Black… or nothingness. One could call it a void or an abyss; the term wouldn't change its meaning. What is nothingness, and why it came to be? No one knew. But everyone had seen nothingness.
When one closes their eyes, they see nothingness. When they sleep, they dream of nothingness. One could say sleeping is no different than dying; just sleeping is a temporary visit to nothingness, while dying is permanent.
Rudy found himself in a place like that. He couldn't remember how he got there, but he was there. He couldn't see his body, nor could he feel it. He couldn't speak nor hear anything. Only his consciousness was present there.
"..."
"...y"
"...d.."
"Ru…"
"Rudy…"
"Rudy."
"Rudy!"
Rudy opened his eyes in shock and sat up straight on the bed. He took a few breaths and held his head in his hands.
"It's been so long since I had a headache. What's… was I dreaming of something?"
Rudy looked to his left and saw naked Maria sleeping beside him with a happy smile and satisfied look on her face.
"Right."
He closed his eyes and stretched his hands in the air before turning to his right to get his phone and see the time. Only to see Ruby standing in front of him.
"..."
Rudy raised his brow and stared at Ruby for a while before asking, "Is this a dream?"
"..."
"I guess not," Rudy sighed. He ignored Ruby and still got up from the bed, revealing his naked body and exposing his morning wood to her.
He grabbed his phone and groaned, "It's past 10 AM in the morning! My school… Alice… Janet…"
Rudy checked the messages and missed calls and nodded, "Yeah, she is going to kill me."
"Would you mind covering your naked body?!" Ruby finally broke her silence.
"Why are you acting like you have never seen one before?"
"Because I haven't!"
"Well, I knew that, but knowing your personality, I expected you to answer with 'Damn, right! I have seen many cocks!' or something. Isn't that how sisters-in-law are supposed to react?" Rudy asked curiously.
Ruby took out her gun and said, "Cover your junk, or I will shoot your balls."
"Wow. Now that's what a mafia would say."
"I am not joking!"
Rudy pointed his finger between Ruby's legs and said, "Give me that!"
Ruby's face twitched in anger as she moved her finger to the trigger and said, "First, you had the gall to defile… Maria. And now you have the guts to imply to do the same to me?! I will shoot them so you—"
"Hey, hey! Relax, I am not implying anything. Stop assuming things." Rudy once again pointed his finger between Ruby's legs and said, "You are standing on my pants. Pass me that."
Ruby kicked Rudy's pants to Rudy and said, "Then you should have said that first."
"Can you stop pointing that gun at me?" Rudy asked while wearing pants. "And why are you here?"
"I was here to check up on Maria since it was already past ten, and she hadn't woken up," Ruby replied honestly.
"Where is Lilim? She should have stopped you or at least informed you."
"She is also sleeping."
"Yeah, figures. If she was up watching television all night. Let her rest, will you? I know that 98% of the maids and butlers— who were also the assassins and hitmen— have left the syndicate, but Lilim is Maria's bodyguard, so don't make her a maid," he asserted in a solemn voice.
"..."
"Anyway, you could have said something if you were here, you know. Why were you standing in front of the bed like that?"
"I was baffled to see you naked on the bed with Maria. I know you two were engaged, but you took advantage of her when no one was in the estate!"
"You love assuming things, don't you?" Rudy chuckled softly and said, "Maria and I got married last night!"
"What?!" Ruby exclaimed in astonishment and asked, "What do you mean?! That's not even possible! I didn't know about it!"
"No one does. Lilim was the priest. And to be honest, I didn't want to do it. I wanted the marriage to be grand and be celebrated with family, but Maria insisted, saying that it's a special day for her and she wanted to make it more special."
"And I can't say no to the girl I love," Rudy added with a shrug. "But don't worry, I do plan to have a proper wedding soon enough."
"I will confirm all that with Maria."
"Sure, sure. And pass me my shirt, will you?"
"I am not your maid!"
"Alright then…" Rudy walked toward Ruby and kept walking towards her while Ruby stepped back to keep her distance from Rudy, but she hit the wall.
"...!"
Ruby still had her gun pointed at Rudy, but she didn't have the courage to shoot, and it slipped from her hand.
She closed her eyes and said, "Be gentle!"
"Hmm?"
When she opened her eyes, she saw Rudy picking up his shirt from the floor.
"..."
Rudy looked at the shirt and said, "Maria was so excited last night that she tossed my clothes here and there."
"..."
"Were you saying something?" Rudy asked with a smirk on the corner of his lips.
"I d-didn't!"
Of course, Rudy had heard it clearly, but he wanted to pretend he didn't hear it so Ruby wouldn't feel awkward.
Rudy chuckled softly and patted Ruby's head gently, saying, "You don't have to act tough in front of me."
Ruby averted her gaze and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"I know it's been hard on you. All the responsibilities and pressure at such a young age. You don't have to force yourself. That's not going to change anything. Maria is a spoiled brat, so you had to be the opposite of her.
You act mature even though you want to be spoiled. So you don't have to do all that in front of me. You can relax. You can think of me as your friend, and you can come to me at any time if you ever want my help or support on anything."
"Why… would you do that for me?"
Rudy smiled gently at Ruby and said, "Because you are my sister-in-law."
