Chapter 81: Chapter 81

RUBY.

"Did you get the message?" Toby asked, I nodded not having the strength to produce any other reply. I poured coffee into a large mug for myself, added sugar and took a long drink. Toby looked at me with a raised brow.

"I won't be breastfeeding today so I might as well indulge," I said, breathing in the strong fragrance of the brew.

"I didn't say anything," he said, with his hands raised. I drank the much-needed coffee in between bites of yesterday's tacos which I heated for breakfast this morning.

I contemplated how a person could look sleep-deprived and sexy at the same time as I secretly watched Toby eat. I probably looked haggard right now, I needed a minimum of six hours of sleep to look decent in the morning. I got way less than that and this time it wasn't because of Jeremy. I knew why sleep evaded me but I wondered why Toby didn't sleep. I kept having strange dreams of masked people trying to kill me with different weapons. Each time the gun or the arrow was shut or the axe was raised I'd wake up shivering and drenched in sweat before it could make its mark. That had to mean I wasn't going to die, right? The call I received yesterday shook me more than I expected, the mystery wasn't helping. I wanted to meet this strange person and get the whole thing out of the way.

"Ruby," Toby called out, waving a hand in front of my eyes.

"Huh?"

"I've been calling out to you for some time now," he said.

"Oh, sorry, I had my head up in the clouds for a second there," I said, bringing my now empty cup to my lips and then dropping it awkwardly.

"I said we better get ready to head out, the nanny is on her way," he said, looking down at me. He had stood to his feet and I was still sitting at the breakfast bar.

"Okay."

"Don't forget to dress casually for today's outing."

I rubbed my hands over my face in exasperation at my behaviour after I had watched him exit the room. What was I thinking spacing out like that? I wasn't thinking and that's the problem. I had to act like everything was okay because I could not tell a soul about the calls I had been getting. Who wanted me dead? Maybe it was Toby or my stepmother, that made more sense. Lack of sleep and coffee were a bad combo for me, it was making me delusional. Why would anyone want me dead? It could still be a prank call for all I knew.

I pushed everything to the back of my mind. Later I could try to make sense of it all. That's if there was any sense to be made. For now, I showered and thought of what to wear today. I settled on wearing a pair of skinny jeans that complimented my shape, making my thighs look curvy instead of just downright flabby. I paired it with a peplum top that hid the pouch of my belly well and showed a decent amount of cleavage. Not too much to give a slutty look but enough to give off a sexy vibe. I did what I could in the make-up department to hide my sleepless night and pulled my hair in a bun. I was strapping my boots on when a knock sounded at my bedroom door.

"It's open," I called out. Toby opened the door just as I straightened. He stared at me for a few seconds before he let out a whistle. I couldn't look at him the whole time.

"You like what you see," I joked, not believing his little act.

"I love what I see," he said with an intensity I was not expecting.

"You don't look too bad yourself," I said, checking him out. We were almost matching, he was wearing jeans that were almost the same shade of blue as mine with a brown shirt that matched my top.

"Jeremy is in the nursery with the nanny, would you like to say goodbye or should we just sneak out."

"Let's just sneak out," I said. It was better for both our sakes. I didn't want us to both get teary over nothing, especially with the way I was feeling.

We stepped out of the orphanage hand in hand looking at every inch of a power couple with paparazzi at the gate. If only they knew what the behind-the-scenes looked like. It seemed like this outing was getting a lot more media attention than our visit to the children's hospital. We greeted Toby's parents warmly, view of all the cameras before proceeding into the orphanage. The building was bigger than it looked from the outside but also quite homey. We could hear the children's laughter and a baby's cry as they led us past the rooms and the main living area to the hall at the back. They said the children had a little show for us.

I watched with rapt attention as this group of cute kids gave a rendition of Oliver Twist. Their joy rubbed off on me and lifted my spirits. Toby's father was grating on my nerves with his whispering. He wanted to cut the children's performance but his wife shut that idea down so he just kept mumbling and checking the time. He was the most excited when it was time to give his annoying speech on charity, present the children's gifts to them and take lots of pictures.

We didn't take a break for lunch or even a snack, we just zoomed off to the retirement home we were supposed to visit next. When we arrived at the exquisite home located in lush surroundings we were informed that we were in luck to be visiting them on bingo night so we would have the opportunity to join the game.

We were given cards and ushered to different tables. All the senior citizens and volunteers were already seated so they had us seated at various tables where they had space. I was starving so the first thing I did was reach for the snacks.

After I had filled my face with chips I noticed a pair of beady eyes intently gazing at me. They were wise eyes, that seemed to stare right through you like that of an owl. I noticed her eyes before I noticed the woman with wrinkly skin weathered by old age. She did not look away from me even when I matched her gaze. A small smile spread across her face and she gave me a nod. It was as if she knew who I was.