Chapter 8 

Three months later, I received Mrs. Grey’s call. 

She told me everything that happened after I left, including that Nathaniel had disappeared. 

After hanging up, I felt distracted. 

“Ruby, what’s wrong?” My husband, Sebastian Chase, put his arm around my waist, his face full of 

concern. 

The Chase family was also connected to mine, though they had moved abroad when I was very 

young. Sebastian and I had maintained contact throughout the years. 

When I needed to escape the Greys, I worried about Mrs. Grey’s concern, so I used our childhood 

engagement as an excuse. 

At the time, I planned to raise my child alone, never expecting Sebastian would actually marry me. 

The Chase empire was vast–why would they want a woman carrying another man’s child? 

Yet Sebastian not only accepted the situation but confessed his feelings, saying he’d liked me since 

childhood but kept quiet knowing my heart belonged to Nathaniel. He feared that speaking up would cost him even my friendship. 

He couldn’t bear seeing me debase myself for Nathaniel but knew he had no right to interfere with my choices. All he could do was silently protect me. 

Sebastian was gentle and attentive. He found the best specialists abroad to treat my health issues and heal my scars. He personally cooked all my meals and tended to my every need, healing my wounded heart with love and letting me experience what it meant to be truly cherished. 

“It’s nothing. You should go to work–don’t be late.” 

After seeing Sebastian off, I visited the hospital. My stomach had been unsettled lately, but I never 

expected to be kidnapped on my way home. 

When the burlap sack was removed from my head, I stared in disbelief at the man before me. 

“Nathaniel?” 

15:10 

The Calden 

Chapter 8 

After months apart, he’d lost considerable weight. His jawline appeared sharper, more defined. Only his bloodshot eyes remained unchanged, sending chills down my spine. 

He caressed my face, his gaze disturbingly devoted. “Ruby, I’ve come to take you home.” 

My hands were bound. Glancing around, I realized we were in what looked like an abandoned 

factory. 

“Nathaniel, what are you doing? I’m married now. We have nothing between us anymore. Let me 

go.” 

A flash of pain crossed his eyes before he took out a wedding dress, smiling strangely. “Ruby, we grew up together. Every significant moment in our lives involved each other. We’re destined to be entangled forever–how could there be nothing between us?” 

“Ruby, I was wrong before. I didn’t understand my own heart. I’ve learned my lesson now, so stop 

being angry, okay? I’ll help you divorce that man and give you the most magnificent wedding. Look, 

I designed this wedding dress myself. Do you like it?” 

“Here, let me see if it fits you.” 

With that, he tore off my clothes and dressed me in the wedding gown. When he saw the fading scars on my body, his eyes trembled with emotion. He tenderly kissed each mark. 

“Ruby, it hurt so much, right? I’m sorry. I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll love you properly from now on.” 

I struggled desperately, shouting: “Nathaniel, stop this madness! I don’t love you anymore. I love my 

husband deeply, and I won’t divorce him. You’re committing a crime–let me go now!” 

His eyes grew even more bloodshot as he bellowed: “I don’t believe! You love me the most! You can’t love anyone else! You’re not allowed to love anyone else!” 

I’d never seen Nathaniel this unhinged–he looked completely deranged. 

In my terrified state, Sebastian suddenly burst in with police officers: “Nathaniel Grey, release Ruby immediately!” 

Strangely, Nathaniel seemed unsurprised by their arrival. In the next instant, he pulled out a gun and pointed its dark barrel at Sebastian, chuckling softly: “Ruby, is this the husband you claim to love so much? If I kill him, will you love me again?” 

15:10