When Rudy returned to the Ross estate, Maria still hadn''t returned from her room. He had a firm idea why, but he still went to check on her regardless.


    He stopped in front of her closed room and heard Ruby and Maria talking.


    "Why are you leaving, Maria?" Ruby asked Maria.


    "I am married to Rudy, and I have no reason to live here."


    "How can you say that?! What about me? Are you going to leave me behind?!"


    Rudy activated his see-through ability to watch them to ensure things didn''t go wrong.


    "What else do you want me to do? Stay here?" Maria shrugged.


    "Yes! I want you to stay here! Please, we dreamt of this time together, didn''t we?" Ruby held Maria''s hand and said, "It''s our dream, and we are so close to fulfilling it."


    "It''s not." Maria shook her head and calmly said, "It''s not my dream anymore. My only dream now is to have a family with Rudy."


    "What about me, then?! What am I supposed to do now? All my life, all I did and was told was to train, train, and train. So one day I could be the leader of the Ross Syndicate." Maria banged her fist on the wall and sobbed, "But now everything is destroyed and my only friend— you, are also not by my side. How am I going to make it through all this?"


    "You don''t have to…" Maria wiped Ruby''s tears and gently smiled at her. "That was never our dream, remember? Our dream was to be together even when we grew up. That''s what every childhood friend, brother, or sister dreams of— to be with their loved ones.


    It is true that we were told to be the next ruler of the Ross Syndicate, but why are you still trying to do what someone else wants from you, hmm?


    Ross Syndicate is on the brink of death, so let it die. You will finally be free from everything. You don''t have to do anything. Why don''t you live your life freely and enjoy every second of it?


    If you still insist on rebuilding the Ross Syndicate, you will live a hellish life, you know? Look at what happened to… your father and grandfather. When was thest time you saw them smile, huh?


    They were the most fearful leaders in their prime, but now they are nothing. They lived their lives under stress and pressure. People try to kill them, and they will live the rest of their lives in fear. I don''t want you to end up the same as them.


    So please, Ruby. Don''t walk on the same path. Sometimes, power is not everything," Maria calmly said to her while looking into her eyes.


    Everything Maria said was improvised by Rudy. He used telepathy to share his words with Maria, which she spoke to Ruby. Rudy could have told Ruby himself, but that wouldn''t have had any impact on her.


    Ruby ced her hand on Maria''s hand and asked, "What am I supposed to do then? You are taking away my reason to move forward and then asking me to move forward?"


    "Do nothing. Just stay low and be happy. Enjoy your life."


    "I can''t." Ruby shook her head and said, "I can''t, Maria. I am not you. Would you still be saying the same thing if you had never met Rudy? You wouldn''t have changed. Your goal would have been the same as mine.


    But now you have him. You have a lover… a husband. You have everything. You are already happy with him. So now you don''t want anything. You have a reason to leave everything behind. But not me. I don''t have anything. If I leave behind the only thing that matters for me, I would have nowhere else to go."


    "That''s…" Maria lowered her gaze to break eye contact with Ruby and thought, ''She is right. If the Ross Syndicate disbanded, we would most likely lose this estate and everything else rted to the Ross Syndicate.


    We still have a lot of wealth to live happily, but Ruby won''t be content with money. What should I do that would make her give up on rebuilding the Ross Syndicate. I have to give her a reason rather than an excuse.''


    Maria pondered for a few seconds and then thought, ''Rudy already has a harem, so adding one more girl won''t be any problem, right? In fact, I think it would be for the best if Ruby joined Rudy''s harem. Rudy is so kind and caring, so Ruby would be happy if she joined his harem.''


    "Tell me, Maria. What am I supposed to do?" Ruby asked.


    "Well… why don''t you…e with… me?" Maria suggested hesitantly.


    "What?"


    "Come with me. You can live with me."


    "But… you are married. Are you sure you still want me around?" Ruby asked with a puzzled look on her face.


    "Yes," Maria nodded. "Rudy will take good care of you."


    ''Oi Oi!" Rudy let out a weary sigh and muttered, "What is Maria thinking? I never thought my harem member would bring me more harem members. And Maria was so against Ruby marrying me before. It seems the idea of harem really put her worries at ease.''


    "Will Rudy be okay with this?" Ruby asked curiously.


    "Don''t worry about that."


    Ruby pondered for a while and said, "Okay. I wille with you. But don''t hate me if I steal Rudy from you."


    Maria grinned and said, "Ever since we were kids, we have always shared everything. So I wouldn''t mind sharing my husband with you."


    "Wha…"


    <o>,m "But don''t you dare try to steal him."</o>


    Rudy left soon after and waited for them in the living room of the outer area. He had already called Rusher and asked him to bring the remaining important members of the Ross Syndicate.


    Once Maria and Ruby returned with their luggage, Ruby stood in between and asserted, "I, Ruby Ross, the leader of the Ross Syndicate, have decided to disband the Ross Syndicate from this moment."