When Mrs. Mariana Mason opened the door, she didn’t expect Ruby to be standing there.

"Hey, darling... we were getting worried for you," Instead of responding, Ruby walked past her and went inside the living room, where George Mason was watching TV.

"Ruby!" Holding his crunches, he got up with a smile, "We were trying to reach you, but you seem too busy in your married life," he stretched his arm to hug her, but she ignored it and went straight to the other couch, dropping her bag beside her.

"I need something to eat..." She said flatly, not even looking at her father, who seemed a little shocked by her indifference.

Yet he knew her too well. She was Ruby Mason, who was nothing like Sienna. She knew how to have her way with things.

"Something to eat?" Her mother felt uncomfortable by her daughter’s attitude, "I’ve got some crackers in the cabinet, I’ll at once..." She trailed off when she saw Ruby shaking her head vigorously.

"No crackers, Mom..." Her voice turned teary, "I want real food. I’m... I’m hungry..." A tear, at last, made its way down the cheek that she wiped with her trembling hand.

"Ruby?" Her father reached her and sat beside her, "You don’t look alright..."

"BECAUSE I AM NOT!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, and several other tears rolled down her face.

Mariana felt her heart sinking. Deep down, she knew Ruby might be in trouble, but George had assured her that Tom was taking good care of her.

She gave a hard look to her husband as if asking silently What the fuck is it!

As always, her husband chose to ignore her. But this time, Mariana couldn’t let it slide. Her daughter was in pain, and George lied to her.

"Why are you upset, darling?" Tom slung his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to him, "I know marriage is hard, but you need to work on it. It takes time, but soon you and Tom will be inseparable. Guys like it when their wives stay obedient to them."

Ruby was quick to shove his arm away and got up from the couch.

"Obedient? Am I a dog? Or a circus elephant, papa!" Her hands were balled into tight fists, and right now she wanted to destroy everything that would cross her way.

"Language, young lady," His tone suddenly turned hard, "Your husband won’t like it if you talk to him like that. You want respect? Give him respect?"

A sarcastic laughter escaped her lips as she threw back her head in amusement, "Respect? Look who’s talking."

"Ruby!" This time, both her parents responded sternly, but she didn’t back off.

"He doesn’t like me..." She at last closed her eyes, her voice had turned shaky, "He has mistresses, and he wants me to cook food for them. He expects me to do house chores, though he has servants. Do you know I’ve been living in the bathroom for the last seven days?" Her voice broke by the end of it.

This time, the shock was evident on her parents’ faces, "You’re living where?" Mariana Mason breathed the words in disbelief.

Ruby couldn’t answer that and kept crying. She had had enough of this bullshit.

There was no sound for the next few minutes in the room except Ruby’s soft crying.

"A maid was responsible for bringing my food to the bathroom. Just because I was bleeding, I was supposed to stay there. The impure women aren’t allowed in the house."

Mariana let herself fall beside her daughter. What kind of man does that?

Her daughter was in pain, and they didn’t know about it.

No!

She raised her face and looked at the shaking figure of her crying daughter.

I won’t let my daughter suffer. If she doesn’t want to live there, she can come back here. I can’t let her stay there any longer.

After making the decision, she held her daughter’s shoulder and forced her chin to look up, "Darling. That’s why I wanted you to marry Hunter..."

Ruby nodded while wiping her face. Hunter might be poor, but he never treated her poorly.

"Now listen, Ruby," A weak smile touched Mariana’s lips, "You are the most precious person in my life. If you’re not happy, then come back... we’ll welcome you with open arms..."

For a moment, Ruby quit crying, "Mom! Really?"

Her mother nodded at her, smiling through tears, "Yes. A divorced daughter is better than a dead daughter. Come back and..."

However, she couldn’t finish it when George Mason raised his palm to make his wife quiet, "No...she isn’t coming back."

Ruby turned to face her father, who was sitting on her other side, "But why, Papa?"

"We can’t afford you, Ruby. Tom is willing to help me get my business back from Sienna and her freeloader husband. We can’t keep you here. Once we get back our business, you are welcome to make your own decisions," Her father refused to meet her eyes, and Ruby fell silent. The words hit harder than she expected.

She wanted to hold her father’s collar and give him a good shake. She wanted to ask him if he was really her father.

"Papa..."

George didn’t stay there and got up from the couch to leave.

"Papa, please..." Ruby pleaded, but George brushed past her as if he were deaf. He headed straight to his study and shut himself inside.

"Your father..." Ruby didn’t bother to look at her mother’s face when she cleared her throat, "He... he just wants you to give this marriage a chance."

Ruby felt disgusted by her parents. This time, she didn’t respond to her mom’s silly reasons.

In her past life, she had told Sienna and Tom some fake stories about Hunter to get into their lives. This time, she didn’t want to do that.

However, this time, nothing was fake.

"Sweetheart! Ruby! We love you..." Her mother tried to assure her, but Ruby freed her hand from her grip and picked up the remote lying nearby. She turned up the volume of the TV to cancel her mom’s annoying voice when suddenly something on screen caught her eye.

The Adios property. The piece of land that made Tom richer overnight.