Married To My Anonymous Enemy

The wait

Victor's Pov

The steady hum of the penthouse’s air purification system was the only sound in the vast, dim office. Victor sat behind his obsidian desk, the glowing screen of his tablet casting a cold, blue hue across his sharp features.

He wasn't looking at financial reports. He was watching the live security feed from the living room.

On the screen, Ruby sat near the window, a cup of tea cooling on the table beside her. She hadn't taken a sip in twenty minutes. Every few seconds, her gaze flicked to her phone resting on the leather cushion. When a random app notification lit up the screen, her whole body flinched, a subtle, involuntary twitch of her shoulders before she snatched the device up, her thumb flying across the display only to slump back when it turned out to be nothing.

Victor leaned back, resting his chin against his laced fingers.

She thought she was being careful. She thought she was hiding it. But to a man who made his living reading human behavior and anticipating threats, her silence was deafening. Ever since the night she came home soaking wet and trembling with excuses, the quiet girl he knew had turned into a tightly wound spring, ready to snap at the slightest touch.

She barely spoke at breakfast. She avoided eye contact. And every time he walked into a room, she subtly shifted her posture, as if calculating the distance between herself and the nearest exit.

Who is making you look over your shoulder, Ruby?

He tapped a quick sequence into his encrypted phone and brought it to his ear. It rang once before a low, steady voice answered.

"Boss."

"Mark," Victor said, his tone flat, devoid of emotion, yet carrying absolute authority. "I have a priority assignment for you."

"Name it."

"My wife," Victor said, turning his gaze back to the monitor where Ruby was currently pacing the floor, her phone clutched tight in her hand. "She’s in over her head with something, and she isn't telling me what it is."

A brief pause on the line. "How do you want it handled?"

"Maintain a discrete perimeter. Track her movements, log every stop, every interaction, every shadow that lingers near her too long. If she meets someone, I want clean photos and an ID by the end of the hour." Victor’s eyes narrowed as he watched her pull the curtains shut, blocking out the city view. "And Mark?"

"Sir?"

"Do not let her see you. And if anyone so much as looks at her the wrong way... eliminate the threat before it reaches her door."

"Understood."

Victor ended the call and set the phone face down. He stood up, smoothing the cuffs of his tailored suit jacket, and looked out across the skyline.

"Whatever game you're playing, Ruby," he murmured into the dark glass, "you don't have to play it alone."

Ruby's Pov

The news banner at the bottom of the monitor flashed in bold, neon-red lettering: FEDERAL AGENTS SEIZE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR NARCOTICS SHIPMENT AT SOUTH DOCKS.

Ruby stared at the screen from her desk, her hand frozen on her mouse. The live broadcast showed federal vehicles, blue lights flashing against the morning fog, and armed agents escorting half a dozen zip-tied men into transport vans.

Clara had kept her word. The raid was a clean sweep, the entire haul of Valerio’s cocaine was in federal custody, and his immediate logistics operation was shattered.

Around the newsroom, whispers and excited chatter hummed as reporters scrambled to cover the story. Ruby took a slow, deep breath, letting the tension in her shoulders ease if only for a second.

"We got them Sal.......we did it" she whispered under her breath

But as the broadcast cut to a press conference, the lead agent confirmed what Ruby already feared: “The primary target, Valerio, remains at large.”

The relief evaporated instantly, replaced by a cold, familiar knot in her stomach. Valerio was still out there, stripped of millions in inventory, backed into a corner, and furious. The bust was a victory, but it wasn't the end. The leak had come from somewhere, and a man like Valerio wouldn't rest until he found the source.

She was the one who had taken the photos. She was the reason his empire took a hit today.

Leaving her desk under the guise of an early lunch, Ruby took a detour through a quiet residential neighborhood on the east side of town.

She parked two blocks away from a modest, two-story house with a small garden out front.

Sal’s house.

Stepping up to the porch, she pulled a heavy, plain brown envelope from inside her coat. Inside was a substantial stack of unmarked cash, everything she could pull without raising flags. It wouldn't bring Sal back, and it wouldn't erase the night she listened to his final breaths over a phone speaker, but as she thought of his pregnant wife sitting alone inside, she prayed it would at least give her one less thing to worry about.

Ruby set the envelope quietly in front of the door, knocked twice, and stepped back into the shadow of the porch before slipping down the walkway without turning around.

By 2:00 PM, she was back at her office desk, typing away at a draft, trying to look like every other reporter working the day shift. She adjusted her posture, keeping her head low, but her eyes kept straying toward the street window. Every slowing vehicle, every pedestrian lingering too long on the sidewalk, set off alarm bells in her mind.

What she didn't notice—two hundred yards away across the street—was a plain grey sedan parked quietly near the curb. Inside, Mark adjusted the lens of his binoculars, keeping his sights fixed firmly on the front entrance of her building, logging every person who entered her field of view.

Ruby thought she was completely alone in the crosshairs. She had no idea that while Valerio’s men might be looking for her, Victor’s wall of defense was already standing between them

The heavy golden glow of the late afternoon sun filtered through the high windows of the penthouse, casting long, warm shadows across the polished marble. For the first time in days, the air felt a little less suffocating.

Ruby washed her hands at the kitchen island, watching the water swirl down the drain. The TV in the background was muted, but the ticker at the bottom of the screen was still running the headline about the dock bust. Valerio was still out there, a shadowy, dangerous variable but the shipment was gone. The poison was off the streets. Sal’s memory had been answered with at least a measure of justice, and his family had a safety net.

It was a small victory, but tonight, she allowed herself to breathe into it.

Her mind drifted back to the past few nights: the cold shoulder she had given Victor, the way she had snapped at him in the hallway, brushing off his genuine concern while her heart pounded with secrets. He had every right to be angry, yet he hadn't pushed her away.

Wanting to fix the tear between them, she had left the office early. The kitchen island was now lined with fresh ingredients, seared salmon fillets resting on a wooden board, roasted garlic asparagus, and a pot of creamy risotto simmering gently on the stovetop.

The soft click of the front door lock broke the quiet.

Victor stepped into the foyer, unbuttoning his suit jacket. He paused, his sharp eyes instantly catching the dim, warm lighting of the dining area and the rich aroma filling the air. He looked surprised to see her car keys on the entry table, let alone her standing by the stove in an apron.

"You're home early," Victor said, his voice measured as he set his briefcase down. He walked into the kitchen, his gaze moving from the spread on the counter up to her face, searching her expression.

"I am," Ruby said, offering a soft, tentative smile. She picked up a dish towel and wiped her hands, stepping out from behind the island. "I thought... I thought I’d cook tonight."

Victor stood across from her, his arms folded loosely over his chest, his presence as commanding as ever, though the usual tension in his jaw had softened slightly. "Are we celebrating something?"

Ruby took a slow breath, stepping closer until only a few inches separated them. She looked up into his dark eyes, no longer turning away.

"I'm apologizing," she said quietly.

Victor didn't interrupt, his gaze steady on hers.

"The other night... I was completely out of line," Ruby continued, her voice genuine, laced with soft regret. "You were worried about me, and I shut you out. I was defensive and unfair to you when all you were doing was checking on me. I’m really sorry, Victor."

Victor stared at her for a long moment, the quiet between them stretching out until he reached up, the back of his fingers gently brushing along her jawline.

"You had me ready to tear the city apart looking for you, Ruby," he murmured, his tone deep and quiet, though the edge of authority had melted into raw warmth.

"I know," she whispered, leaning slightly into his touch. "I promise I'm okay now."

Victor’s eyes lingered on her face, searching for any lingering trace of the panic he’d seen nights before. Satisfied with the calm he found, a faint, rare smile touched the corner of his lips.

"Smells incredible," he said softly, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently. "Let me change out of the suit, and you can tell me all about your 'little victory' over dinner" , but as he pulled her into a quiet embrace, his eyes shifted toward the dark glass of the balcony door reflecting both the city below and the muted vibration of his phone sitting in his pocket, carrying Mark's latest unread report.