| 038 | Ruby |

Wife? Did this impulsive arsehole just call me his wife in front of Rhett? What the hell is wrong with him? Doesn't he know that'll get our son hopeful?

As the overbearing inconvenient secretary ran off scared of him, I glared at him, "Rhyot, you can't do that, you can't go around threatening people. Not here, not in our son's school. Have you gone mad?" I pushed him out of the school, ignoring the side looks, the boys still being carried on his shoulders.

What the fuck am I going to do with territorial son and an even worse territorial and possessive... serious situationship with whom I had son?

"Yes, I can," he groaned grumpily. "I'm a dangerous billionaire."

Oh, Jesus, he's unreasonable, "What will they say about our son?"

"That he's the son a hot writer and a dangerous billionaire?" He scoffed, making the boys chuckle, but their happiness died the second I glared at them, they instantly averted their gazes from mine. "Has that prick, messed with you?"

"He pesters mum since I started here, dad," Rhett told him.

Because his father isn't a murderous men at all, "He never did anything."

"But he insinuated," Rhett snapped angry. "He makes you uncomfortable."

"He does the same to mum when she comes to the school," Lloyd groaned.

"You have to give him the beating of the century, dad," Rhett said.

"Don't give your father ideas," I slapped the back of his head and he cried. "He isn't the type to make idle threats, neither to have mercy," my son pouted and I slapped the crown of his head again. "Don't joke around him about this."

"I'm not joking, mum," he groaned. "He deserved worse than a beating."

"I agree," Rhyot exclaimed, and by his clenched jaw, I could tell that Pietro got on his nerves, he got on mine too. "Don't even try to spare him, Ruby," and as he said that to me, his eyes were dead serious and I cursed under my breath.

"You're insane," I sighed, rolling my eyes, walking in front of them, out of the school and to the garage, but he caught up in a second. Rhys put the boys on the ground and picked me up again, taking the breath out of me as I gasped in shock, "Put me down, the car is right there, arsehole."

"Not happening," he scoffed. "Follow suit, boys," and they did.

"Damn, dad, nice car!" Rhett beamed.

"A Bugatti? Oh, my God, you're awesome, uncle Rhys!" Lloyd beamed loudly.

"Ain't I?" He purred with a smug on and I rolled my eyes, annoyed.

He got to the Bugatti, opened the passenger door for me, sat me down, and when he leaned in to put my seatbelt on, he stole a kiss from me, and I helplessly pressed my lips back on his, for the second that lasted, unable not to, especially with his words from our way home the school still fresh in my mind. But then I remembered that we were not alone, and I broke it. Winking at me, he closed my door, opened the back door for the boys who hopped in and put the seatbelt on them, then he came to the driver's seat, got in, locked his door, locked his seatbelt, then turned the engine of the car on.

But given his photographic memory, he didn't need a gps to go back.

"So, dad," Rhett broke the silence after a minute, "you are here to stay, right?" There was a soft shake in his voice and my heart ached at it.

"Of course," Rhys nodded firmly.

"Will you and mum get married then?" He asked hopefully.

"You called her wife back in school," Lloyd pointed, "so, you will, right?"

"If it depended on me, I would be marrying your mom by nightfall, son," Rhys exclaimed, shamelessly. "It's totally on her. I'm totally on for marriage."

"Rhys," I hissed exasperated.

"What? I'm not going to lie about it," he chuckled. "I've made my intentions very clear to you, love. I'm not going anywhere. We've clarified all the damned misunderstandings that got us here, and I'm not accepting less than what I've told you. In fact, I'm very tempted to marry you right now, just so none of those motherfucking pieces of shit will look down on you, or insinuate shit that they don't know. I don't want those kids bullshitting my son, saying nasty shit to him, Ruby, and I really want to marry you, so, it's on you, love."

I swallowed, feeling overwhelmed, but he's right. I felt like dying when I heard what they told Rhett. God knows how longs he's been hearing those shite from those kids, who have been hearing it from their bloody parents who know nothing of me, of my family. How long as my son been putting up with that? How long has he been mocked because of this? It breaks my fucking heart.

"Oh, come on, dad, you should make a better proposal!" Rhett groaned.

"I should, shouldn't I?" Rhys grinned and I felt dizzy.

"You should do something grand, or more special," Rhett suggested.

I guess that means Rhett liked Rhys, which he must be overjoyed about. I never thought Rhyot Crowther, of all people, ever lacked confidence, when that's all I got from him, but know that he did, that probably still does even if he hides it well, it ignites something overprotective inside of me. An urge to reassure him, even if it sounds stupid, given who I'm talking about.

"So, dad," Rhett said it with so much intensity that it made wonder if he's always wanted to call someone that way, and had just been putting up a front for me, and that made my heart ache, "you're a twin, right?" Rhyot nodded. "And mum mistook you and your brother and thought I was his son instead."

"Rhett," I gasped embarrassed.

"Well, she didn't know a crucial fact about your uncle Hayes," Rhys grinned profoundly amused, "that he's infertile, he can't have kids. He's also gay, and he's engaged to her brother, your other uncle. But why Hayes is 17 minutes younger than me, Cole is 3 years older than your mom, and we don't have it nicely."

"I heard my mom's brother was a jerk," Rhett said.

"Don't say that," I gasped.

"It's true, though," Rhys barked a laugh. "He was a jerk, and we fought a lot. I never liked him, he didn't like me either."

"Nobody like you, Crowther," I mocked.

"Nobody like you either, love," he mocked back. "We were the most hated kids in our school, no friends, loners, the smartest, your mom was top 1 of the class, I was top 2, and she was the youngest of us."

"How did you two... get together, uncle Rhys?" Lloyd asked curiously.

"Hayes wasn't as smart as us, he was falling behind, and since my family is very, very powerful in Boston and in the US, and out of it, they didn't want to anger my dad with a let down regarding Hayes' grades, because he needed to graduate with us. So, the headmaster made Ruby the private teacher for him, and that made her give his lessons in our villa, off class. I knew my brother was going to mess up and skip some of her classes to fool around with Cole and the others, and I took advantage of that, because Ruby hated me, but I was very much crazy in love with her, so, I took my brother's place every time he missed it, which happened about once a week. But I was better than him."

He tilted his head, "I would bath before classes and treat her better than he did, I would flirt but subtly, and I would pay attention to her. She... fell in love with me, and by late May of 2015, we... uh... got together the first time."

"You slept together," Rhett said.

"Rhett," I gasped.