While Eric was out of the house farming good deeds in the Imperator's Cross, his wife Ruby had also gone through an interesting and eventful day.
Ruby slowly woke up from her sleep and looked around, blinking slowly as her head felt a little heavier. She thought that it might be due to Eric waking her up early in the morning to tell her that he wasn't going to work before heading out somewhere.
She felt that it was weird for Eric to go out. She remembered last night's events: Eric had apologized and told her that he had been wanting a child—that was why he was acting so weird…
"Maybe he has gone to the library and is reading books about babies?" She clearly remembered that after confessing to her, she had just thanked him and scolded him a little, telling him to just speak to her next time and not keep it to himself. After that, they went to sleep. Nothing else happened.
But for some unknown reason, she couldn't help but feel a strange feeling when she recalled the events of last night. She just shook her head and ignored the feeling as she went to the washroom, took off her clothes, and washed herself. She spent more time than usual lying in the bathtub, staring at the ceiling.
After bathing, she wore new clothes and went to the kitchen to make her breakfast. She didn't have to make food for two since Eric wasn't home.
Her hubby was not home. Thus, she didn't have any mood to make anything fancy for breakfast. She started watching food tutorials to make sure Eric would return to good food after work, in the first place.
She was a thoughtful, caring, and loving wife.
It is too sad that the man she loves so much at this time of the day is on a bench talking to some beggar right now. She cooked an egg and toasted it before putting butter on the two slices of bread. She put the omelette on one slice and sprinkled some black pepper before putting the second slice on top. She put the sandwich on a plate and went to the dining table, where she took her usual seat and ate silently.
She slowly turned her head toward the window and looked at the clear blue sky that seemed so welcoming and warm. The birds flying freely in the sky.
She ate her sandwich half-heartedly, chewing slowly. The omelette was delicious, but she couldn't enjoy its taste to the fullest. She kept staring out the window in a pensive mood.
Breakfast was ephemeral. She quickly finished the sandwich and stood up. She decided to clean the apartment before anything else. She put the dirty plate in the sink and walked out of the kitchen.
She walked out of the kitchen and took the vacuum cleaner from the storeroom and started using it to clean the apartment. She didn't do a thorough cleaning because, first of all, she cleaned every day, so the apartment was rarely dirty; second of all, she was not in the mood at all.
After an hour passed, she finished her formal cleaning. She felt tired and bored. She brewed some black tea for herself as she scrolled through YouTube on her television. Due to her mostly watching cooking-based videos, her feed was full of these videos. Most were about Parisian delicacies, as she had been searching for these types of videos lately. There were also videos from other countries, like America, Africa, India, etc.
She usually watches one video of the dish that catches her eye and starts to make preparations to make that dish, but today nothing caught her eye at all. She looked outside and saw that the weather was still nice. She decided to go out and do some shopping.
She is usually the type who likes to stay inside the house and doesn't go outside at all. But she just had this urge to go out today. Obviously, she wasn't comfortable going out alone.
She took out her phone and messaged Zoe, who was next door, asking if she wanted to go outside.
Zoe, who was still busy cleaning the dirty dishes from the morning, heard the notification from her phone. She dried her hands and picked up her phone. Looking at the message from Ruby, she thought for a few seconds, looking around the dirty apartment. Fuck the apartment—Max is the one who eats and runs around the apartment so much. She was tired of working all day. She puffed her cheeks before agreeing to go out.
Ruby read her reply, and a small smile appeared on her face. She immediately stood up and started to get ready.
Standing in front of the mirror, Ruby tried several dresses, looking at herself. She felt quite nostalgic.
How long had it been since she last dressed up like this?
After trying several fits, she finally found the perfect one that she liked. She wore a dark brown floppy hat with a pink flower attached to it, a green gown fitting her hair and eyes, and short black heels. She put a little makeup on her face and sprayed some perfume.
She picked up her black bag and walked out of the apartment. She looked very beautiful and gentle. She was still in her twenties, retaining her youthful body. Her looks were enough to make people turn heads.
Most people would never believe that she was already married. She walked slowly to the next door and knocked lightly on the door.
After about half a minute, Zoe walked out. She had worn an orange breathable maxi dress, orange heels, and a short white hat on her long, silky smooth, and wavy orange hair.
They both stared at each other for some time before Zoe broke the silence. "You look good!"
"I can say the same about you," Ruby replied.
They then walked toward the elevator. Entering it, they talked a lot about their daily work and what they made, saw on Insta, and etc. Most of it was useless talk and gossip.
They were completely opposite of their husbands, who mostly stay quiet when together, forming a clear contrast.
After getting out of the building, these two finally reached the streets. Their eyes burned from the intense heat and light radiated by the sun. They put their hats more over their eyes to block the sun's rays.
Zoe felt some regret for not picking a bigger hat to wear today. Looking at Ruby, who was having fewer problems, she felt some envy.
After adapting to the light, these two women started to walk to the right. Their destination was a nearby mall. Thus, they didn't need to take a taxi.
The road was busy, filled with vehicles, and the footpath was filled with people bustling with their conversations. There were some tourists mixed in with them, taking photos of the place. Some even came to them and asked if they could take a photo or two of theirs.
They refused.
On the way, these two talked a lot about various subjects with great enthusiasm. They spoke loudly, not caring about others hearing them, but soon they ran out of topics, causing them to lose their enthusiasm and speak less and less. Their loud conversation turned quiet.
Ruby looked ahead and hesitated for a few minutes as she contemplated inwardly whether to ask Zoe or not the question that had been troubling her for so long.
She turned her head and slowly asked, "Hey Zoe, I have a question. Has Max been acting weird lately?"
Zoe's face showed a shocked and confused expression. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Ruby with widened eyes. Ruby panicked a little inwardly, regretting asking, but what Zoe said made her shocked too.
"You mean… Eric has also been acting weird lately?"
"Huh…"
These two dear friends were frozen in their places, staring at each other with various expressions showing on their faces. Finally, after a minute of being shocked, they moved, deciding to talk while walking.
Both had questions but were letting the other speak first. Ruby took the chance and asked for the details.
Zoe contemplated for a few minutes as she recalled all the weird signs she had noticed about Max before finally speaking.
"It mostly started when we moved to Paris. At first, it all felt the same as when we were in Moscow. First, it must be him becoming quieter than usual."
Ruby felt weird at this. Was she joking? Quieter? She could hear him running in his apartment even when she was sleeping at midnight, and when Max and Zoe… cough. She obviously didn't say all this out loud. She simply asked, "What do you mean by quiet? I think he is as lively as ever."
She tried not to turn her head to that part of the night, but she and Zoe were two sides of the same coin. Both of their minds were thinking the same thing.
As they took a right turn, Zoe puffed her cheeks a little as her cheeks blushed red before she coughed and explained, "It may seem the same to you, but I am his wife. I notice details that you can't decipher. They are hard to explain, but let me try. Hmm… before, he never stopped talking about everything, but now, when he talks, he takes short breaks between his sentences. His rate of jumping around the apartment has decreased too. He mutters less in his dreams. Some of his smiles also seem fake, and I can find hints of fakeness and sadness in his eyes when he talks to me. What about Eric?"
Zoe turned to Ruby as she asked after speaking. Ruby, just like Zoe, thought for a few minutes before speaking, "Eric's problems also started when we moved to Paris. Eric has turned a little more talkative than his usual self. He smiles a lot these days, but these smiles are so fake; they make me creeped out. His eyes look hollow and dead, as if he is in pain and confused. It feels very bad knowing that I am his wife yet he doesn't feel comfortable enough to talk to me or share his pain with me. He just lies in my bosom, cries, asks stupid questions, and sleeps. Also, he compliments me more than usual, trying to make me feel better. But this all just made me feel even weirder. Thankfully, he told me his problems yesterday after I confronted him finally. He…"
Ruby clasped her fingers together as she looked down. She blushed as she sheepishly said, "H-He told me that he wants to have a baby."
Zoe's body shook as a smile formed on her face. She looked teasingly at Ruby, chuckled loudly before elbowing her left arm. "Lucky girl! Hahahah. Max refuses to do it without protection. He is afraid of making me pregnant. Sigh. Well, this phase comes in everyone's life at some point. Then what happened? Did you both do it?"
Ruby gritted her teeth as her hands clenched into a fist from anger and embarrassment. She looked away as she said, "As far as I remember, I scolded and screamed at him for hiding such a useless problem away. I was very angry at him for making me angry and worried for no reason. But he had hinted this before. I wasn't able to understand that hint. It is some of my fault too."
"Hmm… Is this all? Anything else?" Zoe asked.
Ruby shook her head, asking the same to Zoe. Zoe was about to shake her head when she remembered something. "I remember something just now. Every two to three days, Max would lock himself in the bathroom. I didn't find it weird at first, but now that I think about it, it is something he didn't use to do."
"Weird," Ruby commented. They talked a little more before they finished sharing all the details with each other.
Soon, they were in the Vigias Mall. The mall was not as big as the biggest malls in Paris, but it was enough for them to spend their entire day there.
They entered the mall and were relieved when the cold air of the AC touched their bodies, making them shudder as the sweat on their bodies evaporated.
They were ready to go up to the first floor and try on some clothes. Max and Eric spoiled them rotten—they had their credit cards and didn't stop them from buying whatever they wanted. They used to hesitate before, but today they had decided to be shameless.
Just as they were about to walk forward, they heard a calm and beautiful voice from behind them. "Ah… finally some relief. What should I eat today?"
Ruby and Zoe stopped and looked behind. They saw a woman with long green hair and eyes standing straight and had spread her arms. She had worn a green dress and was seemingly in her twenties.
She noticed the gazes from the two ladies as she looked at them too. The three ladies stared at one another before the green-dressed lady's stomach growled.
Her face turned red from embarrassment. Ruby and Zoe chuckled at her before approaching her.
That day, just like that, they made a new friend