To the Love of My Life

Steve Burton didn’t seem to intend to speak. He continued to slowly pick up the backgammon pieces on the table.

Ruby Gregory saw that he wasn’t making a sound, so she also followed suit and remained silent.

Between the two of them, the only sounds were the hustle and bustle in the distance and the crisp noises of the backgammon pieces when Steve placed them on the board.

Ruby thought sitting like this seemed foolish. She looked at the small piece of cake remaining on her plate and picked at it with a fork, nibbling away to alleviate her embarrassment.

After eating so much cake, it was a bit greasy and dry.

The water she had asked a waiter for earlier was already empty, so Ruby waved to a waiter in the distance. Seeing that Steve had been sitting here all along without a drink, she asked, breaking the silence between them, “Would you like something to drink?”

Steve’s hand slightly hesitated as he held a chess piece, and then he said, “A cocktail, please.”

In order to please Steve, the Gregorys had told Ruby long ago that she should be a meticulous and considerate woman.

Ruby recalled that many people had toasted Steve tonight, so she instinctively pursed her lips and suggested, “Drinking too much alcohol isn’t good for your health. Perhaps some hot tea or warm water would be better.”

After saying that, Ruby realized that she hadn’t been using a tone that asked for his opinion, so she added, “Is that alright?”

With a slightly baffled expression, Steve looked at Ruby and then just lightly hummed in agreement.

Ruby called the waiter over and ordered two cups of warm water.

She first placed one of the cups on Steve’s right-hand side before sitting down in her seat with the other cup.

Perhaps Ruby’s considerate care took effect as Steve’s demeanor softened considerably. He was no longer as cold as earlier. He held the cup of water, took a sip, and glanced at the scattered cake that Ruby ate on her plate. He casually asked, “Is that a matcha-flavored cake?”

Ruby was taken aback, then she remembered that Steve had once asked her what kind of cake she liked. She answered that she liked matcha cake, which was his favorite.

It was only because Steve wasn’t around that she had chosen her favorite vanilla cake. How could she be so careless, continuing to eat vanilla cake in front of him when there were many flavors nearby? Wasn’t she allowing him to know that her favorite was not the matcha cake, she lied to him?

Ruby swallowed nervously and said, “No.”

As she spoke, Ruby lowered her head, not daring to look at Steve. She timidly added, “It’s vanilla-flavored..