Too Late to Melt Her Frozen Heart

Seven days after her suicide attempt, Ruby Mitchell became the quiet and dutiful wife that Lars Turner always hoped she would be. She no longer shared every interesting new discovery with him, nor did she fly into a rage over noticing a lipstick stain on his shirt. Ruby no longer stalked Lars, who recently vowed to become a family man after returning to the family following his affair. She did not monitor who he had been in contact with either. Just as Lars hoped, she kept entirely to herself and gave him the absolute freedom he wanted. So when she was injured after becoming caught up in a large-scale hostage situation at a mall, Ruby simply gave her statement at the police station alone before quietly going to the hospital to have her wound bandaged. When Lars noticed the bandage on her arm, he wanted to embrace her. Ruby shrank away from him before getting into the car. Her voice was flat as she said, "I'm fine, there's no need to trouble yourself." Lars reached out, only to grab empty air. The calmness in Ruby's voice made him frown. She wasn't supposed to be like this. Ruby had become the perfect wife he had always wanted and had even stepped aside so he could be with the woman he loved. Yet after she left, Lars lost his mind searching for her. Chapter 1 It was late when Ruby Mitchell stepped out of the hospital. Lars Turner's Rolls-Royce was still parked outside. He was leaning against the car and seemed to be attending to something on his phone. His tall and striking figure was unmistakable even in the dark of the night, and he looked every bit as handsome as the day they first met. When Lars noticed Ruby, he instinctively shoved his phone into his pocket before approaching her. "Why didn't you call me when it happened? I wouldn't even have known how serious it was if it wasn't for the news report." More than a decade they had been together, Ruby would habitually take photos of whatever she saw to send to Lars. She would show him something as mundane as a stray dog she fed on the street. Yet, here she was, barely mentioning a near life-and-death experience. Lars felt vexed beyond reason. "Ruby… I ended the affair and came back to you, aren't I? Why are you still upset with me?" Ruby continued staring outside without even turning around to face him. "I get it. I just didn't want to bother you since I turned out fine. Let's go home." It was the same thing. She had dismissed him as if it was the only default response she had. Lars was so frustrated that he pounded the steering wheel, sounding a deafening horn that startled a girl selling flowers by the roadside. When the girl looked in the direction of the Rolls-Royce and her face was revealed, the atmosphere in the car dropped to a freezing point. "Vera... What is she doing selling flowers here?" Lars instinctively glanced at Ruby, who was in the passenger seat. He was aware of how Ruby tended to become emotionally unstable, sometimes even hysterical, whenever she saw Vera. However, all Ruby did was glance disinterestedly at Vera before turning away. Lars gripped the steering wheel tightly. He turned to look at the figure again. It was a winter night, and yet, all Vera had was a thin coat. Her nose was red from the cold. Lars' hands gripped the door handle tightly. He felt like he was going to explode with worry. Ruby figured out what was on his mind. Without hesitation, she opened the door and stepped out, then offered Lars a lifeline. "I can go home myself if you have work to do." By the time Lars realized what was happening, Ruby had already hailed a taxi for herself. He chased after her and tried to reach for the taxi's door to offer a meager explanation. "I don't know why she's here. I already told you it's over between her and me. Why won't you believe me?" Ruby nodded. "I believe you. It's not easy for her, since she's just a young girl. I understand if you still care for her even if it's over between you two." Lars observed the way Ruby hardly wore an expression. It did not seem like she was upset at all. Still, he had the feeling that something was off. The Ruby he knew used to be very possessive. She would spend all night interrogating him even if she found a strand of hair on his shirt. Now, she was reacting the way he wanted her to. She was not making a fuss, but instead was being perfectly understanding and accommodating. Though Lars should feel relieved about this, there was a lump in his throat. He could not stomach the feeling. While he was still hesitating, the taxi door slammed shut, and the taxi drove away. Ruby, who was in the car, requested the taxi driver to take a lap before driving back to the same place. Then, she watched from a distance as Lars draped his coat over Vera. He took her chin between his fingers and kissed her deeply. Ruby was not surprised. If anything, she felt that she had known this would happen. She subconsciously grazed her fingers against the scar on her wrist. There was a dull pain in her heart that no longer hurt as much as it did in the past. She hardly felt affected. She was not going to freak out and grill Lars the same way she did when she first found out that he was cheating on her. "Lars! Have you no shame? I've been with you since I was sixteen! What do you mean you fell in love with someone else after everything we've been through?" At the time, blood trickled from the corner of Lars' lips after Ruby struck him across the face. He licked his lips and snapped back at her. "You're asking me about shame? If you had any shame at all, you wouldn't have got together with me then! Your parents didn't even want you, but I looked after you for a decade! You should be grateful!" Back then, what Lars said hurt Ruby more than anything in the world. He was the one who took her hand at the orphanage and promised her a future. All the years of mutual affection had been shattered by a single sentence. Ruby snapped back to reality when her phone rang. "Miss Mitchell, the paperwork for the handover of your parents' inheritance is almost complete. When do you think you can come to Arona?" Ruby covered the scar on her wrist, then replied, "Give me ten days. That's the same time it takes for the divorce period to end." The man on the other end of the phone could not help but remind her, "I heard you have been happily married to your husband for many years. Frankly, you don't have to move abroad just to inherit the assets." Ruby replied stoically, "I don't love him anymore. I just want to get out of Rheinberg. See you in Arona in ten days." Then, she looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window before exhaling gently. From now on, she would never love Lars again. Chapter 2 Ruby returned home by herself, knowing that Lars was not going to be home that night. She stepped onto the bedroom balcony and looked back inside. She stared silently at the framed wedding photo on the wall. Some time ago, she had smashed the photo. Lars had the frame replaced as a gesture of their reconciliation. However, she noticed there was still a shard of glass embedded in the corner of the photo. It was a metaphor for their relationship. Even if they tried to maintain a façade of harmony, cracks remained. In the photo, the man regarded Ruby with such an affectionate look. He was playfully bumping his fingers against her nose. He was wearing the same white shirt he wore when they first met. Ruby had grown up in an orphanage. The first time she met Lars was when he was admitted to the orphanage following the death of his parents. The wind had been strong that day. As Ruby watched it tousle the boy's hair, she experienced the flutter of first love for the first time. The boy who was otherwise a recluse often spent time with the girl who was known for her cheery personality. They would often dream about their future on the swing in the garden. Ruby had mentioned then, "I want to be a painter." That was when Lars had taken her hand for the first time and vowed, "In that case, I'll work hard to make a lot of money so you can focus on becoming the best painter in the world." When Ruby turned sixteen, the director of the orphanage decided to arrange for her to be married to an abusive old man. On the same day, Lars took her hand and ran away from the orphanage with her. The director was furious. He shouted after them, "Lars! Let's see if you can take care of her for life!" He turned around then with a youthful arrogance brimming in his eyes. "I'll do it! I'll show you!" After that, Lars sold the pendant, which was the only inheritance his parents had left behind. The money was just enough to help them rent an apartment. He worked very hard, often spending his time drinking with clients to secure deals. Ruby ended up not becoming a painter. Instead, she travelled with him across the country for work. Lars drank to the point of nearly having a stomach hemorrhage. Whenever clients pressed him to drink, Ruby drank in his place. When they secured their first million-dollar sales order, they celebrated amid tears and warm embraces in the rental apartment. Life began to improve from there on. They eventually moved out of the rented apartment, and every house they moved into grew larger in size since. Their company gradually became more established. Soon, Lars found himself surrounded by all sorts of women. One day, when Ruby discovered a hickey on his collarbone, a violent argument ensued. "You should understand the position I'm in. I have to entertain clients sometimes! All you need to do is be a good housewife. I never expected you to do anything more than that!" "We promised to stay together for the rest of our lives—not one day less!" Neither of them was willing to give in. They were at each other's throats. Over time, Ruby grew increasingly paranoid and made it her mission to monitor Lars. Whenever he told her he was working overtime, she sneaked into his office to find out if he was lying. As if to get back at her, Lars eventually did cheat on her. He went from one woman to another. At his worst, he even showed Ruby the scratch marks on his back as if to taunt her. It was all to punish her for being so possessive of him. Ruby felt like she was going mad. She knew it was best to let him go, but she couldn't do it. They had been together for over a decade and had become nearly inseparable by that point. She could not handle the agony of separation, but they were also wearing each other out by staying together. A year later, Lars' behavior suddenly changed. He got rid of all the women around him save for one particular girl, Vera Paige. Ruby had someone investigate her. When she was presented with the photo of a girl who looked just like herself, she had a breakdown. The girl was nearly a doppelganger of herself. She possessed the same youth and innocence Ruby had when she was sixteen. Lars would rather choose an imitation of Ruby from years ago rather than the person herself. In the end, Ruby tried to take her own life in the bathtub. Lars was frantic. He carried her to the hospital in his arms. When he sat by the bedside, his eyes were red and swollen. "Let's go back to the way we were and quit being so foolish. I don't want anyone else. I only want you." Ruby felt exhausted as she lay in the hospital bed. She could not understand why her heart continued to ache despite his promise. Later that day, she received a call informing her that her biological parents had been identified. At the same time, she witnessed Lars embracing Vera downstairs. "I'm sorry, Vera. Ruby is very emotionally unstable now. She won't make it without me. "I promise you that I'll make sure you have everything you need even if I cannot be by your side. You deserve better than this." They looked like a pair of star-crossed lovers. It was impossible to separate them. It was then that Ruby felt something rip inside her. It was a clean break that left a gaping hole. The pain was sharper than anything she knew, but she could not make a sound. After lying in bed for seven days, she had a breakthrough at last. She wanted to leave Lars for good. She was going to end it all herself. From that moment on, Ruby changed. She tricked Lars into signing the divorce papers. After that, he was away for three whole days. Ruby did not bother to ask where he was. She focused on finalizing the divorce and selling the apartment she had bought in the past. When she reached the front door of the apartment with the potential buyer, she noticed the front door was ajar. Inside, a pair of hands were braced against the table. Another hand rested over them, wearing a wedding ring identical to Ruby's. A rhythmic thud echoed through the silent apartment. Chapter 3 Ruby froze. It was not difficult to figure out what Lars was doing. This was supposed to be their sanctuary. He had never brought anyone else here in the past. However, here he was, holding Vera in his arms. Her hands were pressed firmly against the photo Ruby had taken with Lars in the past. "It's so cramped here. Is that why you're getting more excited than usual?" Vera's sugary voice made Lars grow more excited. He gripped her arm tighter. "Don't you get the feeling that we're a pair of lovers seizing our last moment to be together before we're separated? Doing it in this shabby little house makes it more intense, doesn't it?" Ruby clenched her fists tightly. With a slow exhale, she closed the door. She turned around and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can show you the house today. Can we schedule another time?" The buyer was a young woman. She overheard the voices inside the house as well. She looked at Ruby sympathetically before suggesting, "Are you sure you don't want to go in? There are two of us. I'm sure it'll be fine even if a fight breaks out." Ruby shook her head and thanked her meekly, "It's fine, I don't care anymore. Let's reschedule." Why rush inside? Even if she started shouting like a madwoman and bawling her eyes out about how much she had sacrificed for him, it would have ended the same. Lars' heart now belonged to someone else. Even if she took him back, he would just be a shell of himself. When Ruby was pacing downstairs in a hurry, Lars caught up just in time and seized her from behind. He was panting. His shirt was unbuttoned. "Did you just go back to our house? Did you... Hear anything?" Ruby pulled her hand away and shook her head. "I was just passing by. I forgot my keys so I didn't go inside." Lars breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He assumed Ruby had only been wandering around aimlessly because she was sad about him not returning home. It was true that she could not live without him. With that, he offered a flimsy explanation, "I've been busy at work over the last three days. I'm sure you know how things are. They can't manage without me. I figured I'd stay here for now to avoid disturbing your rest since you just got discharged." Ruby could not be bothered to expose his lies. With that, she turned around to leave. Flames suddenly erupted from their apartment. Lars' eyes immediately became bloodshot with rage. Without warning, he grabbed Ruby by her chin, his eyes furious as he said, "Is that what you came here for? To set this place on fire?! I was a fool to think that you had finally learned to be understanding! "Listen up, I was the one who allowed Vera to stay here! If anything happens to her, I won't let you get away with it!" With that, he shoved her aside and rushed back into the burning unit. Ruby nearly fell over from the sheer force he put into the shove. She suddenly remembered a particular episode from the past. At the time when things were beginning to look up for them, she was robbed at knifepoint in an alleyway near the run-down apartment. At the time, she was carrying ten thousand dollars she had painstakingly saved. The robber had her pinned to the ground with a knife only inches away from plunging into her neck. It was in that decisive moment when Lars burst in and grabbed the knife with his bare hands. Warm blood dripped onto Ruby's face. After Lars pinned the robber to the ground, he repeatedly punched the robber in the face. "She's the most important person in my life. You'll have to pay if something happens to her!" In merely a few years, someone else had taken Ruby's place as the person Lars considered his entire life. Just as Ruby was about to leave, she suddenly recalled she had left the divorce papers in the closet of the rented unit. It was her only proof that Lars had agreed to let her go! With that, she risked her life, squirming through the sweltering heat to make it back to the rental unit. There, she saw Lars with his arm badly burned. He was helping Vera out of the unit. "Are you here to see her die?" Ruby ignored his taunt. She frantically made her way toward the bedroom where tongues of flame swirled with greater intensity. "Cut it out and come with me! The fire is getting stronger!" Lars reached for her hand. Suddenly, a nearby glass door shattered from the surging temperature. Lars' first instinct was to shield Vera from the projectile. Meanwhile, Ruby was cut by the shards of glass scattered in every direction and dropped to the ground. At the same time, a nearby closet was toppling over and crashed on top of her. She barely managed to grab a wooden box to protect it with her body before she faded out of consciousness. In that state, she drifted into a deep slumber and dreamt of many memories from the past. Ruby dreamt of an eighteen-year-old Lars holding her hand and vowing to take care of her for life. There was twenty-two-year-old Lars who was drunk from a business dinner. When she found him drunk by the roadside, he was clutching a bag of roasted potatoes, which he knew was her favorite snack. At twenty-four, he went down on one knee and proposed to her. He swore to stay with her forever. At twenty-eight, he wore a terrible grimace and shouted at her. He claimed that he had supported her all these years and that she should be eternally grateful to him. When Ruby awoke again, she found herself in the hospital. Lars was opening the same box she risked her life to salvage from the burning apartment. Chapter 4 Before Ruby could stop him, Lars had already opened the wooden box. It was their original marriage certificate. "Marriage certificate? Was this what you risked your life for? "Did you know that you broke your leg and would have died from inhaling too much smoke?!" Ruby silently reclaimed the box. It contained everything she needed for the divorce proceedings. How was she to get a divorce if she did not have the original marriage certificate? When Lars watched the way she clutched onto it, a ball of anger rose inside him. She was always fixated on the past, lashing out impulsively whenever she lost control of her emotions! With that in mind, Lars cried out, "All three of us would've gotten out of there just fine, but you just had to do something that put me in a position where I had to choose one of you. Just how far will you go to prove how important you are? "Of course I had to save Vera since you were the one who started the fire!" Ruby just lay silently on the bed, uttering a flat noncommittal response. "Ruby," Lars continued explaining, this time in a gentler tone, "I already told you I'm going to focus on us and that I won't have anything to do with Vera anymore. She... Hasn't been doing well, so I decided to help her out by offering her a place to stay." She had not been doing well, that was why he slept with her. All that talk about focusing on his family, only to be drawn back to Vera's youthful body. Finally, Ruby turned to face Lars. There was a still look in her eyes that was devoid of any emotion. "I know, and I understand." Lars had had enough of her eerie calmness by this point. He shot up from his seat only to notice the scar on her arm, which was left behind from her suicide attempt. He felt his throat turn dry. Yet, he also felt hurt by Ruby's behavior. "Ruby, how many more scars are you going to collect? How far will you go just to keep me?" Ruby replied faintly, "I won't do anything so stupid anymore." Lars wanted to retort upon hearing the lukewarm tone of her voice when his phone suddenly rang. He retreated to the window to pick up the call. Ruby could not hear the details of the conversation, but she picked up on Vera's sobbing. After Lars whispered a few words of consolation into the phone, he turned back to Ruby. "Something urgent came up at work. I'm going to be busy for the next few days. Take care and recover from your injury. I'll be with you on your birthday." Ruby burst out laughing. "I share the same birthday with Vera. Are you sure you don't need to celebrate with her instead?" Lars' face flushed instantly. His voice raised as he snapped, "What does her birthday have to do with me? I told you I'm only helping her for now!" By the time he turned toward Ruby, she had already turned her back to him. He was about to defend himself again when his phone continued vibrating with incoming messages. After grumbling something about telling Vera to take care of herself, he left. Ruby spent the next few days in relative quiet, recovering from her wound in the hospital. Meanwhile, Lars, who was still feeling guilty, continued to send her flowers and her favorite pastries. He also took the time to text her to check on her condition. All Ruby did was offer curt replies to cut their conversation short. On the day of her discharge, she hobbled to the lobby with her crutches all by herself to settle the bill. Just as Ruby was handing over her documents, an elderly woman cut her off in line. "Ma'am, you can't cut the line." The offended elderly woman shoved Ruby aside upon hearing this, then rebuked her, "My son-in-law is the hospital's main investor! So what if I cut the line? You better not mess with me, or you'll regret it!" As if she was annoyed by Ruby's pace of hobbling down the line on crutches, she shoved her another time. Ruby frowned. Lars was the hospital's main investor. She turned around just in time to see Lars and Vera rushing over in her direction after hearing the commotion. The first thing Lars did was to pull Ruby aside as if he was afraid of that Ruby might say something to the older woman. "This is Danya. She's Vera's mother. She has a short temper because she's sick. It wouldn't kill you to let her skip the line." Meanwhile, Vera went up to Ruby with tears in her eyes to apologize, "This was all my fault! When my mother caught a cold, I didn't want her to worry about the medical expenses, so I told her I had a boyfriend who would take care of things. Ruby, if you're going to blame someone, please blame me instead of Mr. Turner. He was only trying to help me." Ruby cast an indifferent look over both of them. Was that why Lars decided to leave her to fend for herself in the hospital despite her fractured leg and burns? All because Vera's mother caught a cold? Forget it, it no longer mattered. All she did was nod without providing a response, then she turned and left. She had just taken a step when she heard Vera speaking to Lars in a trembling voice. "Is Ruby angry with you again? Is she going to freak out and torment you again? It's all my fault. I was just so stressed out about my mother." Lars gently wiped her tears away. "It's alright, she wouldn't understand how you feel since she never had parents growing up." Chapter 5 Ruby gripped her crutches so tightly that her knuckles had turned white while she limped out of the hospital. Lars felt a pang of pity deep inside him when he observed her slender figure. When did she lose so much weight? "I'll take you home." It was snowing outside. Rather than accept the perfunctory offer, Ruby sped up her pace. All she wanted was to get away from that sickening voice. Ruby told herself that she no longer loved Lars. She told herself to stop being so pathetic, that she had moved on from him and would leave for good. Despite all her pleas to herself, her eyes filled with tears nonetheless. At one point, her crutch slipped on the snow-covered ground, which sent her tumbling to the ground. Blood oozed out of the burn marks in her arms, which dyed the snow red. She hit the ground so hard that it felt as though something in her chest had shattered. The pain made her clutch tightly at her shirt. Beads of tears started to stream endlessly down her cheeks. Ever since she was a child, she had been jealous of other children who had families. No matter how optimistic she appeared, she couldn't help longing for a home of her own whenever she saw the lights glowing from countless windows at night. Lars, of all people, knew this pained her most, but he still used it against her, all just to comfort Vera. She could not believe this was the man she was distraught over. How ridiculous. By the time Lars chased after Ruby and noticed she had fallen to the ground, he immediately lifted her up on her feet. "I told you I'd take you home. Why must you be so stubborn?" Before Ruby could answer, something smacked her in her face. It was a thermos of warm soup. The soup soaked through her shirt as a large bump began to form on her forehead. It was Danya who attacked her. She was shaking with rage at the mere sight of Lars embracing Ruby. She slapped Ruby across the face, shouting, "You home-wrecker! He's my son-in-law! I'll teach you not to seduce someone else's lover!" Even that was not enough for her. She reached for Ruby's crutch and started swinging it at Ruby. Ruby dropped to the ground from the force of the slap, then the blows started raining down on her. Lars immediately stopped Danya. "Aunt Danya… Stop it, it's a misunderstanding!" Ruby refused to relent. "Why don't you rein in your daughter instead? She'd know who the real mistress here is!" Lars immediately cut her off before she could continue. He dropped his voice low enough so Danya could not overhear them. "Please—do this for my sake. Danya has a serious heart condition." With that, he got up and helped Danya, who was heaving heavy breaths. "She's just my friend. She suffered from depression for a while, so she's very unstable." Then, he let Danya gloss through Ruby's past medical records before leading her away. Before leaving, Danya glared at Ruby in contempt. "Having a mental illness isn't the get-out-of-jail-free card you think it is! What a shameless woman. I'm not surprised her parents decided to abandon her!" Ruby had no tears left to cry when she looked at their departing figures. Lars didn't even turn around. After that, a kind samaritan took her to the hospital to receive treatment. Then, she returned home. When she looked at the room she had spent the better part of a decade in, she felt empty inside. She tossed all the photos and letters she had exchanged with Lars into the fireplace and set them ablaze. She smashed the large, framed wedding photo again, then tossed the pieces into the fire as well. After that, Ruby packed her bags for her departure two days later. It was only then that she realized that her accumulated belongings over the past decade barely filled a single piece of luggage. It seemed like nothing here truly belonged to her at all. Her phone vibrated. Vera had posted something on her feed again. Previously, she set up an alternate account specifically to spy on Vera's activity. It was a photo of her nestled against a man's chest with the caption: [We are like birds facing the end of the world. Even though it hurts, the thought of you gives me the courage to keep moving forward.] Ruby immediately unfollowed her. By the time Lars returned home, it was already dark. He brought a bag of roasted potatoes for her, which he offered while apologetically expressing, "I'm sorry for what happened today. I just didn't want to risk Danya having a medical emergency." This time, Ruby did not respond with a blanket answer like she did so many times. Instead, she looked him dead in the eye and said firmly, "Let's end this." Chapter 6 A flicker of panic passed through Lars, but then he remembered that Ruby had indeed suffered a great deal because of him recently. "Ruby, if you keep saying things like that, they'll lose all meaning. "You were willing to give up your life rather than leave me. Do you really think you can bear to end our marriage?" He took a step forward, then locked her in a tight embrace. "I haven't seen you in days. I've missed you so much." His dry palm moved over Ruby's waist as he lowered his head and breathed in the scent of her hair. When he did so, Ruby pushed him away irritably while demanding, "I want you to come to the registry with me tomorrow." Lars smiled and obliged. "Sure, I remember you mentioning that you didn't like how the photo on our marriage certificate turned out. We were too poor to afford a new one back then, but now that we have money, I can even buy you a bigger diamond ring to celebrate." Ruby felt drained by his insistence and felt like she had to repeat herself. "I said I wanted a divorce." Right then, Lars' phone rang. It was a customized ringtone. He immediately picked up the call. Shortly after, he turned back to Ruby. "Sorry, honey, what were you saying? Forget it, it's your birthday today. Let's not focus on the unhappy things, alright?" With that, Lars dragged Ruby into the car with him and drove all the way to a popular sky-dining restaurant located on the highest floor of the tallest building in the city. Ruby remembered this place. In the past, they celebrated every birthday together by sharing a piece of leftover cake while squatting by the side of the road. She remembered how Lars gestured at the tall spire and vowed to her, "One day, when we're rich, we're going to celebrate your birthday up there." Eventually, they obtained everything they had once dreamed of. But somewhere along the way, they lost each other. When they entered, there were a thousand red roses decorating every corner of the restaurant. They were illuminated by dazzling lights. Ruby took a seat and gazed out the window while swirling the wine in her glass. Upon noticing Ruby's pensive silence, Lars produced a large diamond ring to show to her. "Happy birthday, Ruby." The meal they shared tasted bland. There was hardly any conversation between the two throughout. Suddenly, there was a round of fireworks outside. It was followed by a drone show lighting up the sky with a message. "Happy 20th birthday, my dear wife." Lars started to fiddle with his phone without even looking up. He grumbled impatiently, "What a bunch of useless fools, I can't believe they got your age wrong. Don't worry, honey, I'll make sure to punish them for the mistake." Ruby felt her hand clutch involuntarily. It was Vera's twentieth birthday today. This was no blunder. It was Lars' excuse. Before she even had time to say anything, he had conveniently made up an excuse to leave. Soon, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a couple of messages from Vera. [How was the candlelight dinner tonight? Did you like the fireworks? He prepared them for me] [We already celebrated my birthday this afternoon. You're just eating my leftovers.] [What right does a woman who uses suicide to force a man to stay have to compete with me? ] Vera's texts became increasingly hostile. Ruby felt like she was going to throw up when she thought about the food she ate. Disgusting. Utterly disgusting! When Ruby arrived downstairs, the giant screen mounted on the face of the building displayed a "Happy Birthday" text while rounds of fireworks went on endlessly. Passersby were taking photos and wondering which wealthy businessman could be so devoted to his wife. Ruby was the only person walking in the opposite direction of the crowd. She felt hollow deep inside. It was a cold and frigid winter. The wind seemed to whistle through that hollow space, and she felt her eyes swelling with heat. Lars did not come home that night. The next day, Ruby changed into her favorite coat and left home with her luggage. Her first stop was the registry. Even after waiting in the lobby for an hour, Lars was nowhere to be seen. With that, she went to the clerk to relay instructions, "Please hand him his part of the document when he gets here. I have a flight to catch." When she got into a taxi and headed toward the airport, her taxi happened to pass Lars' car on the road. They were driving in opposite directions. Ruby only shot him a glance before looking away. It no longer mattered. Their relationship of more than a decade was finally coming to an end. Now, Ruby was going to begin her new life.