CHAPTER 43: SNEAKING A BOX

Just then, her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She picked it up and glanced at the screen.

[Hey babe. I’m at a hotel now. Let’s meet up later and don’t forget to bring my things.]

Ruby smiled softly. Of course she was. She thought as she set the phone down.

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"I might go out later," she said, glancing at Stefan.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Where to?"

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "To the spa. It’s been a while since I treated myself," hoping her voice sounded casual

"Hmm." He leaned closer, a teasing smirk on his lips. "How about I join you? I don’t really want to stay away from you for too long."

Ruby’s laugh was soft and genuine. "You’re getting clingy, Mr. Winters."

"I don’t mind," he said without missing a beat. "I like being close to you."

Her heart melted a little more.

"I actually made the appointment with that friend I met up with four days ago," she said, smoothing the sheets over her lap. "Next time, I’ll take you with me. Promise."

"Hmm," he murmured, pretending to think. "Alright. But only if you promise to come back smelling like flowers and not seaweed."

Ruby laughed again, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "Deal."

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Stefan reached out, gently brushing his fingers over her wrist. "Will you be gone long?"

Ruby hesitated. She hadn’t thought that far. Rayna would have a million things to say about last night and she’d also need to go to a spa to cover for her lie.

"Maybe a couple of hours," she said, trying to sound breezy. "But I’ll be back before dinner."

Stefan nodded slowly, the faintest trace of disappointment passing over his features. "Alright. I’ll just count the hours, then."

Ruby smiled, though a flicker of guilt tugged at her. She hated lying and even more so that she was lying to him.

But how could she possibly tell him the truth? Hey, I’m actually not the woman you wanted to marry. I’m her twin, and I’m not going to a spa but meeting up with my best friend. That would go over great, she thought as she rang the kitchen to come get the tray.

She pushed the thought aside and got out of bed, wrapping the sheet around herself as she headed to the bathroom. As the door closed behind her, she leaned against it for a second, her heart pounding.

This is getting harder, and yet... the harder it got, the more she didn’t want it to end.

An hour later, Ruby stepped out of the walk-in closet wearing a flowy pastel dress and soft curls falling over her shoulders. She didn’t want to look too formal—Rayna would see right through that—but she still wanted to look presentable. After all, she was living in a mansion now.

Stefan was seated in the sunroom when she found him again, listening to a classical piano track on his phone. His head turned when he heard her footsteps.

Ruby got to him and he instinctively ran his hands over her face and body, trying to feel her dress.

"Wow," he said with a soft chuckle. "I can’t see you, but I just know you look beautiful."

Ruby felt her cheeks flush. "You’re getting good at that sweet-talking thing."

"I’m just being honest."

She smiled and bent slightly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I’ll be back soon."

His hand found hers, squeezing gently. "Be careful."

"I will."

And with that, she turned and walked out, her heart pounding—not just from the growing warmth between them, but from the lie she was still carrying.

After stepping out, Ruby passed through the back door where she’d left unlocked and crept down the hallway, her footsteps light against the polished marble floor as she quickly got into her room to pick up Rayna’s box.

The box in her hands wasn’t heavy, but it felt like it carried the weight of her entire double life. If anyone saw her carrying it out, questions would follow. And questions were the last thing she needed right now.

Ruby gripped the box tighter as she reached the back door leading to the driveway. Her car was parked just a few feet away, the garage door already unlocked. She took a deep breath and stepped outside.

Almost there. She told herself as she moved quickly, heels clicking against the cobblestone driveway, eyes darting left and right. She was just a few steps from the car when she heard the unmistakable creak of a side door.

"Mrs Winters?"

Ruby froze and her heart skipped.

A maid—one she vaguely recognized—was standing just outside the laundry entrance, a basket balanced on her hip, brows drawn together in confusion.

For a second, Ruby panicked but remembering just how she’d handled a similar situation, she decided to do it that way again.

She turned slowly toward the maid, lifting her chin with the grace of a queen leaving her castle. Her expression was unreadable, her movements fluid and composed.

"Can I help you?" she asked and the maid, dumbfounded and still confused shook her head.

"Good,"she said as she unlocked the car, opened the backseat, and slid the box in gently.

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Then she shut the door, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine.

She didn’t spare the maid a second glance as she drove off.

As the car pulled out of the driveway, Ruby’s heart thundered in her chest—but a thrill buzzed just beneath the nerves. She had done it.

She was becoming Ivy.

But not the cold, selfish Ivy everyone feared.

She was becoming the version Ivy could have been—strong, graceful, and unapologetic.

The maid after that episode coupled with what had happened the other day couldn’t help the various thoughts going through her head and when she could take it anymore, she decided that it was best to speak to someone.

The faint creak of the door caught Martin’s attention as he organized the shoes in the foyer. He turned just in time to see the maid, Mira, rushing toward him, eyes wide with urgency.

"Sir," she whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I just saw something strange."

Martin straightened, eyes narrowing in curiosity. "What is it?"

"It’s Madam Ivy... I saw her carrying a box—one of those small luggage boxes—and she was sneaking it out to her car."

Martin frowned. "A box? Sneaking? Didn’t she leave a while ago?"

"Apparently not. I didn’t think much of it until now but... three days ago, I also thought I heard someone moving about in her room when she wasn’t supposed to be there. I tried opening the door but it was locked from within until she came and opened it. I brushed it off, but now I wonder..."

He narrowed his eyes. "What exactly are you implying, Mira?"

She took a nervous breath. "What if... what if Madam Ivy is escaping with someone? What if she’s taking her things and planning to leave the house? To leave our master?"

Martin’s expression tightened. "Mira," he said, his voice stern. "That’s a very serious assumption to make about your mistress."

"I know, I know," she said quickly. "But I thought it was my duty to report it. She looked... like she was hiding until I saw her and she started acting like she didn’t care if anyone saw her. That has to mean something, right?"

Martin waved her away. "Leave it now. I’ll take it from here. Mira, I don’t want to hear a word of this outside, understood?"

Mira nodded, bowing slightly, and left with lingering hesitation in her steps.

Martin remained still for a moment, the maid’s words playing in his head like a ticking clock. Madam Ivy... leaving? That didn’t sound like her—not the Ivy he’d come to observe these past few days.

Still, something unsettled him. He made his way to the drawing room, where Stefan was seated on the couch, running his fingers along the rim of his coffee cup.

"Sir," Martin said cautiously.

Stefan looked up. "Yes?"

"One of the maids... Mira. She just came to me with a strange concern. Said she saw Madam Ivy taking a box to the car moments after she stepped out through the front door. Said it looked like she was sneaking it out."

Stefan’s brow furrowed. "A box? What do you mean sneaking? What exactly are you saying, Martin?"

Martin swallowed before saying, "She thinks Madam might be planning to... leave."

Silence fell in the room. For a moment, Stefan just sat there, the words echoing inside him. Leave? Would Ivy do something like that?

His jaw tensed slightly. Is it because she’s tired of being by my side? The thought stung more than he expected.

What could she be sneaking out? What could be in the box? Was she truly leaving him? Was his blindness getting to her? Had she always wanted to leave or was it a recent development?

Could it be true? Stefan thought, different thoughts and scenerios filling his head.