Luna continued, "That time, I texted her for an hour, and she was so happy. She said she hadn't chatted with you for so long. Oh, you baddie!"

Austin did not respond to her remark. Instead, he looked worried about her eyes.

He said to Luna with a helpless expression, "Enough. Stop fooling around. Hold my phone and hold on tight. I'm going to drop you if you don't behave."

I stared at Austin as though he were a stranger.

That time, Austin chatted with me through texts for an hour, which was uncharacteristic of him. His sweet talk made me so happy that I nearly fainted from joy.

After that, he promised to have dinner with me, but he stood me up. My hopes were dashed, and we got into a huge fight that day. I didn't know that Luna was behind everything.

Moments later, Austin suddenly said to Luna, "Ask Ruby if she's home. If she is, tell her we'll get a divorce the day after tomorrow. She always clams up when I bring up divorce during a fight. I'll teach her a lesson for talking about divorce."

Luna agreed. The text she wrote, however, couldn't be more different than what Austin said.

She wrote, "Die, Ruby Bertrand. Stop complaining about your pain and playing the victim. Just die, you little troublemaker. I don't agree to a divorce. Being widowed sounds better to me."

After texting me the hurtful words, she lied to Austin with a straight face. "Ruby said to meet up the day after tomorrow. I tried putting in a good word for you and apologizing, but she wanted you to get lost."

His expression fell. After taking a few deep breaths, he started to complain about me. I went numb listening to his words. He complained about all the times I was good to him. In his eyes, I was just a control freak. He even called me a phony wretch.

Austin declared, "Do you think guys can't tell a fake wretch when we see one? It angers me to think of the times she bad-mouthed you. Luna, you're not as calculative as she is."

They chatted on the way home. Austin never let out a complaint after carrying Luna all the way.

Once they arrived at Luna's place, they lay on the bed like they'd done it many times before. He poured them some water and grabbed a blanket with ease. Then, they turned on the projector to pick a horror film for the night. The food had been delivered too.

They cuddled in her bed and read each other's thoughts with just one look.

It started drizzling out there. Austin rubbed Luna's lower abdomen, and he even covered her eyes at the scary scenes.

I froze after watching them interact. So, this was how their "friendship" looked like when I wasn't around.

After the movie ended, Austin lamented, "I still feel the most comfortable when I'm around you. I wonder what got into me when I decided to marry Ruby. I saved her life because I thought she was pretty, but she wouldn't leave me alone. Who would've known?

"By the way, I had no idea she was abducted by a human trafficker when I saved her. Now when I think about it, it scares me. She's so sick that we can never enjoy any activities. She only knows how to make me stay by her side all day. It's so suffocating."

Luna leaned into him and chuckled. She boldly asked, "So, you're not compatible in bed because she's so weak?"

I stared squarely at Austin. I was huge on privacy, and I wondered if he'd share details of his private life with Luna.

He disappointed me by admitting, "I haven't slept with Ruby for years. She's as thin as a rake, unlike you. You have curves!"

Luna rolled her eyes. She pretended to dismiss his praise, even though she was gleeful to hear it. "Oh, cut it. You shall not take advantage of me."

While speaking, she playfully punched him. Sparks started to fly between them.

They sank into a long silence. In Austin's eyes, I noticed the familiar lustful look.

Alas, the ringing phone interrupted them. They did not budge, but the ringing continued.

Finally, Austin caved and got out of bed impatiently to get his phone. He hunched unnaturally to hide his erection.

"What's the matter?" he asked after answering the call.

Mandy's wail filled the air. "Ruby is dead! Where are you, you bloody bastard?"