3

"Don't give me that look!" Jaxon said sharply as he shoved his phone into his pockets. "You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

Ruby swallowed hard.

"Don't you want to leave? Get into the car, let's drop you off at the restaurant"

"Oh-yeah," She muttered and went in.

After the driver drove for some minutes, Jaxon broke the silence in the car.

"Have this!" He said, handing his phone to her.

Her right eyebrow shot up, "Why?"

"Take this!" He said with impatience, "Ruby, one rule you must obey as long as we interact is to do whatever I say. Now, get this phone!" His voice was firmer

With shaky hands, she collected the phone, eying him.

The other men in the car were silent and a soft music played in the car radio.

"Now, input your phone number in there." He said.

She nodded and started to punch her number in, eager to please him. He had such a controlling aura that left her with no choice than to do whatever he wanted. He snatched the phone from her and saved her number.

"What's your home address?" He asked, opening the note app on his phone.

"578th Brooklyn Avenue" She said, watching as his fingers swiftly typed away on his phone. He demanded for her phone and she gave it to him, biting her lower lips in fear.

He handed it over to her after some minutes. "One more thing, on no account should you be without your phone." He said in a low voice, "I'll be in touch if your services are needed," he said.

"My services?" She blinked in confusion.

"Your services as my secret contracted wife!"

Ruby nodded. Her mind raced with questions, but before she could ask anything, the car came to a halt.

"If you ever breath a word of this to anyone, I'll find you and snuff life out of you" Jaxon's cold voice filled the car. It was low and husky, yet the threat in it caused Ruby to gasp.

"Now, get out." He added.

She froze, confused and stunned.

"I am done with you! Leave." He barked at her.

She shuddered and pushed the door open, panting. As soon her feet touched the ground, the car door was slammed shut and the car sped away into the highway.

For a second, Ruby forgot that she was now multiple times richer than she was in the morning. She looked down at the briefcase in her hand and felt grateful that the stranger, Mr Jaxon, had kept to his words.

She stood in front of the restaurant, unsure of whether to go in and continue her shift for the day or just quit her job.

She made up her mind, walked into the restaurant and took a permit to leave work for the day. She had more important things to attend to.

Her sister, Kimberly.

She had to visit her at the hospital and clear up her bills.

Ruby took a cab back home, stuffed some of the wads of cash in her handbag, hid the briefcase, before leaving her apartment again.

Just then, her phone rang.

It was her best friend, Ophelia.

"Hey, I've lost him," Ophelia wailed from the other end of the line.

Ruby's brows furrowed, "Who's gone missing?" she asked.

"It's Hugh, my crush," Ophelia replied. "He is finally out of limits, and I don't know what to do."

Ruby grew confused, she asked, "What do you mean?"

Her friend broke into tears and Ruby tried to convince her to come over to her apartment so they could leave for the hospital together.

Within minutes, Ophelia arrived, running to hug Ruby and she sobbed on her neck.

"Ruby! He's gone. My crush is gone for good"

"Tell me, did he die?" Ruby asked as they flagged down a cab and got in.

"No!"

On their way to the hospital, Ophelia filled her in on the news. "The rich CEO, Mr Vaughn , just announced his marriage to some unknown woman. Can you believe it?"

"An unknown lady?" Ruby asked.

Ophelia shrugged. "No one knows who she is. He just announced it out of the blue, and now everyone's talking about it."

"Girl, don't you think it's time to stop dreaming about these men who are way out of your reach?"

"Yeah! I was going to stop, but I've had my eyes on Hugh for a while, and I refuse to believe that I've lost him"

"You didn't have him before now, did you?"

"In my imagination, Yes, I did" She snapped in feigned annoyance.

Then, both women broke into laughter, throwing their heads backwards.

"How's Kimberly?" Ophelia asked as they stepped out of the cab and strolled into the hospital's premises.

"I've not seen her in more than a week now" Ruby's eyes become glassy with tears. Guilt choked her as she realized how much of a terrible sister she was. As they walked into the hallway, the doctor in charge of her sister's ward stepped out of an office and was surprised to see Ruby.

He walked back in, beckoning on Ruby to go in, while Ophelia hovered in the background.

"Ruby! I feared you wouldn't come any soon. Your sister's condition is critical. We're doing everything we can, but..." Dr. Thompson's voice trailed off.

Ruby's eyes welled up with tears. "Please, doctor, you have to save her. I'll do anything."

She rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a stack of cash and slid it across the table to the doctor.. "Take this. Please, make sure nothing happens to her."

Dr. Thompson's eyes widened, but he took the money. "I'll do my best, Ruby. I promise."

Ophelia's eyes were fixed on the cash, her mouth agape. "Ruby, where did you get all that money?" she asked.

Ruby smiled at the doctor and pulled Ophelia out of the office.

"We need to see my sister, now"

"I know, but tell me, how did you wind up with so much money?" Ophelia asked with shock.

Ruby hesitated, "I...I won a small lottery prize. Yeah, that's it."

"Ruby, come on. You can't just win that much money overnight. Tell me the truth."

Ruby's eyes darted as the walk down the hospital's hallway.

She couldn't tell Ophelia the truth - Jaxon's warning was still fresh in her mind. She trusted her friend, but she was not ready to risk her life. Jaxon didn't seem to joke when he threatened to deal with her if she ever told anyone else what had happened between them.

Ruby realized how silly it would sound to Ophelia if she ever mentioned that she walked up to a total stranger that morning, offer to be his wife, only to end up signing a marriage contract with him and getting a briefcase of money. No one would even believe her anyways, she realized.

Ruby sighed, "I'm telling you, Ophelia, it was a lottery prize. Let's just focus on Kimberly's recovery, okay?"

"Ruby, I know you're hiding something. You're not a good liar." Ophelia's eyes narrowed.

"Ophelia, trust me, it's just a lottery prize."

At that moment, both women walked into Kimberly's ward. Kimberly was wide awake, her face seemed pale, and she called out in surprise, "Ruby? You came! The nurse threatened to move me out of the paid hospital room." She broke into tears.

Ruby held on to her sister's palm, sobbing, "I swore to myself that I wasn't going to let anything happen to you. I'm keeping my promise, Sis."

"You got paid?" Kimberly asked with a frail voice.

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, a bit more than that. It's a miracle."

Ophelia's phone rang out, and she apologized, "I have to take this. I'll be right back."

When she returned, there was a large grin on her face.

"Ruby! I just found out from a trusted source that Mr Vaughn , my crush, will be attending a private event soon." She squealed, "That's not all! He'll be coming along with his mysterious wife. I really can't wait to see the woman who stole him from me.."

Ruby smiled, wondering why her friend was still obsessed with a man who had made his marriage known

An unknown wife too?

It sounded cunning to her, but her smile slipped when she remembered that she was also someone's secret wife—someone whom she barely knew.