Ruby was thinking about the casting couch offer when the door to her bedroom creaked open. Her heart jumped to her throat.

Tom stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

What is he doing here?

She could bear his company when they were in public, but staying with him alone in a room was suffocating for her now.

This was not the same man she fell for in her past life.

She could feel his eyes on her as she slowly placed her phone on the nightstand and got up to face him.

"What’re you doing?" He tried to keep it nonchalant.

Ruby forced a smile that wavered at the corners, "Nothing."

Thank God he didn’t move closer, but stood there watching her.

"Nothing?" He repeated as if he didn’t believe her, "You were checking your phone..."

Ruby didn’t know what to make of it. What was he expecting? Was he here for sex?

"I was just about to go to bed," She said with a long, fake yawn, trying not to offend him.

He hummed then casually walked to the centre of the room, glancing around.

"Did you eat?"

Ruby blinked, thinking she was dreaming, "What?"

"Food," He picked Ruby’s pink phone cover from the bed, examining it.

What if someone told him about my encounter with that director? What would he do to me?

"I ... yes. I ate," She tucked her hair strand behind her ear with a nervous chuckle.

"What did you eat?"

Ruby’s brows furrowed at the question. Tom was acting just like that casting couch shitty director.

She figured it was better to be direct, "Why are you asking this, Tom?"

Do you want to lock me again in your precious bathroom? She asked him in her head.

"Any luck with movie roles?" He tossed the question casually, "You’ve been going out a lot lately, so I thought..."

Ruby wanted to smack something on his face. Why was he even asking when he wasn’t interested in helping her?

"Is this an interview?" She tried to mask the disgust in her voice, "Because I’m too tired for it."

She yawned loudly.

He finally looked at her again with a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "No. It’s not an interview, Ruby. You can go to sleep," He turned away to walk out, but then suddenly stopped and tilted his head to look at her, "By any chance... do you speak Spanish?"

The question caught her off guard. Tom was acting weird tonight.

"Umm... no. I mean a very few words but... no."

He nodded, still not looking at her, "Can you accompany me tomorrow to a meeting? This Spanish group is here, and I badly want this contract. Knowing the Spanish language will be a plus."

Ruby thought hard. She remembered this deal. Tom got it in her past life because of Sienna.

"I ... I can try though," She let out a short breath and pressed her lips, "What will I get in return?"

Ruby didn’t look up to see the shock on his face. If the man couldn’t offer her anything, then her services were not for free.

"I ... I’ll... I’ll give you a grand dinner..."

"Fifty percent!" She cut him.

"Excuse me?" He spun around, not believing that his sweet and sexy wife had the audacity to ask a certain percentage.

"I want fifty percent, or I’m out," He watched her face carefully and then chuckled sarcastically.

"Seriously? Fifty percent for speaking a few Spanish words? Stop acting stupid and use your brain for once."

"I can work on my Spanish if you want," She offered. When he opened his mouth to argue, she raised her hand to make him stop, "I won’t sleep all night and learn more. I can at least try. You don’t have any other choice. No one in your office speaks Spanish."

He was taken aback, "How do you know?"

"The question isn’t how I know. It’s about what you want. If you have a better choice, then go ahead. I wouldn’t sacrifice my beauty sleep for the scraps you are throwing at me."

With a shrug, she turned around, ignoring him.

Good God! Her heart was beating too fast. What would she do if he said no?

She was ready to do the hard work and learn some Spanish words overnight. She could call Sia, who was an expert.

For a few moments, silence stretched between them. Ruby sat down on the edge of the bed and took out the elastic band to free her hair. She gave a hard shake to her head and fixed the pillow.

"Thirty percent!" At last, his voice reached her ears.

She was about to protest, but he had already raised his index finger as a sign of warning, "Take it or leave it."

Ruby swallowed, knowing full well that this was her only chance, "Done!"

He showed her a thumbs-up sign and left the room. Ruby took a sigh of relief.

"This is not fair," She told herself, chewing her lower lip, "Why do I have to struggle for everything in every life? Why can’t I get it without trying?"

There was no one in the room who could answer her questions.

Her eyes welled with tears, but then she didn’t have enough time to be sad. To get thirty percent, she had to sacrifice her sleep.

"Let’s get a cup of coffee and start working!" She told herself with a sigh and grabbed her silk gown from the chair.

***

"Hey, Sia?" Ruby spoke on the phone, "Already sleeping?"

She placed her coffee cup on the small desk and sat in the chair. Sia’s sleepy voice came through the phone.

"Ruby?"

"I’m sorry, sister. I need help."

"Help?"

"Yeah. Can you teach me Spanish?"

Sia seemed to be wide awake now, "What? Are you out of your mind, Ruby? Didn’t you bother to check the time?"

But this was Ruby – shame never touched her.

"Sia... please. My life depends on it. Tom needs a Spanish translator for tomorrow’s meeting, and I need money. Please, Sia," She pleaded.

Sia was quiet for a moment, and then there was a heavy sigh on the line, "Okay."

Ruby smiled to herself, "Thanks, Sia. You’re an angel." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

The irony was, Ruby didn’t know that Sia was not an angel.