Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 126: Chapter 126

When Elara and Adrian rushed in, the cafe was completely trashed. Tables were flipped. The espresso machine was a wreck of shattered metal and plastic. And water pooled across the floor.
Ruby and a couple of her employees were trying to clean up. Victor was sweeping a pile of broken glass.
On the way over, Elara had pictured a slap. But the reality was so much worse. She saw the scratches on Ruby's neck and her ripped sleeve. The knot of anxiety in her stomach instantly tightened into pure, white-hot rage.
Elara marched right over to Ruby, gently taking the damp rag from her hand. "Ruby."
Startled, Ruby looked up, clearly not expecting to see her. "Elara? What are you doing here?"
As Ruby looked up, Elara's breath caught in her throat. Ruby still had bruises from Nancy's engagement party that hadn't healed. A fresh handprint sat right on top of the old bruises around her mouth.
Now the side of her face was swollen and red. Her eyes were bright with tears she refused to let fall. She looked wrecked.
Elara lost it. She spun on Victor. "What the hell is wrong with you? You let them do this to her? To her shop?"
Victor looked pale and exhausted. He stopped sweeping and walked over to them. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is my fault. I didn't handle my family, and they hurt Ruby."
Elara took off her own jacket and wrapped it around Ruby's shoulders. "What did she possibly do to deserve this?" she asked, her eyes still locked on Victor.
"His mother thinks I'm some gold digger after her son. She came here today, telling me to back off. I said fine, whatever, we're done. She tried to throw money at me, and I refused it. It should have ended there..."
A bitter, sharp laugh escaped her. "But then this one," she said, jerking her head toward Victor, "had to show up and play the hero. Then he got into a screaming match with his mother in front of customers.
"I guess she felt humiliated, so she snapped. She slapped me, and then had her people trash the place."
Ruby glared at Victor. "You two have your little drama, and my life gets destroyed. That's how this works, right?"
Victor looked pained. "Ruby, I'm sorry."
"Save it," Ruby said. "Like I said, we're done. And quit acting like you're doing me some favor by being here. Just go. You're making me sick."
"Ruby, no, please," he pleaded. "Just give me another chance. I promise my family will never bother you again."
"She's your mother, Victor. How can you promise that?" Ruby cried out. "The only thing that guarantees my safety is breaking up. Victor, I didn't call the cops, and that's me being nice. Can you please just leave me alone?"
Victor grabbed Ruby's hand. "I'll handle my mom, I promise."
Ruby yanked her hand away, her voice chillingly calm. "I'll have my staff get a list of the damages. Elara will send you the bill. As for us, Victor? We are done."
"Ruby..." he breathed, his voice breaking.
A wave of exhaustion washed over Ruby. She turned to Elara. "Let the staff handle this. I'm so tired. Can you just take me home?"
Elara nodded and took Ruby's hand. As they turned to leave, Victor blocked their path. "Elara, can you just give me a minute alone with her?"
Elara didn't even look at him. Her eyes stayed on Ruby. "Do you want to talk to him alone right now?"
Ruby shook her head. "No."
"You heard her, Victor," Elara said flatly. "She said no."
"But, Ruby, I—" Victor started.
"Victor." Adrian cut him off. "Let them go. Ruby needs space. And so do you."
Adrian took off his suit jacket and draped it over Elara's shoulders. "Take Ruby home," he said. "I'll take care of Victor."
After Elara and Ruby left, Victor sank into the driver's seat of his car. He didn't start the engine. He just sat there chain-smoking.
Adrian was having a crappy day, too. He got in the passenger seat and smoked with Victor. For an entire hour, the two of them just sat in the thickening smoke, not saying a single word.
Finally, Victor broke. "I called you to help me fix this mess," he snapped. "What are you doing just sitting here smoking with me?"
"You lit this fire, you put it out," Adrian said. "This one's on you. Figure out how you're going to make it up to Ruby."
"You think I don't want to? You're the one who stopped me back there," Victor shot back.
"You have to pick your moment. Nothing you say right now will work," Adrian said. "And besides, talk is cheap. You need to show her you mean it."
Victor let out a bitter laugh. "And what about you, huh? You're so determined to break your engagement. Has Elara even agreed to be with you?"
"I haven't even managed to break it off yet. What's the rush?" Adrian replied.
"Aren't you worried that once you do, she'll be even less willing to be with you? If I were you, I'd ask Elara how she feels before making any big moves," Victor said.
"I don't need to. Whether she agrees or not doesn't change anything. She's the only one for me," Adrian said, lighting another cigarette. The Maybach filled with smoke.
Victor glanced at his empty pack, then snatched the cigarette from Adrian's fingers. "You're not the one having a crisis. Why are you chain-smoking?"
Adrian let out a dry, humorless laugh. "You think my day's been a walk in the park?"
"Oh, please," Victor scoffed. "Your day can't possibly be worse than mine. What's more screwed up than my own mom showing up to mess with my girlfriend?"
"My fiancée showed up to mess with my girlfriend. How's that?" Adrian said.
Inside Elara's pink BMW, with its flashy diamond-studded trim, she leaned over to buckle Ruby's seatbelt. "How about crashing at my place tonight? I'll stay with you."
"Let's go to mine," Ruby said. "You're having a drink with me."
Elara was a lightweight, so she never kept booze at home. They'd have to hit up Ruby's place. "Done," she agreed. "But I'm dying for some barbecue from that place by our old high school. We can grab some on the way."
Ruby smiled. "You read my mind. I'm still pissed I dropped over 200 dollars there last time and didn't even get one bite. Tonight, I am getting my pulled pork. Should we call Julian? It feels like forever since we all hung out."
"Not tonight," Elara said. "He's trapped at some formal Quinn family dinner. No way he can escape."
The BMW cruised toward their old high school. Ruby talked way more than usual, but never mentioned Victor once.
Elara could tell Ruby wasn't as okay as she was pretending. Ruby had really fallen for Victor.
"Ruby," Elara said softly.
"Yeah?" Ruby looked at her.
"Maybe you and Victor should just talk it out?" Elara suggested.
Ruby had just blocked Victor on WhatsApp and exited the app. "Nope. I'm not into self-torture."
Elara let it drop. She got it. Love was messy enough without throwing a billion-dollar family into the mix. Maybe Ruby was right. Maybe a clean break was the only way.
"You know," Elara said, her voice even, "Josie came to see me today. At the cafe."
Ruby was surprised. "Please tell me you two didn't get into a catfight."
Elara chuckled. "Oh, I think she wanted to. I could see her picturing herself pulling my hair and slapping me. But she had no grounds to."
"Wait, isn't she Adrian's fiancée?" Ruby asked.
"Adrian told her he's calling off the engagement," Elara said.
The mint Ruby had just popped into her mouth fell and bounced on the floor mat. "Seriously? He actually did it? Well, then you can finally consider being with him, for real."
She thought, 'My love life exploded the day after we went public, but at least the couple I'm shipping might actually work out.'
Elara's face went cold. "I almost spoke my mind to Adrian out of sympathy."
"And then?" Ruby pressed.
"Then he told me you got slapped," Elara said.