Chapter 195: Returning Back To The City

A warm, genuine smile spread across my face as her words hung in the quiet night air. I reached out, gently cupping her cheek, feeling the steady heat of her skin.

“I’m proud of you, Ruby,” I murmured. “So damn proud.”

She leaned into my hand, her eyes locking onto mine, and in the next second, she bridged the tiny gap between us. The kiss was slow, deep, and full of everything we’d been through over the past few days—the pressure, the quiet escape, and finally, the overwhelming clarity of finding her purpose again.

When I finally pulled back, resting my forehead against hers, she was breathless, her lips parted and her cheeks flushed pink under the streetlamp’s glow.

“Let’s get back to the room,” I said softly, trailing my thumb over her jawline. “We’ll pack up, rest, and then we leave this town behind. Time to get you back to the world so you can keep being that beacon.”

She let out a soft, shuddering breath, her chest rising and falling as she nodded eager agreement, her hands tightly clutching my coat.

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice laced with pure anticipation. “Let’s go home.”

The morning sun streamed warm through the sheer curtains of the room. I stretched, throwing back the covers and sitting up shirtless on the edge of the bed. The spot beside me was cold—Ruby was already up.

I turned and saw her in the middle of the room, still in her oversized sleep shirt, pacing frantically back and forth like a woman possessed. She was clutching her head, humming a rapid, melodic refrain under her breath, her eyes darting everywhere as she searched high and low for a pen and a slip of paper.

“Where is it… come on, there’s gotta be a notepad here somewhere…” she muttered, her humming growing more urgent as if the melody was slipping through her fingers.

I padded silently across the hardwood floor, coming up right behind her. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her flush against my chest and burying my face into the crook of her neck.

“What are you doing up so early, writer?” I murmured softly.

Ruby froze. I could feel her entire body torn between leaning back into the warm, comfortable embrace and keeping her mental grip on the lyrics bouncing around in her head. She rested her hands over mine, wriggling slightly as her face flushed.

“Ethan—wait!” she gasped, still softly humming a low rhythm under her breath. “I’m trying… mm-hmm… trying not to forget this chorus! It came to me the second I opened my eyes! I’m completely torn between enjoying this hug and trying with everything I have to keep this melody from evaporating!”

I chuckled, kissing the side of her neck before finally letting her go. “Alright, let me get you out of here before that brilliant brain of yours resets.”

We quickly threw on our clothes for the road. Ruby slipped into a simple, breezy sundress that made her look completely effortless, while I threw on a plain shirt and jeans.

Just as we pulled our bags to the door, a light knock echoed on the frame. It was Emiliana.

She’d come over early just to say a proper goodbye. Her face lit up when she saw us, though a small flicker of sadness hit her when we broke the news that we were leaving today.

“I’m going to miss you both so much,” Emiliana said, pulling us into a warm hug. “You completely changed my life.”

“You changed it yourself,” I smiled, stepping back. Before she could turn to go, I pulled out my business card—the direct line to my personal office—and slipped it into her hand. “Take this. When you’re ready to sign with a real record label, call me first. No predatory contracts, no Aliyahs. We’ll make sure you get the real deal.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she clutched the card to her chest, nodding repeatedly.

As we walked down Main Street toward our ride out, Mr. Gable was standing outside his diner, tipping his worn trucker hat with a proud, approving nod. The news of our departure had clearly spread through the small town; shopkeepers and locals stepped out onto their porches, waving and shouting well wishes as we passed.

Ruby smiled, holding my hand tightly as we left the quiet town behind—ready to take on the world together again.

Ruby squinted at me as we reached the edge of town, shielding her eyes from the bright morning sun. “Okay, first thing’s first… are we really going to take the train back? Because this time, people are actually going to be aboard, and if I get recognized on a public commuter car, we’re going to have a full-blown media circus on our hands.”

I chuckled, pulling my phone out. “Nope. We’re taking our convoy.”

Ruby blinked, looking around the quiet rural road in confusion. “How? You told Sarah to turn them right back around, remember?”

“Come on,” I smirked. “You know Sarah. There’s no way she would have found us, dropped off $90,000 worth of studio gear, and just left. She’s been securing us from afar the entire time.”

Just as the words left my mouth, two sleek, blacked-out SUVs glided quietly around the bend and pulled up right to the curb. The tinted window rolled down, and Sarah gave a crisp, professional nod.

Ruby let out a soft laugh, resting her head against my shoulder as we walked toward the open door. “God, she really is good.”

She paused at the door, turning to look back at the quiet hills, the farmland, and the peaceful little town fading in the distance. Her expression softened with a deep, dreamy tenderness.

“You know…” Ruby murmured softly, squeezing my hand tightly, “if we ever get tired of the fast life… if we ever just want a quiet life… I honestly wouldn’t mind coming back to the countryside. Setting down roots… raising a family with you.”

The sincerity in her voice hit me like a truck. I paused in my tracks, staring at her, completely stunned by the sudden weight of her words.

Then, a sudden realization clicked in my head, and I raised an eyebrow with a playful grin. “Wait… aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ruby blinked. “What?”

“The song!” I reminded her, tapping her forehead lightly. “The chorus you were practically losing your mind trying not to forget ten minutes ago!”

“Oh my god—!” Ruby gasped, her eyes snapping wide open as she slapped a hand over her mouth. “The song! The lyrics!”

She scrambled straight into the backseat of the SUV, pulling out her phone’s voice notes app as fast as her fingers could fly, humming frantically into the mic to lock down the melody before it vanished into thin air. I shook my head, laughing as I climbed in beside her and pulled the door shut, heading straight back to the city.