Jaxon walked out of the store and stood by the side of his car as he picked up the call and brought the phone to his ear.
“I hope you have called to give me some good news and not excuses.” Jaxon said dryly and Mikhail chuckled from the other side.
“Good day to you too Jaxon. How’s your beautiful wife doing?” Mikhail asked and Jaxon felt his jaw clenched in annoyance.
“Get straight to the point and never talk about my wife again.” Jaxon said in a threatening voice and Mikhail laughed.
“Relax, I called you with good news Jaxon.” Jaxon could hear the smile on his voice and he hoped it was what he was thinking.
“Stop playing around and tell me. I don’t have all the time in the world, Mikhail.” Jaxon said coldly.
“Your wife and sister-in-law are safe now.” Jaxon smiled in relief.
“Tell me exactly how you did it. What happened?” Jaxon asked and Mikhail smirked as he took a sip from the glass of wine he was holding.
“It’s all thanks to me, of course. I had a meeting with Nikolai and I managed to convince him that your wife and her sister are innocent.” Mikhail said.
“Though he didn’t listen to me at first and even wanted to send his own guards to eliminate her… you know he spoke with so much hatred and malice when he recounted all that their father did.” Mikhail explained and Jaxon hummed.
“It felt like he really trusted the man and he is still pained by his betrayal. I’m still surprised that he agreed to let your wife and the sister go… I think it’s mostly because you are married to her.” Jaxon felt happy knowing that Ruby was finally safe.
She could now walk about freely without any threats on her life. She can continue to live like any normal person without fear of being attacked or killed for a crime she didn’t commit.
Jaxon felt glad that she was free from the consequences of her father’s mistake.
“I’m glad you finally decided to use your brain” Mikhail scoffed at the insult.
“Oh please! I have been using my brain from the beginning. You were just too impatient even though you know that these things take time.” Mikhail shot back.
“Well if only I knew all I needed to do was to threaten you to get the job done faster I would have done it from the start and saved us both the time.” Jaxon said coldly and Mikhail rolled his eyes.
“Others would simply thank me for a job well done at this point.” Mikhail exclaimed in annoyance.
“It is your job and I gave you what you wanted so I have no reason to thank you.” Jaxon replied.
“Fuck you!” Mikhail said in annoyance and Jaxon smirked.
“Well I’m glad you used your head this time around. Keep me updated if anything happens and don’t dare slack off because you feel salty.” Jaxon warned and ended the call without waiting for Mikhail’s reply.
Jaxon placed the phone in his pocket and turned around only to come face to face with Ruby.
Jaxon’s heart skipped a beat and he was surprised at the foreign feeling. He felt scared.
He felt scared of her reaction. He felt scared that this phone call might take them ten steps back in their already fragile relationship.
Ruby’s face held shock, anger and betrayal as she stared straight into Jaxon’s eyes without saying a word.
The air felt thick around them and Jaxon felt the wave of anger rolling off Ruby as she stared at him without blinking.
He felt his chest tighten in a way he didn’t like and everything was just tense.
Ruby didn’t know what to say or how to feel as she stared at her husband’s expressionless face. She felt betrayed as his words kept ringing in her ears and she remembered the fight they had a few days ago.
Ruby shakily took a deep breath and looked down. “You are not allowed to lie to me Jaxon. I’m tired of being kept in the dark and getting treated like a child who cannot think for herself.”
“I need answers! I want to know what is going on and what you are trying so hard to hide from me. Why do you keep talking about my life being in danger? Why is my life in danger in the first place? Say something!” Ruby fumed as she glared at Jaxon.
Jaxon didn’t know what to say as she stared at her. He didn’t know what to say without things escalating and getting out of control.
He didn’t know if he should tell her the truth or not. What exactly was he supposed to tell her? The truth about his identity or the truth about her parents?
Ruby angrily walked up to him and grabbed his collar.
“Why the fuck won’t you just tell me the truth? What are you hiding from me? Do you happen to know the enemies that are after me? Are you into something illegal?” Ruby shook him violently as she threw the questions at him.
“Ruby, let’s not do this here please. Let’s go home.” Jaxon pointed out in a calm voice.
“I won’t take a step away from this place if you don’t tell me the truth! Why won’t you speak! Who is after my life? Who wants to punish me and why? Did you offend anyone? Who were you on the phone with?” Ruby felt tears of frustration welled up in her eyes as she hit Jaxon in the chest.
“Or is it you? Do you want to kill me or get rid of me in the worst possible ways ever? We have just a few weeks left. Do you plan on getting rid of me…”
“Shut up!” Jaxon angrily growled as he grabbed both her hands in one of his.
“How dare you accuse me when all I’ve been trying to do is to protect you? Do you know how much I’ve lost just to make sure that you are safe and free from harm? The reason why your life is in danger is because of your fucking dad!!” Jaxon fired coldly and Ruby felt like she had been hit with lightning.
“Wha.. t do you… mean?” She stuttered as tears started to stream down her face.
“Your dad embezzled money from the mafia and killed himself along with your mother!” Jaxon deadpanned and Ruby felt her knees weaken as she fell on the cold floor.
“No! You are lying. You liar! My dad was a professor, he didn’t have anything to do with the Mafia!” Ruby shook her head in denial as she cried.