What happened

The house was quiet. It was Saturday, and the house was absolutely and completely silent.
It had been a busy week with the birthdays, and everyone had been looking forward to the weekend more than anything.
Illusion had not been a teenager for three days and already had a date with this girl, Azalea. Neither me nor Whisper had ever met her, but he said he had met her in school when they were children, and had been friends since then. He also said that this wasn't really a date, but we could see him blush every time he denied it.
The triplets had gone to the park together, and Whisper had gone to the art gallery. She had asked me to come with her, but there was so much to do around our house and with everyone gone I finally had the chance to get things done.
Well, really, there were only a few small things. Especially our stove was broken and needed fixing, but I was not entirely sure what I was doing, so the silence was really appreciated.

Needless to say, I was more than a little surprised when our door bell rang.

I wasn't expecting anyone, and as far as I knew no one else in the family had made any plans, so I really wasn't sure who to expect.
Sighing, I put the hammer to the side and opened the door.

"R-Ruby?" I definitely had not been expecting to see her at our door! It had been years since I had last heard anything from her. The day I went to tell her it was over, the day she tried to seduce me, had been the last time I had spoken to her. She had kept her word and never phoned me again.

So what was she doing in our front garden now? The years had not been kind to her. There was only little red left in her otherwise white hair, and her face was showing her age clearly.

"Hello, Kobi." There was a strange look in her eyes, one I could not quite make sense off, and I didn't like that.

"What are you doing here? No one is home besides me, maybe you should come back anoth-" I must admit, I was worried someone would come home. Of course there was no reason to be worried, not really. But if the kids saw her and told mummy that daddy had been talking to some old, red-skinned woman with red eyes and red strands in her hair, Whisper would think I had been cheating on her.
And if Whisper came home now, finding me and Ruby in our front garden, she might assume that I invited her, or that she was the reason I had decided to stay home.

"I know. I came to talk."

"I wish you had let me know you were coming, Ruby." It was true. If she had let me know, I could have prepared. I could have told Whisper, who could have been home with me, and there would not have been the chance for nasty surprises.

"I'm sorry, but this was kind of a spontaneous decision." I didn't believe her for one second, but what could I do? Force her off our grounds?

"So what is it you want? I thought I had made myself clear the last time."

"You did. As I said, I came because I want to talk. Can I come in?" She gave me a smile, which seemed pale and tired. She looked much more fragile since the last time I had seen her, what could have happened to her that would make her age this quickly? It's true that she was slightly older than me, but the age gap was not that significant!

I sighed. If I was quick about it, she could say what she had come to say, I could make myself clear again, and she could be on her way before anyone knew she had ever been here.

"Fine. Come in."

Ruby followed me into our living room, where I turned around to face her.

"So why are you here? If you just wanted to talk you could have phoned me." At first I thought her face fell, but then her old flirtatious smile spread on her lips.

"You're right. I didn't just come to talk. I wanted to see you, Kobi." I wasn't entirely sure what to say about that.

"Well, you've seen me! Was there anything else?" Her being in my living room made me nervous. This could be very awkward if someome came home now.

"Well, I-" She stepped forwards a little, and suddenly she was much too close to me. I had to get her out of my house before she got any more ideas.

"I think it's time for you to le-" Before I could finish my sentence she threw herself at me.

Everything happened so quick, I can't explain what happened first. One moment I was telling her to leave, the next she was flying into my arms pressing her lips to mine. I was so shocked by her reaction that it took me a second to fully comprehend what was happening.

Unfortunately, my brain took one second too long to catch up, because just as I was pushing her off my wife stepped into the living room, seeing what must have looked like me cheating on her and only pushing Ruby away because she saw us.

Her smile faded faster than I could have ever imagined possible.

"Whisper, I- Oh Berry, let me explain wh-" But it was too late. I could see her heart breaking right in front of me.

Whisper though I had cheated on her.

And it was my fault for being a stupid idiot.

Meeting Ruby

Very sure that I was doing the wrong thing I walked up to her porch. Ruby had promised me she would leave me and Whisper alone, and I hoped she would be true to her word once this meeting was over.

I knew how much it was hurting Whisper that I had agreed to this meeting. I had offered her a few times to come with me, hoping it would ease her mind at least a little, but she had declined every time.

So now I was actually here. My past, before Whisper came into my life. 

A few days ago, when she overheard the end of that phone call, Whisper had asked me if I sill had feeling for Ruby. I did not answer. How could I possibly tell her that, yes, I did still have feelings for Ruby? She had been my first love, and even though I was very happy with Whisper and was sure that she was "the one", it did not mean that my feelings for Ruby just went away.

I knocked on the door, and found it already open. From the inside I heard Ruby talk to Sienna, who was her daughter. Not my daughter, I never had any children with Ruby. She had expressed her wish to have a child with me a few times, but we had agreed to wait until after the wedding. By then I already knew Whisper, and things became confusing very quickly.

I went inside, and found both of them in their living room. It looked unchanged to me. The old furniture she had meant to replace was still where I had left it, only a small part of the house had been done.

"Oh, I see she managed to lure you back! I didn't think you'd come, considering how desperate you were to leave her!" Sienna Cerise hated me, and had done ever since Ruby had introduced us. I don't think she ever knew her real father, but she made it very clear to me whenever she got the chance that I wasn't what she had imagined.

"Leave us, Sienna. This is personal." Being the good girl that she was (for her mother, anyway) she did as she was told, and went to her room. Not without giving me a hateful glare first, though, but ignored me otherwise. So nothing's changed, then.

"It is so good to see you, Kobi. How are you?" This was going to be a very awkward meeting, and I really hoped it would be over quickly.

"I am fine. I don't have much time though, Whisper needs me at home with Illusion." Maybe it was an unfair comment, but I was hoping it would make it very clear that I was loyal to Whisper. For a short moment, I thought it worked. Ruby looked hurt, almost took a step back, but then that smile crossed her face. That smile with which she had caught my attention when we first met.

That smile that she knew would get her anything. But not today. I had promised Whisper she did not need to worry, and I was not going to break that promise.

"You look great, Kobi. I mean it, you're looking really good."

"Thank you, Ruby, you, erm... You're looking good, too." I wasn't doing very well, was I? This was turning awkward more quickly than I had imagined.

"I really missed you. It's so good to see you again!"

"You wanted to talk?" By that point I just wanted to leave. She really did still look beautiful, and for the first time it made me feel uncomfortable.

"I did... I... I don't know what to say. I thought this would be easy once you were actually here, but it isn't."

"What is it, Ruby?" I recognized this tone in her voice. Ruby was a very flirty person, and charismatic. And it always worked in her favour. I could feel my heart beating faster. Not because I wanted her, but because I was nervous. Or was it some vicious mixture? I honestly could not tell.

"Are you alright? You're looking a little pale..." I didn't think I was, but now that she said it I probably was. She had used that same phrase on me before, on our first date. It was one of her many excuses to get closer to me, and I was getting myself ready to fight back. If I had to.

"I'm fine. Why am I here, Ruby? If I'm just here so you can flirt with me, I'm going."

"You want the truth, huh?"

"Yes. I do." I knew I might regret it later, but I really wanted this to be over.

"I love you, Kobi." My heart must have stopped there, because when it started beating again it was too fast.

"Ruby, I-" I wanted to explain to her that we could not be together anymore, and explain my feelings for Whisper, my wife, to her, but she interrupted me.

"Are you telling me that you don't have any feelings for me anymore?"

I sighed. This was not going to be easy, but she deserved the truth. "I didn't say that, I-" Again, she interrupted me.

"Oh, Kobi... I knew deep down you still loved me. I knew you still wanted me." When she stepped closer to me, and her hands came a little too close to mine, I had enough. Her voice had become more seductive, and I had to get out. She was almost purring her last sentence, and I felt myself torn between wanting to kiss her and wanting to hit her.

"Stop it, Ruby! I don't know what you imagined would happen tonight, but it's not happening! I'm married now, and I love Whisper. You can try to seduce me as much as you like, it won't work." I was not going to let her know how good she still was at this. She knew I still had feelings for her, and she definitely knew how to make her charms work for her.

She backed away from me, and looked so hurt it almost hurt me, too. "I thought you still loved me... You told me I looked beautiful. I... I thought you still wanted me."

"Don't you dare try and break up my marriage, Ruby. We're happy together, and we're expecting our second child. Even if I was still madly in love with you, I would not risk what I have with Whisper because of it!" I was starting to get angry. Had she really invited me over so she could sleep with me? Coming here had been a mistake, one I would never make again.

"I thought... I thought..."

"You thought wrong. Don't try to contact me again, Ruby. It's over between us. Accept it."

I was angry at her for trying to seduce me and angry at myself, because it almost worked. Quickly I stormed outside, and left Ruby behind me for the second time.

"Goodbye, Kobi."