To the Love of My Life

The man’s voice was low and pleasant, yet, this pleasant voice was like a knife, plunging deeply into Ruby Gregory’s heart. The last trace of color on her face faded away completely, her voice slightly pale: “Steve Burton, what do you mean by that?”

Upon hearing her retort, Steve Burton sneered coldly, looking at Ruby Gregory with her pale face. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he simply pulled up a corner of his lips, then let go of Ruby Gregory’s chin and turned to leave.

–

With the “bang” of the door closing, Ruby Gregory’s face became even paler. She sat dazedly on the bed – her brain buzzing with confusion.

Why would Steve Burton say such a thing to her? Where did things go wrong? Why did Steve seem like a changed man after their night of passion?

Just as Ruby Gregory was puzzling over this, a pleasant ringtone sounded in the room. Ruby came back to her senses, picked up the phone next to her, glanced at the caller ID. It was her father, Maxwell Gregory. Ruby hesitated for a moment, then answered the phone. She didn’t get a chance to speak before she heard her father’s voice, somewhat stern, coming from the other end of the phone: “Ruby, did you and Steve last night…”

Even though Maxwell Gregory’s words were only half-spoken, Ruby understood what he was asking. With her head down, she gently said “yes” into the phone.

Hearing her confirmation, Maxwell Gregory on the other end of the phone sounded a bit excited: “So did Steve say he’d take responsibility? Did he say when he would marry you?”

Steve Burton’s words flashed through Ruby Gregory’s mind, making her hesitate and unsure how to respond.

Maxwell Gregory, honed by decades in the business world, sensed something was amiss even across a phone call: “Ruby, what’s the problem?” He paused, then asked, “Or is Steve not prepared to take responsibility for you?”

Ruby Gregory was taken aback by Maxwell Gregory’s last sentence. Her father had always hoped she could marry Steve Burton. However, Steve’s words seemed to suggest that he didn’t want to take responsibility. Fearing her father’s disappointment, Ruby vaguely said, “I don’t know.”

Maxwell Gregory on the other end of the line was silent for a while before saying, “Ruby, come home first. Maybe Steve will call later and say he’ll take responsibility.”

–

Wait… this wait lasted from morning until night, but Steve’s call never came. The atmosphere in the Gregorys’ house was getting more and more depressing until the third day at breakfast. Maxwell Gregory, seeing Ruby Gregory head down eating her porridge, finally couldn’t bear it any longer and put down his chopsticks to ask, “Has Steve not contacted you at all?”

Ruby Gregory swallowed the porridge in her mouth before she lifted her head and shook it in reply to her father.

Ruby’s mother turned to Maxwell and said, “What do we do now? Ruby and Steve have grown up together, and we all assumed that once they became intimate, they would naturally get married. But now, there’s not a trace of news from Steve, he clearly has no intention of taking responsibility and marrying Ruby. Doesn’t that make it seem like Ruby is cheap?”

After a brief pause, Maxwell said, “How about… I make a call to the Burtons and try to gauge the situation?”