2: 2
Then I hung up.
A second later, my phone lit up with a string of messages.
I opened the chat and my eyes went wide.
Ruby had posted my private photos to her little group.
Those so-called girlfriends of hers piled on right away, filthy and gleeful:
【Wow, your man's got quite the build, Ruby. You lucky girl~~】
【Dying. He acted so cold and untouchable earlier, turns out he has moments this embarrassing too.】
Cole sent a laughing-crying face and tagged Ruby:
【You've got my back, I'll give you that. Seeing your man this pathetic, Daddy's not mad anymore.】
Only then did Ruby leisurely delete the photos and send back a blown kiss.
I was shaking with anger and called her to demand an answer.
Ruby didn't sound bothered at all.
"You humiliated Cole so badly earlier and wouldn't even apologize. This was the only way I had to cheer him up."
"Did you ever stop to think how I'm supposed to face people after this?"
She paused, an edge of irritation creeping in.
"I'm your fiancée and even I don't mind. You're a grown man. So a couple of people got a look, so what?"
"Besides, I already deleted them, didn't I? I even blurred your face. Relax, they're all my girlfriends, nobody's going to spread it around."
"All right, I'm dropping Cole home. I'll be back in a bit."
I set the phone down and let out a laugh at myself.
Laughing that a moment ago I'd been stupid enough to think those messages meant he'd finally seen how wrong he was.
That he was writing to win me back.
I didn't call a car. I walked home instead, told myself it would clear my head.
By the time I reached the gate of the complex it was two in the morning, and only the guard booth still had a light on.
I was about to walk in when the guard on duty stopped me.
He looked me up and down and gave a sleazy smile.
"You're the owner in Unit 1702, Building A3, right? Better looking in person than in the pictures. So that's the line of work you're in."
"Lucky me, been lonely a long while. How about you keep me company? Don't worry, I'll pay."
I studied his face. A new one, someone recently hired, didn't know me.
I frowned.
"Watch your mouth. Move, or I'm calling the police."
Instead of backing off, he grabbed my wrist and waved his phone screen at me, leering.
"Quit the act. If you're not in that line of work, why'd you have someone post pictures like these in the local dating group? Address and all."
"Bet you bought that apartment selling yourself too. You're not bad-looking, so I'll throw in another hundred. Deal?"
Only then did I see it. Cole had actually forwarded that photo to a local dating group of nearly a thousand people.
His greasy mouth came at my face, and in a panic I drove my knee hard into his crotch.
The instant he flinched and let go, I turned and ran for the road. He came after me, cursing.
The first thing I did was call Ruby.
The phone rang for a dozen seconds before it connected.
"Hello. Now what?"
I ignored the irritation in her voice and rushed the words out.
"Ruby, where are you? The new guard's trying to assault me—"
Before I could finish, Cole's smug, mocking voice came down the line.
"Your little leech is checking up on you again? He'll even make up a story like that. These clingy boys really do have every trick in the book."
"Forget it, forget it, you head home. Worst case I'll cook my own hangover soup, save someone from getting jealous again. I can't afford that. Ah, my girl's all grown up, got herself a husband and forgot her daddy~"
"Don't push it. You can't even make instant ramen. You'll scald your hand and come crying to me."
When Ruby finally remembered I was on the line, her voice was thick with annoyance.
"Terry, are you ever going to stop? You upset Cole so much he drank himself sick. If I don't make him some hangover soup his stomach's going to hurt."
"All day long with the suspicion, seeing things, like you've lost your mind. I've told you, Cole and I are just close friends. Otherwise what business would any of it be of yours?"
"Enough. I don't have time for your little act. Go to sleep!"
She hung up without a moment's hesitation.
The guard caught up and slapped me hard across the face.
"You slut, you actually dare hit me? Playing all pure and innocent?"
"Trash like you, who knows how many men have had you, and I'm willing to give you business? That's me doing you a favor!"
My head hit the wall, heat gushing from my forehead, my vision going black in waves.
He was already dragging me toward the alley beside us.
Then, from down the street, came the pounding of running feet and a furious roar.
"Let him go!!!!"
The people who saved me weren't Ruby. They were a few college students just back from the karaoke bar.
The guard was handed over to the police, and I went to the hospital alone to get the wound dressed.
The whole night, Ruby never called again.
And never came home.
It wasn't until the next morning that she heard from the property office about what had happened the night before.
When she walked in, there was, for once, a trace of guilt in her eyes.
"Terry, thank god you're okay."
"Cole's account got hacked last night. By the time he changed the password and logged back in, your photos had already leaked, but he took them down right away."
"I know you're angry. I'll apologize on his behalf. But it was a pure accident, you can't blame him—"
