Chapter 2 Disturbing dream

Upon standing up like that, everyone looked at her, Ruby felt indignant about it, but wanted to make her dissatisfaction clear.

"Are you kidding me right now?" she asked , looking at everyone at the table .

At this point , it would be strange for her to marry a complete stranger just to fulfill her family's interest , it was impossible.

" we are serious .Why do you think we are joking with you ? " Her grandfather asked .

The Hartwell family had few candidates for that task,only Ruby,who was raised abroad, would be suitable for that role. Furthermore, the matrimonial union between two families was only aimed at benefitting themselves ,not the happiness of their children and grandchildren.

The agreement was that the Prescott family would help Ruby's family get out of the Crisis , and in return they would be exempt from any future freight charges,as well as the division of benefits obtained for three years. since the Prescott family did not oppose the union , they had no way of escape.

" Our family has spent money all these years to raise and support you , it's time for you to repay ."

Ruby heard that arrogant tone from her grandfather and felt even more indignant.How could he say that? had they forgotten that they hadn't sent her anything since she was fifteen? they left her to fend for herself ,but when something urgent came up, They remembered they had a lost daughter.it made her feel even more like a merchandise.

Ruby didn't even have time to eat,she pushed her chair back, making a long,rough noise on the floor, declaring her mood at that moment.

" I am tired from travelling for so many hours,I am going to my room to rest. You all enjoy your meal."

Her grandfather saw that his granddaughter was reluctant about it , even before Ruby could leave the dining room ,he spoke in his deep, cold voice.

" You can not escape this matter, think it over for two days, then I will contact the Prescott family to arrange a meeting between you and the young man from that family."

" Grandpa, if you want to see me , I won't hide,but don't involve me in this matter ", she turned and left the room.

Ruby went upstairs to the second floor of the house, the staff who noticed that discussion wondered if their second daughter was really going against her grandfather, they hadn't seen her for sometime ,how could she have become so courageous?.

Ruby's feet stepped firmly as the stairs,she didn't want to wait until her grandfather had a heart attack . She entered her room and locked the door ,took her phone, and booked a flight back to the foreign country the next day .

Since her family abandoned her before ,it was impossible for them to keep her at that moment, expecting her to abandon her happy life in another country to marry someone she didn't even know, and in a commercial marriage? it was ridiculous!.

" Dream on! " she complained, looking at the door.

it took her while to calm her anger,so she decided to sleep for the rest of the afternoon and night to rest. The long flight and the time difference had taken a toll on her , She hoped to rest enough to escape the next day with her luggage.

The intention was to rest well , but Ruby ended up having a somewhat disturbing dream that night.She dreamt that, in reality she was a character in a book , but the protagonist was her stepmother's daughter. Lacey Hartwell. The name of the novel was something like " How to get rich" in the dream, Lacey entered the book and knew the entire plot, making it easy to gain advantages.

In the dream , her stepsister managed to contact influential people. becoming the wealthiest young lady in the country, gaining countless admirers , while she ended up being a complete opposite.

As she refused the marriage, it gave an opportunity for Lacey to meet the young man from the Prescott family. with this attitude, she caused dissatisfaction for both families and after leaving her house, she began to covet her sister's fortune, learning to flatter all types of people, engaging in unreliable business deals,and ending up in debt, both domestically and internationally.

That nightmare ended with her no longer being able to bear that life and her last days in a rented house. That dream was long and very dark. and when she woke up ,her shirt was soaked in sweat.

The dream had been so vivid. people used to say that the more real the dream, the easier it would dissipate from their memory, but in Ruby's case , she couldn't forget. Ruby was gasping for breath and sat down, trying to calm her heart rate. Everything still felt so real in her mind that It was difficult to distinguish between the dream and reality.

She sat there, contemplating the dilemma of the dream she had lived for twenty-five years . How could she let herself be disturbed by a dream in that way?As she pondered, she heard a notification arrive on her cellphone.

The name that appeared on the cellphone screen was Flint's , he was Ruby's best friend abroad,he was calling through WhatsApp, Ruby rubbed her temples and answered the call, the loud noise of dance music came from the other side.

" Are you at a nightclub? it's very noisy. "

" wait", he replied, speaking loudly.

Ruby took the device off her ear, and it still remained noisy for a few more seconds. Until she realized that the music had gotten quieter ,then she could hear her friend's voice again.

" I sent you several messages,but you didn't respond. Is everything alright, my friend?

He knew that Ruby had returned home and was worried.

" What could go wrong when it comes to my family? I saw my grandfather and he's in good health, I think he can still live for another seventy to eighty years". she replied ironically.

Ruby told her friend what had happened at the dinner table, and she spoke about how outrageous it was for her family to summon her. After those things ,her friend also spoke up.

" That's ridiculous! what's wrong with your family? How could they want to use your happiness as a bargaining chip to get benefits? You know what ,it would have been better to follow your brother the Granger's family than to be at the mercy of that bunch of vultures. "

At that moment , Ruby couldn't disagree with her friend , the truth was that she had a twin sister. When their mother died, they were six years old .The Granger's family and Hartwell family , who were supposed to be in-laws , started having several disputes, including the custody of the twins.

At the end of the dispute, Ruby's sister went with their maternal grandfather , he even changed her name and surname , thereby becoming Rhettley Granger.As she was younger by a few minutes than her sister , she remained with the Hartwell family, therefore becoming the second daughter of the family, but soon after she was sent abroad.

Ruby and Flint known each other for many years, her friend knew all about the problems in her family, in that situation it was no different, he stood by his friend and almost jumped from the cellphone screen when he found out what had happened, but a doubt arose in his heart.

" What's the name of your stepsister again? why won't your father let her marry in your place?"

" Lacey," she replied, but her thoughts went to her nightmare, which resurfaced in her mind.

" The reputation of the third daughter is comfortable for him,but it's you who has the blood of the Hartwell family, how ironic, your sister went to another family a long time ago and now they push you towards the Prescott family , has your grandfather gone senile? All these years valuing a person who doesn't even has his blood, is he also going to leave everything to this Lacey? he spoke with contempt.

The last sentence was something said without thinking by her friend , even if unintentional, Ruby took seriously what he said,at that moment , once again, her dream and reality merged . In the dream, Lacey had indeed inherited the family fortune. Her grandfather had declared her a member of the family and even changed her surname to Hartwell.

Dalton was a very strict person. How could he hand over the family business to someone who didn't have his blood? Once again, her dream came to mind, and she had a disturbing thought .

" Hey , Ruby! why aren't you saying anything ?"

" I'm here , I'm fine."

Ruby gathered her thoughts and looked at her packed suitcases in the corner of the room.

" I booked a flight for two in the afternoon, I'll see you when I get back ."

She was more than decided at that moment, she wasn't a puppet to be led and manipulated by her family, it was evident that there was no place for her in that family, and they even treated her marriage as a business transaction aiming for profit, it was very obvious that she would stay as far as possible.

" Then , I'll wait for you , when you arrive I'll rent a bar that just launched its opening, it's located outside the city ,so we can ward off bad luck."

Ruby smiled and replied , "Flint, go join your girl and don't use me as an excuse."

The smile faded as soon as she ended the call, It was a fact she didn't want her family inheritance as much as she wanted to confirm her suspicious. Ten minutes later,as she descended,she had already heard her grandfather reprimanding.

" Sleeping until this hour? you're really used to being lazy. "

A new day ,a new scolding .The corners of Ruby lips lifted,but before she could refute , someone intervened on her behalf .

" Grandpa, Ruby just returned.she hasn't adjusted to the timezones yet , so don't scold her. After all, she's in her own house."

The person who defended her was Lacey. She served a cup of tea to the old man before meeting Ruby's eyes in a friendly manner.

"Ruby, come and sit down. I went out yesterday to do some things and ended up not being here to welcome you ," she said with a slight smile.

Ruby smiled indifferently at her and approached the dining table. she and Lacey had never had a close relationship before, and she began to observe the other lady. In all that time, she had only formed a superficial impression of her stepsister.

Lacey's temperament was that of her mother .Her daily speech was sweet and kind . They had managed to persuade their father not only to accept her but also to call her his third daughter. The household staff treated Lacey with respect. But in the dream she had in the previous night, her sweet sister was an entirely ruthless person.

Since Ruby couldn't forget that dream, all that was left was to pay attention to the events and see what part was a dream and what part fit into reality.