Page 189 of Legacy
But maybe that was all it was. A moment.
Just a moment.
And I’m here, dropping rubies like they mean forever.
I push my chair back halfway, ready to go after her—
But then she comes back.
There’s something in her hands.
A small wooden box.
She sits down again, carefully, sets it on the table between us, and opens the lid.
Rubies.
Seven of them. Maybe eight. Different cuts. Different settings. All red. All gleaming, catching the light like drops of blood.
She lifts one between her fingers and places it on the table. Then another. One by one, lining them up like proof. Like truth.
“These are Burmese,” she says softly, her eyes on the stones. “I’ve been collecting them since I was seventeen.”
“This one,” she nods at the smallest, “came from my first smuggling job. I was a courier. Scared out of my mind.”
She glances at me then, her voice steadier than I expect.
“I’ve been chasing one thing ever since. Not just Burmese. Not just valuable.”
Her eyes light up and I can see forever in them.
“I’ve been looking for a blood ruby. That perfect color. Not too bright. Not orange-red. The kind that looks like it’s burning from the inside.”
She swallows hard.
“I’ve searched all over the world. And now you’re just... handing one to me.”
I can’t breathe for a second.
“For nothing,” she whispers.
She’s not mad.
She’s not overwhelmed.
She’s in awe.
I close the velvet box gently and rest my palm over it, anchoring it between us.
Because she needs to understand.
Because I promised her honesty.
“Not for nothing,” I say, voice low.
She looks at me as I continue.
“Foryou.”
