Mom

Chapter 4

Ruby put her hands behind her neck to fasten the diamante necklace she had chosen to wear for the evening.
'Let me', Chace moved closer towards her and took the necklace out of her hands. He fastened the clasp and then placed his hands on Rubys shoulders, moving them further down her body as he spoke.
'Have I told you yet how beautiful you look tonight?' She could feel his breath on her neck as he slid his hands around her waist.

Normally Ruby would find this super sexy, but tonight she really wasn't feeling it. She hastily moved her body away from her husband.
'I need to speak to the sitter and let her know where we're at.'
Before Ruby could move towards the door, she felt Chace tighten his grip on her waist.
'She knows what she's doing Ruby. She's done this with our kids a thousand times before.' Now he was resting his head on her shoulder. 'She'll have Madison in bed by seven, tell Kit to have his tv off by nine and make sure Louisa doesn't sneak out. Now can I just have five minutes with my beautiful wife, before the cab gets here?' He slid his hand below her hips and traced her panty line with his fingers.

Desperate to avoid the rush her husbands advances usually gave her, Ruby tried to pull away again.
'Ruby, what's going on?' Chace asked, grabbing Rubys shoulders and turning her to face him.
'It's nothing.' As Ruby said this she looked down at the floor. She didn't want him to see the look on her face.

The truth was that ever since she'd seen that newspaper, she'd been questioning whether the headline was true. Every time she thought about it, every time she looked at him, she felt sick to her stomach.

'Are you sure honey?' Chace interrupted Rubys thoughts.
'Yes of course', she said. 'I'm just worried about the kids. Especially with how Louisas been these past few days and I think Madisons going through that sleep regression thing.'
'Listen', Chace grabbed Rubys hands. 'They'll be absolutely fine. It's not like they're not used to us leaving them and you know Amy has it all under control. Anyway, there's something I need to tell you about.'

Was he finally going to confess to her? Tell her that what she'd read was true? Rubys stomach tightened. Lost in her own thoughts, she let Chace guide her over towards the bed and sat down beside him, not regarding the fact that the very expensive dress she had loaned for tonight might become crumpled.

Sensing his wifes unease, Chace slid his hand onto Rubys thigh.
'It's nothing to worry about', he said. Although he was still looking at the floor. 'It's just there's been a few rumours floating around in the press about local politicians getting up to no good. You know. A bit of the old sex, drugs and rock and roll, playing the field whilst their poor wives sit at home.'
'Mmm' Ruby mumbled, desperate to know whether her husband was about to confess.
'I'm not sure how true any of this is, or if it's all just media hoo ha.'
Now Chace was stroking her arm. Ruby looked up and noticed he was biting his lip. Something he always did when he was nervous. Was this the moment her whole world was about to come crashing down. She said nothing, but let her husband continue what he was saying.
'I just wanted to speak to you tonight, before we're out and about, because you know how it is at these things. But erm. You see noone in politics has been untouched by this and erm. There's been a few headlines going around me. '

Chace looked up at Ruby to try and gage a reaction, but she didn't give anything away. She was too busy trying to stop herself from vomitting over this gorgeous dress.

As Chace continued talking he grabbed Rubys hands and she let him take them.
'Now of course, I know you know none of them are true, but as I say I just wanted to give you a heads up before tonight. In case anything gets mentioned.'

'Ok, thank you.' Despite her nausea still being quite prominent, Ruby was just about able to reply to her husband. 'Thanks for letting me know.' She squeezed his hand.

Suddenly, Chace's phone rang. Before he picked up the call on his smart watch, he managed to utter 'that will be the car'.
And then he spoke into his wrist. 'Yeah man we'll just be a minute.'

Before he had even finished the call Ruby stood up. It took her everything she had to stand up without throwing up.

As she went into each of her childrens rooms to kiss them goodnight, gave her last few instructions to the sitter and slipped her feet into the louboutins that were only hers for the evening, she was filled with dread. How would she cope with being thrown right into the lions den?