My five ghostly husbands-Chapter 242 Apologize to him

Ruby stared at him and Coldy said "...So the ring was just bait."

Eshu’s face turned pale.

"You’re really vicious!" Karl shouted, stepping forward with fire blazing in his eyes. "We don’t even know you—and you tried to frame Jules?!"

His voice echoed across the showroom, loud and angry, full of disbelief and fury.

Julian looked down at his hands quiet and shaken.

Eshu froze.

His eyes widened, breath catching in his throat. He hadn’t meant to say it. It just spilled out..driven by ego, by jealousy, by something ugly that had been rising in his chest since Ruby first walked through those glass doors.

Now it was out and people were starting to whisper.

A Witch nearby leaned to her friend. "Did you hear that? He admitted it..."

Another voice hissed, "He put the ring in the ghost’s bag himself!"

"Just to marry her? That’s insane."

Even Eshu’s friends, who had been defending him moments ago, now looked uncomfortable.

One of them stepped back slightly, avoiding his eyes.

"Eshu, what were you thinking...?" his friend muttered.

The ghost in the purple robe looked around as if the walls were closing in. His once-proud posture was shrinking, shoulders curling in, lips trembling.

"I—It was just... I didn’t mean—She—"

"Stop."

Ruby’s voice wasn’t raised but it cut through the air like a blade.

Eshu froze mid-stammer, his mouth still open, but no sound came out.

"We don’t want to hear your useless explanation," Ruby said, her red eyes sharp and clear. "We already know the truth."

Her gaze didn’t waver.

Then, she turned her head slightly—just enough to look at Julian.

He was sitting silently Because of his stomach pain, his hands clenched in his lap, eyes low, shoulders tense like he was trying to disappear.

He looked scared. Humiliated. Like he didn’t belong here.

And Ruby’s heart ached.

He didn’t deserve that. Not him. Not her Jules.

She turned back to Eshu, her voice quiet but firm.

"Apologize to him."

Eshu’s lips trembled. His fake pride shattered. His friends had stepped away. His plan had failed.

Now, the only thing left was shame.

He looked at Julian, still sitting in the same seat, small and still, with those soft, trembling eyes.

"I... I’m sorry," Eshu mumbled.

"Louder," Ruby said, not harshly but with finality.

Eshu swallowed and whispered again, "I’m sorry..."

"Look at him when you say it," Karl snapped from behind her.

Eshu turned toward Julian, shaking slightly. "I’m sorry... for trying to frame you."

Julian didn’t say anything.

But his hands slowly loosened.

He still couldn’t lift his eyes but Ruby saw the faintest change in his breathing.

He was starting to feel safe again and that was all she needed.

He had been silent through the entire scene, sitting still like a statue carved out of fear and shame.

But when Ruby said the words—"Apologize to him."

Something inside him stirred. His hands slowly released the tight grip on his robe. His chest rose with a deep breath, shaky but steadying. And then, as Eshu’s weak apology fell into the air, Julian did something that made the entire room turn:

He stood up. He didn’t rush. His knees trembled slightly, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears, but he stood anyway. Upright. Tall. His chin lifted, and though his eyes glowing, there was something in them, a quiet strength.

He looked straight at Eshu.

And for the first time, he spoke...not as a fragile ghost, not as someone hiding behind Ruby’s shadow, but as Julian.

"I didn’t do anything to you," he said softly, but the pain in his voice carried far. "I didn’t speak to you. I didn’t look at you. I didn’t even know your name."

He swallowed.

"But you still looked at me like I was nothing. You looked at me like I didn’t deserve to sit here. Like I didn’t deserve her."

Everyone fell silent.

Julian’s lips trembled slightly, but he didn’t stop.

"I’ve spent years feeling like I don’t belong anywhere. And just when I finally started to believe I did... you tried to take that away from me. You tried to humiliate me in front of the only people I care about. You... put your ring in my bag so people would point fingers at me. And I—I almost believed them. Because I’m so used to being the one people doubt."

He looked down for a moment, breathing in.

Then he looked back up at Eshu.

"But not today."

His eyes turned sharp.

"Not when she’s here. Not when I have people who love me."

He turned to Ruby for just a second, and her eyes softened, her expression unreadable but full of silent pride.

Julian looked back at Eshu and said, softly but clearly:

"Your apology doesn’t mean anything. Not to me. Because you only said it when you were caught."

He took another breath.

"But I forgive you anyway. Not for you. But because I won’t carry this with me."

Then, without waiting for permission, he turned his back on Eshu.

And walked toward Ruby and when he reached her, she didn’t say a word, just gently placed her hand on his back, like a silent promise that he was never alone again.

The silence that followed Julian’s words was thick, heavy like rain before a storm... until the manager finally stepped forward.

Her face was pale with embarrassment.

"I... I deeply apologize," She said, bowing her head to Ruby first, then to Julian. "Miss Ruby, sir... I’m truly sorry for everything that happened here. We should’ve handled this better. Much better. This was never supposed to happen in our establishment."

Ruby didn’t respond right away. She just looked at her with calm eyes, one hand still resting gently on Julian’s back, grounding him.

The manager turned toward the staff near the front and gave a sharp nod.

"Escort him out," She said firmly.

The guards stepped toward Eshu, who had gone quiet, his face pale, his lips trembling.

"N-No... wait—" he choked, looking around, but no one was on his side anymore.

Even his friends looked away.

"You are no longer welcome in this showroom," the manager said sternly. "Your behavior is unacceptable."

And just like that, the calm, smug ghost in purple broke.

He turned and ran out of the building, covering his face as tears streamed down his cheeks...crying not from guilt, but from shame and humiliation.

No one stopped him.

And as if the tension had finally snapped, his friends slowly walked toward Julian, their heads lowered.

They didn’t dare look at Ruby.

"...We’re sorry," one of them mumbled. "We didn’t know he’d go that far."

Julian didn’t answer for a moment.

Then, quietly, he nodded. "I understand."

They nodded too, ashamed, and walked away silently.

—To be continued...🪄

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.𝘤ℴ𝑚 for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience