Married To a Stranger

Chapter 37

Ruby's words sent a chill through the room.

Isabel hesitated, then frowned. “What do you mean?”Ruby

Carter stared at her, uneasy, before anyone could respond.

Natalia, agitated, went into a violent coughing fit.

“Where is Dr. N?” she gasped between breaths.

Ruby rushed to her side and pressed a cup of tea into her hand. Natalia's fingers trembled as she held it, but then the cup slipped from her hand.

And she collapsed forward onto the table.

“Mrs. Anderson!” Ruby cried, reaching for her, but Isabel shoved her back hard.

“Get away from her!” she screamed. “What did you do to my mom? Mom, wake up! Carter, call 911!”

The ambulance arrived within minutes. As the medics lifted Natalia onto the stretcher, Ruby tried to climb in with them, but Carter grabbed her arm and yanked her back. His face twisted with anger.

“You're a disgrace,” he snarled. “Stay away from her. If anything happens to her, you'll answer to me.”

He shoved Ruby back onto the curb.

Ruby didn't fight back. She just flagged down the nearest taxi and told the driver to follow the ambulance.

In the hospital's VIP suite, Owen had just finished dinner with Matilda and sat down to work. But then his focus drifted to the window.

He saw a medical team rushing a gurney inside.

Trailing behind them, alone and small, was Ruby.

She looked lost.

Owen frowned slightly, then stood and walked out.

On the first floor, he found Isabel and Carter cornering a doctor at the admissions desk.

“I'm sorry,” the doctor said. “We're completely full.”

“You'll have to wait in the hall. We'll move her as soon as a room opens up.”

“Not even a VIP suite?” Carter pressed.

“Money's not an issue.”

The doctor just shook his head.

“Nothing's available.”

Isabel was about to burst into tears, her face a mess.

“Carter, what are we going to do?”

“Don't worry, I'll handle it.”

Carter pulled out his phone and stepped away to make some calls.

Owen observed Isabel's theatrics and how her eyes were scanning the chaos rather than focusing on her mother.

Ruby, on the other hand, stood motionless nearby, her worried eyes fixed on the woman on the gurney.

For a split second, it almost felt like Ruby was the real daughter.

Owen's expression hardened.

He turned to Leo and instructed:

“Arrange a VIP room for Natalia Anderson.”

Leo nodded and left immediately, while Owen's eyes found their way to Ruby once more.

Ruby guarded the gurney from a distance, observing Carter's failed calls.

Clearly, none of his connections were working.

She murmured under her breath.

She looked at Natalia again, concern tightening her chest.

“She’s not in danger. Just exhausted. The coughing drained her. She needs rest. This hallway isn't helping.”

Ruby didn't have any pull at this hospital. That much was clear.

The thought she'd been avoiding surfaced anyway.

Should I call him?

She hesitated, pulling out her phone, her finger hovering over a contact saved as Grandson.

Before she could decide, a phone rang at the admissions desk.

Moments later, a nurse waved them over.

“A VIP ward just opened up.”

Isabel's face brightened instantly.

“Carter, you did it!”

Carter blinked, confused.

The friends he'd called had given him the polite brush-off, promising to see what they could do.

But one of them actually pulled through.

He straightened and nodded smugly, accepting the credit without hesitation.

The group moved upstairs to settle Natalia into her room.

Ruby followed a few steps behind, her heart heavy as she watched the nurses transfer Natalia onto the hospital bed.

Natalia looked even more fragile than she had ten years ago.

Her skin pale, her face drained of color.

As they wheeled the bed into the private room, Ruby stepped forward to follow, but Isabel blocked the doorway.

“Ruby,” she sniffled, her voice dripping with false concern, “my mom needs her rest. Please don't cause any more trouble.”

With that, she shut the door in her face.

Ruby stood there, frozen.

As much as she wanted to be by Natalia's side, she knew she had no right to push her way in.

Blinking away the sting in her eyes, Ruby walked down the hall, found an empty bench, and sat down quietly.

A few minutes later, the sound of rushed footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Warren rushed in, his face edged with worry.

Once assured Natalia wasn't in critical condition, he pulled Isabel into the hallway.

“What happened? How could she just collapse like that?”

Isabel shot a cold look toward Ruby on the bench.

“It was Ruby,” she declared with a dramatic tremble in her voice. “She was demanding to see Dr. N and got into it with Carter. Mom got upset.”

Ruby didn't bother explaining herself.

All she could think about was Natalia's pale, unconscious face.

She could hear Isabel's voice from years ago whispering:

“My mom's life has been miserable, and it's all your fault.”

Maybe it was true.

Maybe she was poison to the people she cared about.

Isabel barely finished her carefully scripted lie before Warren's gaze snapped to Ruby, his face contorting with rage.

“You ungrateful girl!” he barked, lifting his hand.

Ruby didn't move.

She didn't even close her eyes.

But the slap never came.

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw a tall figure standing between her and Warren.