Chapter 12: The Habit of Not Waiting for Others (2)

The two people were silent for a long time, and finally, Steve Burton spoke: "Tomorrow is the 10th of this month. At 10 o'clock tomorrow night, you know where to go. Drive there yourself, and if you please me, I'll let you into Pristine's Enterprises the day after tomorrow."

After a pause, Steve added, "Ten o'clock, you know, I'm not in the habit of waiting for people."

After saying this, Steve hung up the phone.

The room was eerily quiet, droplets of water continued to drip down from Steve's hair, but he didn't have any inclination to dry his hair.

He felt a little stifled, an unspeakable pressure in his chest. He walked to the balcony, pushed the window open, and the cool night breeze slowly blew in, mixed with the fragrance of flowers in the courtyard, fresh and enchanting.

The evaporation of the moisture made him feel a bit chilly, and his mood slowly calmed down.

Standing there for who knows how long, only after his hair was completely dry did Steve finally turn around, picked up the phone he had thrown aside, unlocked it, and the recent call history with Ruby Gregory caught his eye. The saved photo of her on his phone was charming and captivating.

Steve stared at the screen for a while, then clicked on the contact page, made a phone call, and without waiting for the person on the other end to speak, he directly said, "Tomorrow, I'll come over."

"Understood, Mr. Steve."

Steve's throat moved slightly, and he said, "She will be there too."

He didn't wait for a response from the other end before directly hanging up.

The person who answered the call listened to the busy signal from the receiver and was only stunned for a moment before understanding who Mr. Steve was referring to.

After three years, the person who came to this holiday villa every month was no longer just Mr. Steve.

-

There was always an old tradition between Ruby Gregory and Steve Burton. That tradition began when Ruby was thirteen. Every 10th of the month, Steve would take Ruby to a holiday villa called "Red Park" in the Ciawell suburb, owned by the Burtons.

Over time, an unwritten rule was established in the "Red Park" holiday villa: on the 10th day of each month, it would close its doors to the public.

-

Although Steve told Ruby that their appointment was at 10 pm, she didn't return home until midnight. She fell asleep after 1 am, but Ruby still woke up early the next day.

Some things had been ingrained in her since she was young. Though already etched in her memory, to prevent any mistakes, Ruby brought out her journal that had been kept for over a decade.

Inside were rows of entries, from the first page's childish handwriting to the last page's elegant script, all documenting the essence of Ruby's twelve years.