part 5
PART 5
Marcus knew before the plane landed.
That was the part Ruby had not planned.
He called her from the airport bathroom in Miami while Jaxon argued with baggage claim.
His voice was low and furious.
“Mom.”
Ruby was in the black SUV three streets from Maple Hollow Lane.
Her heart tightened.
“Marcus?”
“Did you move the house?”
Ruby closed her eyes.
So someone had told him.
Maybe a neighbor.
Maybe a photo online.
Maybe the teenage instinct that hears truth before adults confess it.
“Yes.”
There was silence.
Then he whispered, “Good.”
Ruby’s eyes filled.
“Marcus.”
“He brought her on the trip like she was already our mom.”
Ruby gripped the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry.”
“He made Lily take wedding photos.”
The sentence cut deeper than she expected.
“She cried in the bathroom.”
Ruby could barely breathe.
“Where is Lily now?”
“With me.”
“Is she safe?”
“Yeah.”
His voice hardened.
“Dad told everyone you were bitter.”
Ruby watched rainwater drip from the SUV mirror.
“What did you say?”
“I said maybe he should stop giving people reasons.”
Ruby laughed once through tears.
Then Marcus asked the question that mattered.
“Where do we go now?”
Not where does Dad go.
Not what happens to him.
Where do we go.
Ruby looked toward the empty lot she knew Jaxon would soon see.
“I have a place.”
Marcus exhaled shakily.
“A house?”
“Our house.”
He was quiet for a long moment.
“Lily’s doorframe marks?”
Ruby wiped her cheek.
“They came with us.”
His voice broke.
“You moved the doorframe?”
“I moved everything I could.”
Marcus did not speak.
Then he said, “He told Blair he paid for that house.”
Ruby looked at the gray sky.
“He lied.”
“He told her we’d all live there.”
“I know.”
“He told her you’d be gone.”
Ruby’s face hardened.
“I am.”
Marcus paused.
Then asked, “Can we come with you?”
Ruby shut her eyes.
That was the only question she had been afraid to hope for.
“Yes.”
“Always.”
When Jaxon’s flight landed, he thought he was returning with a bride.
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He did not know his children had already started returning to their mother.
Read the full story 👉 Marcus called Ruby before the confrontation and asked if he and Lily could go to the new house with her.
