Chapter 20 Ruby's Justification

Chapter 20 Ruby's Justification
The drive to her house felt like slow torture,The DNA report was crumpled in my pocket, the paper soft from my sweaty hands gripping it too tight. Susan,my half-sister. The revelation from Mom had left me numb at first, then boiling.

Mom's confession played on loop: the affair, the lie to Humphrey, the years of pretending Susan was his. It explained so much,the distance between Mom and Humphrey, the way he'd look at Susan sometimes with that mix of resentment and possession. But Ruby knows? That was the knife twist. Her face when I showed her the report,no gasp, no wide eyes, just that calm nod,like she'd been waiting for this shoe to drop.

I parked a block away, a force of habit now. I walked the rest, hood up against the chill evening air. My breath came in clouds, heart hammering like it did before our meets. But this wasn't lust pulling me. This was anger,and betrayal. The need to hear her say it out loud.

She opened the door before I knocked,stood there in a loose sweater and leggings, belly hidden but the glow on her face was undeniable. Pregnancy suited her,curves fuller,and her skin was radiant. But I saw the manipulation now, the way her eyes softened just right, like she was calculating the perfect response.

"Richy," she said. Voice low and concerned. "Come in."I stepped past her to the living room to the couch where we'd tangled so many times. I didn't sit. paced instead. "You knew."

She shut the door,locked it and nodded slowly. "Yes."

"How long?"
She crossed her arms,and leaned against the wall. "Ten years? Give or take.

Ten years. The number landed heavy. I stopped pacing and stared at her. "Tell me everything."

She sighed, deep. Theatrical? Or real? Hard to tell anymore. "It started with little things. Susan looked more like Robbinson as she got older. The eyes,the smile. Then I overheard Annie and Robbinson in the garage at that Fourth of July barbecue. Remember? Years back. They thought they were alone. Annie was crying, saying Susan was asking questions about her 'dad.' Robbinson shushed her, said Humphrey suspected but wouldn't test because it would blow everything up. But I guess he did test. Pieces fit after that.

"And you didn't say anything?" My voice rose. Anger bubbling.

"To who?" She pushed off the wall,stepped closer. "Annie? My sister,who'd been sleeping with my husband? Robbinson? The serial cheater? No. I kept it,watched and learned."

"Learned what?"

She smiled. . "That everyone has secrets,that betrayal's just part of this family,like blood."

I shook my head. "You used it. To justify us."

"Yes." No hesitation. She met my eyes,steady. "When we started,the glances at the reunion, the texts, the first kiss,I felt guilty,and wrong. But knowing about Annie and Robbinson? It flipped something,if they could hide an affair for years, hide a child, why couldn't I have something?

Robbinson neglected me,stayed out late, and came home smelling like other women. Their betrayal gave me permission,it made mine feel... fair."

Fair. The word hung there,and manipulative,always twisting logic to suit her. Deepening who she was,not just the seductive aunt, the passionate lover, but the calculator. The one who hoarded secrets like weapons, deploying them when it benefited her.

My world crumbled a little more. "You knew Susan was my half-sister. And you still... with me."

She stepped even closer, hand on my arm,warm. "Blood doesn't change Want. We're not hurting anyone like they did. Annie lied to Humphrey,and raised Susan on a foundation of deceit. Robbinson played both sides,husband to me, lover to her. Their betrayal was selfish,ours... it's passion. Survival."

Survival. Another twist,justifying her own mess by pointing at theirs, manipulation at its finest.I pulled away. "You're spinning it,to protect yourself."

"Maybe." She didn't deny. Voice soft now. Vulnerable edge. Act? Probably. "But it's true. I was lonely, unfulfilled. Robbinson's affairs left me empty, knowing about Annie? It was like a sign. If he could betray me, why couldn't I take what I wanted? You. Young,and reckless. making me feel alive again."

I paced again. The room felt smaller with the world crumbling under my feet. Ruby,the one I'd obsessed over, risked everything for,wasn't the victim she'd played. She was the puppet master, using the family's dirt to cover her own.

"And what about the baby?" I asked. Voice rough. "You don't care whose because it fits your justification?"

She touched her belly. Smile faint. "The baby is mine. Ours. A new start,and from their mistakes."

Mistakes,like Susan wasn't one,like our affair wasn't repeating them.

Emotional fallout hit hard,anger mixed with hurt,and the betrayal deep. "You should've told me.""And lose you?" She shook her head. "No. I needed this. I needed you."

You Needed,you didn't love.

I sank onto the couch,with my head in my hands,and my world fully crumbling. The family web,affairs, lies, blood ties,tighter than ever. Susan, my sister,Ruby, knows,but uses it.

She sat beside me,with hand on my back. Rubbing circles. "We'll get through it,like always."

But her touch felt different now,and calculated.

Risks escalated that night. As I left, Robbinson's car pulled in early, I ducked behind bushes, heart pounding. I watched him go away.

I drove home, with my mind shattered.
Mom was waiting. "We need to tell Susan."
"Yes." But risks building,and exposure coming.