Chương 2: Chapter 2: Blurry Vision

Ruby woke with a start, her head pounding, vision blurry as the remnants of alcohol clouded her senses. She felt the weight of the morning sun streaming through the curtains, but something else was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

A strange sensation gripped her — she wasn't alone. Panic surged through her veins as she slowly turned her head, her heart racing with every second.

A man was lying beside her. Not just any man, but a stranger. A scream ripped from her throat before she could process the situation.

The man stirred, disoriented, his eyes fluttering open. He blinked in confusion, clearly just as shocked as she was to find someone in the bed next to him.

"Who—what are you doing here?" Ruby's voice was sharp, her breath rapid, heart thundering in her chest.

The man, a handsome figure with tousled dark hair and broad shoulders, groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes as if trying to force himself awake. He was as disheveled as she felt.

"I… I don't know," he muttered, his voice thick with sleep and confusion. "I don't even know who you are."

Ruby stared at him, mouth agape.

"You don't know me? You're in my bed! You… you…" She stammered, her voice rising in accusation, her fear turning into fury. "What did you do to me? Did you rape me?"

The accusation hung in the air like a slap.

The man's face paled, and he immediately raised his hands in defense, his eyes wide with alarm.

"What? No! I— I don't even remember anything from last night. We were drunk. You were drunk. I didn't… I wouldn't… I swear, I don't even know how I ended up here."

Ruby's mind raced, replaying snippets of the night before — the bar, the drinks, the blurry conversations.

She remembered feeling numb, angry, and then meeting him. She couldn't remember what happened after. That didn't stop the fear from gnawing at her insides.

Without another word, she scrambled out of the bed, grabbing her clothes from the floor and dressing hastily, her hands shaking. Her body felt foreign to her, like she had lost control of everything. She felt violated, even if she didn't know how or why.

"I… I don't believe you," Ruby spat, throwing on her jacket and moving toward the door. "Stay away from me!"

The man, still clearly confused, didn't make any attempt to stop her. He just sat there, eyes clouded with disbelief, running his hands through his hair, lost in thought. Ruby didn't care. She had to leave. She had to get out of there.

Her heart was in her throat as she stumbled into the hallway, her legs feeling weak beneath her.

The outside world greeted her with sharp reality — the noise, the brightness, the suffocating presence of normalcy while her world was spiraling out of control.

She hailed a cab and muttered her address through clenched teeth, every moment in the back seat feeling like an eternity. What had she done? How could she have been so reckless? All she wanted was to forget the pain from last night, the betrayal she had suffered when she discovered her boyfriend cheating on her with her stepsister.

She had acted out of anger, out of hurt — but never in her wildest nightmares had she thought it would lead to this.

When she arrived at her house, the suffocating weight of dread settled deep in her chest. Her stepmother's shrill voice greeted her the moment she stepped inside.

"Where have you been?" Margaret Miller, her stepmother, stood at the doorway, arms crossed, her face twisted with suspicion.

Her stepsister, Eva, stood smugly behind her, a smirk playing on her lips as if she was waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

"I—" Ruby began, but the words failed her.

How could she explain the disaster of last night? She could still feel the sting of shame hanging on her shoulders like a cloak she couldn't remove.

"You didn't come home last night. I can smell the alcohol on you from here," Margaret sneered. "So, what was it? Off with some man, were you?"

"No, it's not like that," Ruby protested, her voice faltering. She felt her resolve weaken under the intense glare of her stepmother.

"Don't lie to me!" Margaret's voice rose, sharp and piercing. "You've been out whoring, haven't you? Slept with some stranger, I bet. You're nothing but a common slut."

Ruby winced at the harshness of her words, the weight of the accusation sinking deep into her bones.

"I wasn't… I didn't…" She tried to find the words, but her mind was too fogged with emotion, too raw from everything that had happened.

Eva snickered behind their mother, her arms crossed in mock sympathy.

"Look at her, Mother. She's probably ashamed. She doesn't even know who she's slept with."

"Enough!" Margaret snapped. "This is the last straw, Ruby. I won't have a shameless harlot under my roof. You've embarrassed this family for the last time."

The finality in her stepmother's voice sent a cold chill down Ruby's spine. She blinked, trying to register what she was hearing.

"What… what are you saying?" Ruby stammered.

"I'm saying, you're no longer welcome here. Pack your things and leave. This isn't your home anymore. Not after the way you've behaved."

Ruby stared at Margaret, disbelief coursing through her. Kicked out? Just like that?

"But I… I don't have anywhere else to go…" Her voice was small, trembling. The truth of her situation hung in the air, cruel and unforgiving.

"That's not my problem," Margaret said coldly.

"Maybe if you hadn't thrown yourself at the first man who looked your way, you wouldn't be in this mess. Now go. Before I throw you out myself."

The weight of her words hit Ruby like a punch to the gut. She glanced at Eva, hoping to find even a glimmer of sympathy, but there was none. Eva's eyes sparkled with satisfaction, her lips curling into a cruel smile.

Ruby didn't argue. She couldn't. She had no fight left in her. Silently, she turned and walked up the stairs to her small room, her heart heavy with the reality of her situation. She grabbed a suitcase and began throwing her clothes into it, her movements robotic and numb.

Everything she had known was crumbling around her.

By the time she finished packing, her heart felt like it had been hollowed out. This house had never felt like a home, but it was the only place she had. Now, even that is gone.

She dragged her suitcase to the door, glancing one last time at the cold, indifferent faces of Margaret and Eva. Without a word, she stepped out into the world, lost and utterly alone.