0.1 | No Exit from Deception ✓

0.07 | Kipping Food From The Kitchen

Ruby took the cue from the incident that took place in the restaurant where she gave herself airs and fought for right or wrong, and now, she was here. In his seeming hidey-hole. Slightly embarrassed to ink a deal with the bad guy.

"Hi. How . . . are . . . things?" Ruby asked weakly, taking a step back as she attempted to parry his gaze by covering her face.

"You are here." A gasp left his mouth, never finding it necessary to answer her first. He surely was an arrogant man. He still got her mind looming with one question: how was she going to deal with this guy if they agreed upon this?

And then his eyes wandered and met Anshuman's frightened ones. Anshuman stood dead on the spot, not daring to move an inch anywhere. "What was happening here? And-"

"I'm here, why is everyone missing me so much?" Sarah popped into the kitchen and shoved the used plate in the dishwasher. Did she secretly eat it all by herself? Ruby wondered after looking at the dirty plate in her hand.

Joseph motioned with his head to meet him in the park outside. Ruby after clearing her throat and distracting herself from everyone around followed his suit.

He got the door for her and she stepped into the cold night; the ice-like breeze turned her face pale. Without wasting his breath Joseph muttered, "So, you are accepting my offer?" They walked on the pavement that led their way to the nearby park.

Ruby nodded wisely, after getting a flash of the poor geyser, the dead TV, Madame Tào's terrifyingly raised eyebrow, and Emily's inconsolable face. "How can I not," she said, blinking her eyes after a moment. "Help doors are often closed for the less fortunate people. And if someone is being helpful, I should respect that."

His eyes shone lit with a radical amount of cheerfulness. His tough deportment was turning soft, as he cracked a small smile. That was the first time Ruby got a sight of his perfectly aligned teeth.

****

His house was mournfully quiet and the interior gave out the relatable vibes of predeath. A few moments passed away, Sarah invited Ruby to the dinner table, and Joseph also joined them very soon. Anshuman placed a chair for Ruby and she bowed down to him. Ruby couldn't help but admire the beauty of the nerves popping out of Joseph's virile arms as folded his sleeves and stretched his arm a bit to get a glass of water from the other corner of the table.

She breathed out, taking a moment to collect her wits. "Ruby, try some fish cutlets. These are Joseph's favorite." Anshuman cackled, immediately regretting speaking his mind after earning a hard glare from Joseph for the second time.

Ruby didn't have an appetite, the reason being the unconvincing absence of her best mate, Emily, from the dinner table. A natural thought stirred in her mind - the leftover, bald food that they usually ate at night, and the mouth-watering dishes being cooked here pushed her back to the feeling of nostalgia. She couldn't imagine herself eating a fresh red snapper while Emily subsisted on loaves and noodles as always.

"Joseph, are you even introducing us to your girl,"─ she coughed─ "friend?" Sarah perked her eyebrow up before taking the onus on herself. "Hello, I'm Sarah and this is Anshuman, my boyfriend; Basically, my everything. We are Joseph's nosy neighbors." She linked her arm with Anshuman, before spoon-feeding him with an extreme adoration that caused Ruby to look away for some time.

"Tried, tested, and well-understood friends," Anshuman added.

"And I'm Ruby," she said with a feigned smile. She stared at her plate which was as white as a sheet ─ untouched and unused. The same thing went with her life: untouched and unused.