A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth could not concentrate on her work. She zoned out of the conversations. She was only present physically but her mind was captured by only the blue-eyed monster.

She kept avoiding him even though she was certain that she was not emotionally invested in him, and was focused on her goal of revenge.

Yet something peculiar made her heart think the other way.

On one such afternoon, when she was running some errands for Elsie, she again saw Florence in 'the great manor'.

What was she doing there now?

This time Ruth could not hear what she was saying to Edwin, but Ruth's face hardened in jealousy, seeing them laughing at something together.

Ruth's eyes widened when Florence dared to touch Edwin's arm. AND he did not mind.

Ruth was beyond angry now. What she felt at that moment was something she had never experienced before. It pricked the very core of her heart and rubbed salt on her ego.

This feeling was not only foreign, but it also made Ruth realise how susceptible the human heart was to this feeling of someone snatching away a thing we consider as only ours.

Ruth realised what this feeling called, when Edwin caught her eyes, before tucking Florence's hair behind her ear. He moved his lips in such a way that it was easy for Ruth to reckon what he said.

"Beautiful!"

Edwin called Florence beautiful!

Now Ruth knew what she felt at that moment. It is called as Jealousy!

A feeling that she had never ever experienced before. But this man... he managed to give birth to that feeling in her. And then he abandoned her alone to handle its rage.

Edwin was in no different condition. He knew it was very ludicrous of him to think it was his 'tit for tat' moment.

But he was angry. He also felt the same feelings as Ruth. But not for the first time.

This morning when he was returning from his warfare practice, he saw Ruth and Henry together. Maybe he had something on his shirt, and Ruth was cleaning it with her hand. She had this bright smile on her face that Edwin had never received, only for himself.

He felt like beating the daylights out of Henry. But he knew that Henry would never try to cross his line because he respected his future Luna just like his mother or sister.

But, jealousy does not walk hands in hands with rationality. It makes a person blind in a rage. And then that person tries to find a way to settle the score with the other person.

And that was exactly what Edwin was doing here.

Though his smile was for Florence, his eyes were trained on Ruth. They looked cold and guarded. It reminded her of the time when she first saw Fannie.

She could not bore that torture anymore and accepted the defeat by turning away her face from them.

"And you know that-" Florence paused midsentence when she noticed that Edwin was not paying attention to what she was saying.

His eyes were staring behind her, his focus was on something behind her. She twisted her neck to see Ruth standing there like a wounded and defeated soldier.

The stars were indeed in her favour, it seemed!

"Master," She put her hand on Edwin's chest, demanding his attention,

"Hmm?" Edwin asked distractedly.,

"Here,"

"What is this?" Edwin asked, looking at the tiffin in her hand.

Florence smiled. "These are your favourite desserts. I made them only for you." She said, holding the tiffin in front of him.

'Do not accept it! DO not accept it!' Ruth chanted mentally at some distance away from them,

"Why?" Edwin asked, sounding a little rude.

"You helped me and I wanted to thank you in a proper way. I could not come up with a better idea than this. I know this is not much but I would like if you accept my small gesture of gratitude. It will give me immense happiness!"

Edwin was apprehensive of accepting anything from Florence. He still had to check on her story of a man cheating on her with her money before he completely trust her.

But he knew that Ruth was watching them. And to make her feel the same as he did in the morning, he accepted that tiffin with a stretched smile.

Florence's face lit up in joy. She held his hands and said, "Thank you! Thank you so much Master!"

Edwin only nodded, and when he looked ahead, Ruth was not there anymore.

Ruth ran out of there, angry at him but furious at herself. What the hell was wrong with her?

She should be concerned only about her revenge. Edwin was only a ladder she needed to climb to get what she deserved. Only he could take her to the top where she could be equal with Theodora and could have a fair fight with her.

Ruth had decided in the beginning, to not let her heart fool her. She knew he was a dangerous man with treacherous charm. She was already aware of how he affected her mind and body.

But she had pledged to never surrender to his tricks. But she found her falling on her knees, and he was not even trying hard.

Was her resolve that weak, or he was indeed as wicked as people considered him?

"Hello, Ruth! I hope you are not in hurry!"

Florence was the last thing Ruth wanted to deal with.

"You know ignoring me is a bad choice for you."

"What more do you want Florence? Yes! I saw you both there. What else do you want?" Ruth asked in frustration.

"Do you really want to know what I want Ruth?" The look on her face changed dramatically.

"I want him all! I want everything he has and will have! I want this 'great manor' at my feet!"

Ruth could not believe that even after everything that had happened, Florence was still so delusional. A part of her pitied with the woman. The old Ruth would have tried to talk some sense into her.

But this new Ruth was sure that it was useless. There was no point in speaking sense with this woman.

"That is not going to happen Florence! And you know it!" Ruth glared at her.

"And who will stop me? You?"

Florence burst into a peal of mocking laughter like an evil person.

"Do you know why I am on your tail Ruth? Because I knew from the beginning that you will be a great obstacle in my path! I told you this before Ruth that one day you will also fall in this Maze of Greed! And see now we both are face to face with each other."

Florence said, smirking her way.

How could Ruth forget those words of 'wisdom' coming from Florence? That was the first time Ruth saw the rift between the two of them. Ruth once considered her a friend but in reality, they were worlds apart from each other to be anything but friends.

"You are still stuck in that tiny pond of a world of yours Florence. You fail to realise that there is a whole world out there, beyond your imagination and far different from your expectations.

Fate and Time. These are the two managers of every soul's life. The plans fate has for you are beyond your knowledge. You cannot pretend it, nor you can anticipate anything. I pity for not having any understanding of that."

And Ruth meant every single word she said. For Florence, her greed was the only ultimate truth.

However, for Ruth, it was many things but greed. For her, it was her revenge, justice for those who have suffered in the past, discovering herself in a new light, searching the unknown and protecting her loved ones.

Ruth realised that she had landed into a maze of greed, but she always had to be aware of her motives. Or else, she would be lost in that maze, just like Florence, Theodora, Fannie and Eloise.

No! She was better than that, better than them.

Florence had no clue what she was talking about. But Ruth's words definitely managed to shake the foundations of her belief for a second.

Recovering from that shock, Florence glared at Ruth.

"DO not try to fool me with your nonsense Ruth. I am not an idiot to fall into that trap. Stop banging the shallow drums of your fake morals and values. Stop pretending Ruth.

This is my last warning for you. You have two days. If you do not show your real face to the world, I will reveal everything. Then we will see if you can make your friends stay by your side with this bullshit of wisdom.

We will see if people would accept a thief's illegitimate daughter. How will they feel after knowing a theif, a murderer lured the daughter of some rich noble for the sake of her fortune and left her alone when she got pregnant with you?

Do you think they will like this story?"

Ruth stood astonished at her place. How much does Florence know? Did she know that Theodora was Ruth's mother?

"TWO days Ruth! Only two days!"