Chapter 70: Happy family
In fact, when Christian Lockwood made me that offer, I was genuinely stunned and completely confused. His words sounded so calm and confident that at first I didn’t even understand what he had said. It was only after a few seconds that I realized what he meant — and everything inside me seemed to freeze.
Who would have thought that I would be asked out on a date? Especially in such an unexpected way and with such serious undertones.
Since I was reborn into this world, I have already gotten used to many strange and unexpected things. I have faced danger, intrigue, and difficult decisions — and each time I thought that nothing could surprise me anymore. I was ready for any scenario and any twist of fate. But, as it turned out, life still knew how to find ways to catch me off guard.
No, damn it, a date...?! It seemed to me like something from another reality.
The word itself sounded strange, unfamiliar, as if it had been torn from someone else’s life that had nothing to do with me. I even had to repeat it several times in my mind to make sure I had heard it correctly. A date. With me. With Christian Lockwood.
I knew that Grace Weinstein had indeed had a wealth of experience in such matters in the past. Thanks to her beauty and easygoing nature, she was popular with men, easily charming them and skillfully playing with their feelings. For her, courtship, confessions, and even romances were something familiar and natural.
But I am me. And unlike the former Grace, I was almost a novice in these matters. My experience in relationships was modest, to say the least.
In my past life, I had never been popular with the opposite sex, nor had I been the object of admiration or passion. I always felt insecure when it came to romance.
Yes, I hadn’t been a college student for a long time, but my personal life left much to be desired. Perhaps that’s why I got hooked on otome games: in them, I could at least experience the emotions that were inaccessible to me in real life.
I watched virtual characters, made choices, and tried out different relationship scenarios. But it was all just a game.
And now, when I was already living my second life in this world, I was suddenly asked out on a date. I didn’t know what exactly prompted Christian Lockwood to make this decision.
Maybe, like many other men, he was attracted to my appearance? But, on the other hand, it seemed to me that Christian was not a superficial person. He always seemed to me to be able to see deeper than just the outer shell.
So I sincerely did not understand the reason for his actions. Perhaps he was really impressed by my character...? I could have speculated about this endlessly, but in the end, I decided not to bother myself with unnecessary thoughts.
After all, the reasons were not as important as the fact itself: the invitation had already been made, and I had to decide what to do about it.
Now I was faced with a rather difficult choice. There were only two days left until the weekend — that was how much time I had to make a decision. It was not an easy task.
If it were entirely up to me, I would most likely decline. I was so busy that I didn’t want to spend time building a relationship. It seemed to me that I simply didn’t have the energy or desire for it.
My life now revolved around responsibilities and plans, which left almost no room for such things. Romance... love... it all seemed like an unnecessary distraction.
However, there was one important reason that made me hesitate and think twice.
It was Ruby.
Christian’s words from that day still haunted me. It was at that moment that I first thought that perhaps I was missing something very important in Ruby’s upbringing. Despite all my efforts and hard work in raising my daughter alone, it might not be enough.
As Christian said, Ruby didn’t have an example of a complete family in front of her — the kind of model she needed to build healthy and strong relationships in her adult life in the future.
Sooner or later, she would start her own family, and without such an example, it might be difficult for her to understand how to do it right.
This thought bothered me more and more. I was worried that my niece might have problems in her personal life later on, and it made me think seriously about it.
That evening, after Christian and Ruby’s classes were over, we were in her room. While the girl was diligently doing her homework at her desk, I was lost in my thoughts, which had been with me since the morning.
I looked at Ruby and thought about how much I wanted her to be happy and stable, about how important it was to give her the right guidance in life.
I understood that the decision I was about to make could change not only my life but also Ruby’s. I needed to weigh all the pros and cons, to understand whether I was ready to bring such changes into our lives.
Perhaps Ruby noticed my excessive thoughtfulness because she suddenly asked with concern:
"Auntie, are you okay?"
Ruby put down her pencil and looked at me intently. Her large amethyst eyes sparkled in the lamplight, and I noticed the concern reflected in them.
She had always been a very sensitive girl, picking up on even the slightest changes in my mood, and it was almost impossible to hide anything from her.
"Oh, yes," I replied, trying not to betray my agitation.
But deep down, I knew I couldn’t hide my thoughts forever.
For a moment, I hesitated. Was it worth talking about it now? But at the same time, I knew there was no point in putting it off. Sooner or later, this conversation would be inevitable anyway. So it was better to say everything now.
"Ruby," I began gently, "I wanted to talk to you about something important."
"Yes, Auntie?" the girl asked with interest.
"Tell me," I continued, pausing slightly, "you’re happy now, aren’t you?"
"Of course!" Ruby replied enthusiastically, her face lighting up with a smile. "I’m very happy!"
I smiled, but then thought for a moment and said quietly:"Don’t you feel like something is missing?"
"Huh?" Ruby asked in surprise. "What exactly could be missing?"
I felt a little embarrassed because the topic was quite delicate and required tact.
"Maybe," I said cautiously, "you would like our family to be a little bigger?"
"Auntie, what exactly do you mean?" Ruby asked, frowning slightly, as if trying to understand where I was going with this.
I took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts, and decided to ask the most important question:
"Well... would you mind if I got married someday? If we had a complete family?"
"What?"
For a moment, I thought I saw Ruby’s pupils flicker.
I decided not to put it off and tell her what had happened recently.
"Uncle Christian recently asked me out on a date," I explained, embarrassed. "You like him too, don’t you? So I wanted to know... would you mind if I agreed to meet him and maybe try to build a relationship with him?"
The room fell silent, as if time had slowed down. Ruby thought for a moment, her gaze becoming serious and slightly distant. Finally, she said in a rather cool tone:
"Uncle Christian?"
"Yes," I replied with a slight smile. "Don’t you think he’s a good person? And if we suddenly become one family, maybe it will be even better than it is now."
"Better?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Then you’ll have two people you can rely on. We’ll take care of each other, support each other, and love each other."
The girl was silent for a long time, and I began to worry that she might be against such a change. But suddenly Ruby opened her mouth and said:
"If Auntie thinks it will be better... then so be it."
Her words were spoken quietly. I noticed a strange expression on her face — her smile was a little forced, and her eyes seemed cold. But I didn’t pay much attention to it because deep down I felt relieved — Ruby wasn’t against it.
I took a deep breath, feeling the tension gradually ease.
"Thank you, Ruby," I said sincerely. "I’m so glad you understand me."
"....."
"Don’t worry," I continued, "if we do get married, we’ll both take care of you. We’ll be a happy family!"
Of course, I knew that there would still be many trials and perhaps difficulties ahead of us. Nevertheless, I was ready to go down this path for the sake of our family — for the sake of the future we could build together. Right now, I really wanted to believe in that.
Meanwhile, a subtle coldness flashed in the eyes of the main villain, which was almost imperceptible on the surface. The fake, forced smile on Rubiella’s face seemed like a mask hiding her true emotions.