My five ghostly husbands-Chapter 223 Sweetness

Karl bit his lips. His shoulders were slightly hunched, and his fingers clutched the hem of his robe. He didn’t remember. Not a single word from the list Ruby had given him. His baby-blue eyes, normally full of mischief and sparkle, now looked like glassy lakes filled with guilt. Slowly, he looked up at Ruby with the most pitiful face he could make.

Ruby didn’t even need to ask. She already knew.

"You didn’t remember anything... did you?" she asked quietly, her voice laced with disappointment.

Karl flinched, like a child caught stealing cookies. "I—iiii...umm..." he mumbled, eyes flicking nervously toward Milo and then dropping straight to the floor. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Ruby raised a brow, folding her arms across her chest.

"So you didn’t write these," she said, flipping through the notebook. "Then who did?" Her eyes scanned the pages again, her voice sharper this time. "Who in this house is bold enough to write words like ’baby’, ’wife’, ’love’, ’kiss’...?"

She glanced around the room dramatically.

Adrian, sitting calmly on the side, didn’t even blink. His face was unreadable, as always.

Julian, on the other hand, had turned red....just from hearing the word kiss. His eyes avoided hers entirely as he picked at the edge of his sleeve like it suddenly became interesting.

Ruby slowly turned her gaze to the last suspect. Milo... who was standing beside Adrian with his hands behind his back. His soft brown hair had fallen over his forehead, his cheeks pink from being watched. When he saw Ruby looking at him, Milo blinked—then slowly, with the most adorable innocence raised his hand in the air and formed a heart shape with his fingers, smiling sweetly.

"..."

Ruby’s mouth twitched.

"You?" she said, brows raised.

Milo nodded, still smiling like a sunshine. "I didn’t want brother Karl to get scolded... and he said his tummy was hurting... so..."

Adrian sighed, rubbing his forehead while Julian covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

Ruby closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, and opened them again. She looked at Karl, who was now slowly sneaking behind a pillow like a criminal caught red-handed.

"You made Milo write the homework?"

"...Just a little favor..." Karl mumbled, peeking out from behind the pillow.

"And he chose those words?" Ruby asked, pointing at the page. "Baby? Wife? Love? Kiss?"

Milo raised both hands now and grinned wider. "They sound cute! I just wrote what came to mind!"

Ruby didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"I will forgive you... go and eat the snacks I brought for all of you," Ruby said, her voice suddenly sweet like honey.

Karl paused. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. That sweetness... it wasn’t normal. It was too calm. Too forgiving. It smelled like a trap. His instincts whispered, Something is wrong. But when he saw her ask Julian...really ask him to hand over the pastry box, without an angry glare or a lecture, just a soft smile, his suspicion melted into relief.

Maybe... just maybe, she truly forgave him.

He immediately dove into the soft pastries like a starving puppy, his face lighting up after each bite. "So good!" he mumbled with his mouth full. Julian too quietly enjoyed his share, while Milo picked the biggest pastry with stars in his eyes. Even Adrian, though silent, took one and nodded politely in Ruby’s direction.

Dinner was peaceful. Calm.

Too calm.

Then, as Karl placed the last bite into his mouth and reached for water with a satisfied sigh, Ruby’s voice rang out again..sweet but dangerous.

"So!" she said, clapping her hands with a big smile. "Now that our tummies are full and happy... let’s do something fun before bedtime!"

Karl blinked. That tone again...

"We’re going to learn something new tonight," she continued, sitting forward on the chair like a teacher ready to begin. "Just for an hour."

The smile on her face widened.

Karl froze. Water still in hand.

"Wife... what do you mean something new?" he asked cautiously.

Julian looked at her, then nodded slightly. "I’d like to learn," he said gently, as always. Milo clapped happily. "Yay! Are we learning more words?"

Ruby smiled at both of them and nodded.

Then her eyes fell on Karl.

Karl slowly leaned back against the chair like a trapped cat. "I have a stomachache again."

"No, you don’t," Ruby said sweetly.

Karl grabbed his stomach. "It’s returning. I can feel it. It’s very serious.. might be a ghost flu."

Adrian, who had been silently observing all this, finally spoke. "Stop acting."

Karl’s mouth fell open. "You traitor!"

Adrian simply took his glass of water and turned away.

🪄🪄

It was the first time Ruby was teaching him, Adrian thought as he looked at Ruby. His eyes followed her carefully, quietly taking in every word she said. Something about her voice made him want to listen more.

They all were sitting on the floor in a circle, the wooden floor creaking softly beneath them. Karl’s face looked like he was lost in deep thoughts—like he was quickly thinking of all possible excuses in his mind to run away from the lesson.

"Since you guys have the basics now," Ruby said with a bright smile, her hands resting on her knees, "I want to teach you something new today!"

She looked at each of them, her eyes playful but serious. "Do you all know how to count and number?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

They all nodded at once, some faster than others.

"Perfect!" she said, clapping her hands. "Today, I will teach you all basic mathematics!"

Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she leaned forward. "Can anyone recite 1 to 10?"

Julian was the first to speak. He recited the numbers softly but clearly, like a gentle breeze. Ruby nodded with a proud smile.

Then Milo sat up, his fingers wiggling nervously on his lap. He started reciting, missing a few numbers in between, but his voice was full of effort and hope. Ruby smiled warmly at him and gave a small nod. "Good try, Milo. You’re getting there."

Then Adrian moved. Quietly. He sat up straighter and started speaking, his voice calm and smooth. Not only did he reach 10—he went all the way till 20. Ruby raised her eyebrows in surprise, clearly impressed.

"Wow," she said softly, "You’re really good at math, huh?"

Adrian didn’t say anything. But a small flicker of pride showed in his eyes before he looked away.

—To be continued...🪄

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