The night should have been perfect.
The dining hall was bathed in the soft glow of a grand chandelier, its golden light casting warmth over the table set for an elegant celebration. The delicate scent of fresh peonies, Ruby's favorite flowers, filled the air, wrapping around her like a comforting embrace. In the center of the table, a large birthday cake stood, its white icing adorned with gentle pink roses, waiting for her to make a wish.
But she never got the chance.
Edward's voice shattered the quiet reverie.
"I'm tired of this woman!" His words sliced through the air, cold and final. "I love someone else. I don't want to be with her anymore!"
A deafening silence followed.
Ruby froze at the head of the table, her body as still as stone. The laughter and chatter that had filled the room only moments ago died away, leaving nothing but the suffocating weight of his words. Her fingers clutched the fabric of her long crimson frock, the golden embroidery a symbol of a life she thought she knew, a life she'd built with him.
Her breath came in quick, shallow gasps as she stared at him, her mind struggling to process what she was hearing. Her red eyesâonce full of life, of fireâwere wide, searching desperately for any hint of a joke, any flicker of remorse in Edward's face. But there was none. Only cold indifference.
Her lips trembled, barely able to form the question that broke from her mouth.
"Why?" The word barely left her lips, fragile and desperate, but it carried the weight of a thousand questions.
She reached for his hand, her fingers trembling as if the simple touch might hold him to her, might make this all go away. But Edward recoiled, jerking his hand away as if her very presence disgusted him.
"Shut up, Ruby." His voice was sharp, the finality of it cutting through her like a blade. "I'm done with this. I'm not living in her shadow anymore. I don't want this marriage. I never did."
Ruby staggered back, her body trembling from the force of his words, the gravity of his rejection.
A chair scraped across the floor as the silence broke, and Ruby heard a voice she knew all too wellâthe voice of Edward's father, the head of the household. He stood, fury and disbelief etched across his features, his face twisted in shock.
"Edward, how dare you?!"
His words rang out, but they were met with a coldness Ruby had never seen in his son. Edward's gaze was vacant, weary, as if the very idea of trying to explain himself was too much to bear.
"Is this really what you've become?" his father asked, his voice shaking, struggling with emotion. "After everythingâafter she gave up her childhood, after she became your wifeâthis is how you repay her?"
Edward didn't flinch. His eyes met his father's, not with remorse, but with something else. Something Ruby couldn't quite place. But it wasn't love. It was exhaustion. And something darker.
"Please, Father," Edward said, his voice laced with bitterness. "Enough is enough. If you think so highly of her, then why don't you make her your daughter? I don't care anymore."
A collective gasp rippled through the room, and Ruby felt her chest tighten.
"Edward!" This time, it was his mother's voice, frantic and filled with disbelief. She moved toward him, her hands gripping his shoulders as if she could force some sense back into him. "What are you saying? Don't you remember? She waited for you. She cared for this family when you weren't here. You don't even care, do you?"
His lips pressed together in a tight line, his jaw set as if every word she said was a burden.
"Mom," he exhaled, his voice softer now, but the coldness still lingered. "I'm just tired. I can't do this anymore. You never listen. You just cry, beg, plead, but never once ask what I want."
Ruby felt a sharp pang in her chest. The words were like daggers, each one sinking deeper into her heart.
Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms as the pain twisted inside her.
A small voice broke through her fog of disbelief. Edward's little cousin, no older than six, tugged at his mother's sleeve, his innocent eyes wide with confusion. "Mama⌠why is Brother Edward fighting with Grandpa?"
His mother quickly swept him into her arms, shielding his eyes from the unfolding drama.
And then, the grandmotherâthe frail but resolute woman who had remained silent until nowâspoke. Her voice, though aged and soft, carried the weight of a lifetime of wisdom.
"Edward," she said, her gaze steady as it met his. "Today is Ruby's birthday."
For a fleeting moment, Ruby swore she saw something in Edward's eyesâa flicker of regret, of hesitation. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
He turned to face her, and his expression remained unreadable. The words he spoke next would seal her fate, would end the life she had known.
"This is the last time I'll say this." His voice was final, unwavering. "I'm divorcing Ruby. I don't love her anymore."
The room seemed to collapse around Ruby.
A sharp breath escaped her lips. Her chest constricted painfully, as if the air had been sucked from the room. The candles on the birthday cake flickered. One by one, they extinguished, their light fading just like her hopes.
The celebration was over. Everything was over.
And thenâwithout warningâRuby's knees buckled beneath her.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor with a soft thud. The polished wood beneath her felt distant, unreal. Her hands reached out, pressing against the floor, but she felt nothing. No pain. Just emptiness.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. All she could do was feel the crushing weight of his abandonment pressing down on her chest.
He had left her. The man who had once sworn he would never live without her. The man who had whispered words of love in the darkness. The man who had held her close, promised her forever.
And now, this.
Her eyes blurred with unshed tears, her mind unable to comprehend the finality of it all.