| 004 | Ruby |

Out on the streets of Mayfair, I asked him for the address to Lloyd's home and he told me, already having memorized it, then I drove through the streets, and stopped by the Chanel store that's located in Chelsea. There, I bought a baby pink handbag of a new collection and a dress to match it for Leah Reid, a fancy black coat for Neville Reid, a jacket and a pair of shoes for Lloyd that my son picked, and two matching lilac and yellow dresses for the little twins. Already on the avenue, I stopped on the winery to buy two good and well aged Italian wines to take with me.

My son put everything on the backseat and when the clock turned 9:00 pm, I had parked my car in front of their Hampstead townhome and before I could even ring the bell, an euphoric and happy Lloyd was opening the door for us. He's around my shoulders with heels, and still shorter than me without it, he's shorter than my son, but he's adorable, he's white and with golden blonde hair, amber doe eyes, and a bright smile. The kid is just, ugh, adorable, he puts a smile on my lips.

"Auntie Ruby!" He beamed and came for a hug, being easygoing and extroverted, the opposite of my son who's shy around strangers, there ain't a shy cell in Lloyd's body at all. "You look, beautiful in blue, it matches your eyes."

"Thank you, sweetheart," I petted his hair.

"I got presents," my son told him stoically.

"Mum, they got us presents!" Lloyd beamed overjoyed and widened the door for us to come in. "Welcome to my home, auntie Ruby."

"Ugh, son, wait," a male voice came from the inside and in the next second a guy, a lot taller than me, looking a lot like an older version of Lloyd, and in formal dark green clothes came to us. "You must be Ruby Vaughan," he exclaimed with a smile, "it's an honor to have you in here. Our Lloyd talked a lot about you and Rhett, we had to meet you properly."

"The honor is mine," I said.

"You're beautiful," two little girls beamed, looking nearly identical to their older brother, in matching green and pink fluffy dresses.

"I'm Lloyd's..." the woman halted, "mom."

When I saw her, I halted, and for a moment, we just stared at each other in shock.

"Ruby Sinnott," she gasped.

"Leah Morgan," I gasped.

"Uh... you know each other?" Neville asked.

I swallowed, feeling anxiety pent up inside me.

"The Sinnott were one of the founding families of the Prep Elite school I attended in my senior year, in Massachusetts," she said, looking as anxious as me. "Her father was the patriarch of the Sinnott, and though I was the oldest kid in class, Ruby was the youngest, she graduated at 15," then her eyes paused on my son and they widened as she pieced it together. "Shit, is he,"

"Careful, Leah," I stopped her. "If you want to talk about the past, do it when my son is not around."

She covered her mouth with her hand, "Shit."

"Were you... friends?" Rhett asked carefully.

"No. I had no friends in school," I told him. "We were classmates."

"I was friends with your uncle," she told him.

"My what?" My son frowned.

I glared at her and she gasped, "He don't know... Cole?"

"Was he part of the family that cut ties with you, mum?"

"Yes," I said shortly. "Mind your words Leah, Rhett has no connections with the family I had in Massachusetts, only with my English family. So, before your run your mouth, think first."

"Was he your brother, mum?" Rhett asked.

"Yes," I clenched my jaw. "He was. Our life choices made so he ain't no brother of mine now. He isn't worthy of your recognition either."

My son caressed my back, noticing my anxiety, "It's okay, aunt Leah, I don't want to know anything about them. My whole life I only had mum and grandma, and that's enough for me."

"Does he know?" She asked me.

"It doesn't concerns him," I snapped.

"Ruby, it clearly does," she looked at my son from head to toe.

"No, it does not," I hissed.

"Will you stay like this forever then?"

What the hell is her deal? "When he's of age, he can choose to know more about the rest of his bloodline, but until then, it's up to me to make choices that will keep him safe. Away from the danger that lies in there. So, yes, until he turns 18, or until he graduates, things will remain like this, as they should."

"Which one is it?" She asked. "1 or 2?"

I gasped, "Excuse me? I wasn't a whore, Leah."

"Well, you could have done it without knowing. Many did."

My jaw dropped, "I know who it was."

"1 or 2, then?" This bitch.

"2," I hissed. "I was never close to 1."

"Well, 1 was certainly close to you."

I frowned, "What? What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" She arched her brows.

"Know what?" My frown deepened.

"Oh, man, you never talked to any of them after you moved to Oxford in early July, did you?"

I swallowed, anxiety rising up, "No, why?"

"Oh," she blinked, "shit. You don't know."

"Know what, Leah?" I asked exasperated.

"Are you... sure it was 2?"

I clenched my jaw, "Yes."

"100%?"

"I know who my son's father is, damn it!" I yelled, frustrated, but as soon as it was out, I cursed myself, mentally regretting saying that out loud.

"Was... my dad a twin?" Rhett asked, too damn smart for his own good.

Closing my eyes, I cursed under my breath, "Yes."

"He didn't know that?" Leah gasped.

"An identical twin?" My son gasped.

Sigh, "Yes."

"You've... been with both?" Neville butt in.

"No!" I gasped horrified. "Jesus, no."

"Was 2... the youngest twin?" Rhett asked.

I growled, "Yes. Yes, he was, alright? He was falling behind his grades, I was assigned to be his private teacher, because I was the top 1 in class, and he wasn't so intelligent. The headmaster said that if I helped that idiot, I would get my recommendation letter to Oxford, so, I did it, even though I didn't want to. He was a pain in the arse most of the time, but sometimes... sometimes he was the best guy I had ever met. I fell for him by May, but he didn't fall for me. After he rejected me, we got together one last time in June, that was when you came into the picture. I only learned about you in August."

"You were... already in Oxford," Leah realized.

I swallowed, "Yes. I was already in Oxford, I had already severed contact with the Sinnott and taken up mum's last name instead, Vaughan. Then my mum told me the truth about what Rhett's paternal family actually was about, the danger they actually represented, and I realized how stupid I had been, and how much danger I had put my son and myself in, by having a son with a guy from that family," I side eyed Rhett, "I don't regret you at all, you're the best decision I've ever made."

"I know, mum, I'm amazing," he grinned.

"Jesus," Leah gasped, "are you sure it wasn't 1? He... looks... hauntingly more like 1 than 2."

"They were twins, Leah, that happens. I had never been with 1 in my life."

"Are you sure he didn't trick you and,"

I glared at her, wanting to genuinely strangle the woman, "That bastard, hated me, he hated everyone, he hated my brother, he hated his own brother, he was a walking trouble, and if I wasn't his brother's type, I definitely was not his. He didn't care about me, we barely ever interacted aside from when I disagreed of his arguments in class, and he felt like I was hurting his ego and whatever. He was the total opposite of his brother, and I would know if it were him."

"But that's what's weird. The 2nd twin made it public that you weren't his type, and his dating history proved that, and he was also your brother's childhood best friend, Ruby. He would never be with you just for the sake of it, when that could forsake his brotherhood with Cole. Whereas," she swallowed, "twin number 1 was enemies with your brother since kindergarten apparently, and he wouldn't give a shit if Cole would be pissy if he were to be with you. You two were the most hated kids in school, in class, and the smartest."

Her words made me halt and I felt a cold chill down my spine, everything seemed to freeze, because... she isn't wrong. "I would know."

"Would you? Because he could have acted as if he was his brother," she told me. "And his brother did skip many of your study lessons to party with your brother."

My alarms soared, "What? No, he didn't."

She frowned, "Yes, he did. I was with them."

I denied, "No. No. He did not."

"Shit," she covered her lips. "You really don't know."

"Mum?" I heard my son's voice, but it sounded far.

"No... no... he didn't do that... he... he... n-no..." my head began to hurt, hurt badly, and I felt my body collapsing the ground, my consciousness waving away, my heart aching worse than it did last time, and everything turned off.