# CHAPTER 5: The Ruby Rose and the Countdown of a Curse
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? I'm so happy to be back with you today as we continue our journey through "Of Curses And Kisses." Today, I will walk with you through CHAPTER 5, a chapter that crackles with tension, secrets, and the thrilling first moves of a very dangerous game. This is where the pieces truly begin to fall into place, and trust me, you won't want to miss a single detail. So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and let's dive deep into the shadows of St. Rosetta's together!
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The chapter opens in darkness, and not just any darkness—the forbidden darkness of the West Wing tower, a place padlocked against intrusion since the school's very inception. And who should be pacing within its ancient stone walls at nearly two in the morning but Grey Emerson himself, our brooding duke's son, who has been sneaking into this tower since middle school. It always amazed him, he muses, how easy it is to break arbitrary rules and how little attention human beings pay to one another. There's something deeply lonely in that observation, isn't there?
But Grey isn't here for solitude. He's here because he cannot stop thinking about Jaya Rao. Why is she here? Why now? And that pendant—the cursed ruby.
Here, dear listeners, we finally receive the full, devastating backstory that has been haunting every corner of this story. Back in the 1800s, during the era of British rule in India, Grey's own great-great-grandmother orchestrated the theft of a sacred ruby from a temple in Mysuru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. Because of that blasphemous theft, a matriarch of the Rao family placed a curse upon the Emerson line. And there is a prophecy—a poem that Grey knows by heart because his father was obsessed with it:
*A hallowed dream stolen,* *A world darkly despairs* *A storm, a life, a sudden death* *Heralds the end, the last heir.* *As the glass rose dims,* *So the hope of redemption* *Eighteen years, one by one,* *Until what's left is none.* *Mend that which is broken* *Repair that which is severed* *Or the Northcliffe name is forsaken* *And shall vanish, at last, forever.*
Oh, the weight of those words! A storm claimed Grey's mother in childbirth, preventing the doctor from arriving in time. His father never forgave himself—or Grey. And then there's the memory that shattered my heart: twelve-year-old Grey at a hot-air balloon festival during parent weekend. He's excited, ready to float above the treetops, when his father pulls him aside by Lake Rosetta and delivers the news with the coldness of a jaded oncologist: *When you turn eighteen, you will die.* No warmth. No comfort. Just the clinical certainty of doom. "Don't say 'what,'" his father snaps. "It's very middle-class."
Can you imagine? Grey pushed his shaking hands into his pockets, nodded, and swallowed his panic. And his father's response to this devastating revelation? "Now, let's get back to the balloons." The cruelty of it—the absolute abandonment—is staggering. Over the years, Grey cycled through disbelief, shock, anger, despair, belief, and finally settled into a nihilism that felt manageable. The curse was as much a part of him as his title or his blue eyes.
The Emersons had sold the ruby to a master jeweler in the Middle East, and for generations, that was where the trail ended. So imagine Grey's shock when Jaya Rao—of all people—shows up wearing a rose-shaped ruby pendant. Was it the cursed ruby? He couldn't keep churning like an ocean tossed by storms. He had to unearth the truth.
And then dawn breaks on Jaya's side of the story, and oh, what a delicious contrast! She wakes to sunlight on her face, a horde of spiteful butterflies in her stomach, because today is Thursday—the first day of school and the day she begins her mission. She arranges her hair in a crown braid, "the better to feel queenly with—everyone knew a future queen trumped a duke's son." She dresses in her uniform, noting it goes nicely with her pendant. And then this line, which gave me chills: *Jaya was a human Trojan horse.* If her life had a soundtrack, it would be thrilling and ominous, full of dark but powerful energy.
She meets Isha in the sophomore wing, and we catch a glimpse of Jaya's tender heart—seeing her little sister as she looked at seven years old, innocent and much too trusting. Jaya's fists ball up at the thought of the Emersons coming after a young girl. That protective fury is the engine driving everything.
Then comes the moment that made me laugh out loud. Jaya, alone in the empty senior dining hall, practices her flirtation. "Hello, Grey. Pleased to meet you." She throws her head back and practices a throaty laugh—"Hahaha, oh, stop!" with a coquettish hand wave. She's convinced it's charming and graceful. And then a voice from the shadows: "What are you laughing at? And why are you waving your hands around like that? Bugs are pretty rare at this altitude."
Of course. Of course it's Grey. The boy who caught her off guard in the library. And when realization hits that this feral, bear-like boy is actually Grey Emerson, Lord Northcliffe himself, Jaya gasps. He responds with "Grey is fine"—brusque, informal, like an overworked government employee rather than a duke's son.
Their banter turns sharp fast. Jaya mentions their families are well acquainted, her voice sizzling with reproach. Grey fires back about "the legendary Raos. Creators of chaos and misfortune." Jaya is furious—she knows he's behind the tabloid scandal that humiliated Isha, though she can't say it aloud. She taps her pendant as a reminder of her duty. Then she forces a smile and offers forgiveness, trying not to vomit.
But here's where it gets fascinating. Grey's gaze becomes riveted to her pendant. He asks about its origin, where the rubies were sourced. Jaya notices the strained urgency in his words, something off about him and the necklace. She files it away.
Then, tragedy strikes—well, for Jaya's plans, anyway. As she's flirting and leaning in, Grey suddenly freezes. "A ruby's missing," he says, his voice faint and wooden. The curse sizzles in his brain: *As the glass rose dims, so the hope of redemption. Eighteen years, one by one, until what's left is none.* Each ruby on Jaya's pendant represents a petal of the rose. Eighteen petals. Eighteen years. And one has already fallen.
"Eighteen," Jaya says. "Well, seventeen now, I suppose."
Grey's face goes pale. The curse is real. The countdown is right in front of his eyes. He can't even nod when she asks if he's all right. Then Daphne Elizabeth, Leo, and Rahul arrive, and Grey staggers off without explanation, leaving Jaya wondering what on earth just happened.
And let me tell you, dear listeners, this is where the true brilliance of the chapter lies. Both Jaya and Grey are playing roles. Both are hiding secrets. Both are watching each other with suspicion. Jaya thinks she's the hunter—the Trojan horse sent to charm and destroy. But Grey has just discovered that the girl he must break is wearing his death sentence around her neck. The irony is exquisite. The danger is real. And neither of them is anywhere close to being in control.
Oh, what a chapter! The tension between Jaya and Grey is absolutely electric, and the way the author weaves together the curse's prophecy with this seemingly innocent pendant is sheer brilliance. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The pacing here is flawless—we get devastating backstory, witty banter, and a cliffhanger that had me gasping. Grey's vulnerability, hidden beneath his gruff exterior, broke my heart. And Jaya's determination, her fierce love for her sister, made me cheer for her even as I worried about the inevitable fallout when their true intentions collide. This chapter is a masterclass in building romantic tension while escalating the stakes.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
I predict that the next chapter will bring even more tension as Grey grapples with the terrifying realization that the curse is genuinely unfolding. He'll likely seek more answers about the pendant—perhaps even trying to find out if Jaya knows more than she's letting on. Meanwhile, Jaya will continue her charm offensive, possibly getting closer to Grey's friends to gather information, while also noticing that something is deeply troubling him about her necklace. The archery class they share is almost certainly going to come up, and I suspect that's where their dynamic will shift yet again. Will Grey start to see through Jaya's act? Will Jaya discover the truth about the curse? And what happens when that next ruby disappears? One thing is certain: their dangerous dance is only just beginning.
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