Chapter 35 Fix us
CHAPTER 35
Fix us.
Immediately after dinner, the mansion fell into a silence so thick it felt alive.
Ruby sat at the edge of her bed, still in her soft cotton nightwear, staring at the faint glow of the city lights filtering through her curtains.
The house was large…… too large and on nights like this, it swallowed her whole. The earlier tension lingered in her chest like an unfinished sentence. The way Leo had looked at her before she dodged his kiss. The coldness that followed and the distance, everything happened so fast.
She hugged her knees, exhaling shakily.
Why had she pulled away?
It wasn’t because she didn’t feel anything. That was the problem. She felt too much. Leo’s presence overwhelmed her, the authority in his voice, the intensity in his eyes, the way he moved as if the world parted for him. Sometimes it scared her how easily he could unravel her composure.
Across the hallway, Leo lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling of his dark room. He has been denied of sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her stepping back from him. The hesitation. The unspoken words. He had acted indifferent at dinner short answers, controlled tone, distant gaze. If she wanted space, he would give her space.
That’s what pride demanded. But pride did nothing to quiet the ache in his chest.
He felt like running away from all what he'd be feeling at that moment. He turned to his side, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He could still smell her perfume faintly lingering on his shirt from when he had stood too close earlier.
A soft knock interrupted his spiraling thoughts.
His jaw tightened, as he heard another knock.
Leo got up slowly, every step was deliberate as he walked toward the door. When he opened it, Ruby stood there, looking smaller than usual, her fingers nervously twisting together.
“Yes?” His voice was calm. Too calm.
“I… I couldn’t sleep,” she said softly.
His expression didn’t change. “And?”
Her eyes flickered with hurt. “Can I come in?”
He hesitated, remembering the sting of her rejection earlier. The way she had avoided his kiss. His pride whispered to refuse her. To let her feel what distance tasted like.
“You didn’t seem to want me near you a few hours ago,” he said coolly.
Ruby swallowed. “Leo…”
He stepped back, but not invitingly. “Why are you here, Ruby?”
She looked up at him then, her vulnerability cracking through the silence. “Because I don’t like when you’re cold to me.”
He felt his heart twist, he couldn't deny his emotions, he tried to hold onto his composure, but the truth was written all over her face, she wasn’t here to play games. She was here because she felt the same restlessness he did.
He exhaled sharply and stepped aside. The moment she walked in, the air changed.
He closed the door behind her. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. The distance between them was barely two steps, yet it felt heavy with unsaid emotions.
“You rejected me,” he said finally, his tone lower now.
Ruby’s voice trembled. “I was scared.”
“Of me?” His brows furrowed.
“Of how I feel.”
That was not the answer he expected.
Leo’s restraint snapped.
In two long strides, he closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms. The hug was immediate, firm, almost desperate. Ruby gasped softly before melting into him, her hands instinctively gripping the back of his shirt.
He buried his face into her hair, inhaling deeply.
“I hated it,” he admitted quietly. “The way you pulled away.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
They stood there for a long moment, holding each other like two people who had been pretending they didn’t need this.
When he finally loosened his grip, he tilted her chin up gently. “Next time, don’t run from me.”
Her heartbeat quickened under his gaze. “I’ll try.” Silence returned.
Ruby stepped back slightly, glancing around his room before looking at him again. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”
Leo watched her carefully. “What is it?”
She hesitated, then gathered her courage. “I want to attend culinary school.”
He blinked.
“That’s what’s been on your mind?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’ve always loved cooking. Not just at home. I want to learn professionally, the techniques, presentation and everything. I want to build something for myself.”
Leo’s jaw tightened, he wasn't so sure what to say at that moment. He had imagined a different future for her. Something closer. Something that kept her within his world, under his protection. Culinary school meant independence. New people and new environments. It meant she wouldn’t always be here.
“And you didn’t tell me?” he asked.
“I was afraid you’d say no.”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Leo walked toward the window, staring out into the night as he processed her words. He wasn’t a man who liked losing control of situations. And the thought of her stepping into a world where he couldn’t oversee everything unsettled him.But then he remembered the way her eyes lit up when she talked about food. The joy in her voice. He turned back to her.
“Is this what you really want?” he asked seriously.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
The certainty in her tone made something inside him soften.
Leo walked back to her slowly. “I don’t like the idea of you being away so much,” he admitted honestly. “But I like the idea of you being unhappy even less.”
Ruby’s eyes widened slightly.
“I’ll register you for the best culinary classes,” he continued. “The best instructors. If you’re going to do this, you’ll do it properly.”
A smile spread across her face—bright, genuine, breathtaking.
“Really?”
He nodded once. “You deserve to chase what makes you alive.”
Without thinking, she threw her arms around him again. This time the hug was lighter, filled with gratitude rather than tension.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He rested his chin on her head. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don’t shut me out again.”
She looked up at him. “I won’t.”
For a moment, they simply stood there, closer than before.
“I should go,” Ruby said softly after a while, glancing toward the door.
Leo’s hand instinctively caught her wrist before she could step away.
“Stay.”
The word came out rougher than he intended. Her breath caught.
He gently pulled her back toward him, and the motion brought them close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him. His other hand slid to her waist.
“You walk in here at midnight,” he murmured, his voice low, “fix everything between us… and you think I’ll just let you go back to that empty room?”
Her pulse raced.
He guided her backward slowly until the back of her knees brushed against the edge of the bed. She sat down, more from the intensity of his gaze than from the movement itself.
He leaned over her, hands braced on either side, not touching beyond what was necessary but the proximity alone was enough to make her heart thunder.