RUBI
I leaned my head against the cool edge of the porcelain tub, submerged in warm, rose scented water that lapped at my shoulders. The silence of the bathroom was comforting, broken only by the soft splash of my own movements. My eyes fluttered closed, and I allowed myself a moment to relish the quiet, and to replay the whirlwind that had been the past few days.
Hector.
He’d been distant lately. Not cold. Not unkind. Just… not quite there.
Every morning, without fail, a bouquet of my favorite peonies appeared in a crystal vase on the kitchen island. No note. No message. Just flowers. Beautiful, fragrant, and silent, much like the man who sent them.
When I tried to thank him, he only nodded, offered a fleeting smile, and walked away.
I’d seen him briefly the other day when he came t
