Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 127: Chapter 127

As Elara drove, Ruby fed her a mint. "Okay, but what does my getting slapped have to do with Adrian?"
"Because the instant I heard Victor's mom hit you, I knew why," Elara said, her voice tight. "It's because their family won't accept you. For people like us, the world of those rich families is a different universe."
"That's his family," Ruby said, crunching down hard on her own mint. "This is Adrian's. They're not the same."
"They're all in a league we can't touch, and you know it," Elara muttered.
"Maybe," Ruby conceded. "But the only thing that matters is how you feel. So, be honest. How do you actually feel about Adrian?"
Elara thought for a moment. "I guess... I don't find him as annoying as I used to. Sometimes he's even nice."
"Then follow that feeling," Ruby said simply.
Their car came to a stop at a red light. "What about you? Are you still going to follow your feelings?" Elara asked.
Ruby shook her head. "I can't. His mother runs that entire family. Even his dad does whatever she says. Even if Victor fought for me and we got married, what kind of life would that be?
"She'd make every single day a living hell. I watched my mom go through something like that with my dad. I'm not making her mistakes."
"Don't be so quick to decide," Elara said gently. "Didn't Victor say he would handle her mom?"
Ruby snorted. "If Victor could handle his mom, she wouldn't have dared to trash my cafe in broad daylight. The woman's a battle-ax."
"I still don't get it," Elara said, shaking her head. "He just stood there while she did that to you? Didn't he even try to stop her?"
"He tried to stop her," Ruby admitted. "But she came with backup. Bodyguards."
"Alright..." Elara said softly. "So you've really thought this through? You're just... done with him?"
Ruby nodded. "Yeah. This whole thing... It's a dead end. We're done."
Elara let the subject drop. She couldn't argue. Victor had screwed up, plain and simple.
It was late when they finally pulled up to the barbecue joint. Elara parked in a spot that was practically begging for a parking ticket.
They walked toward the counter, laughing and talking. "Pulled pork," Ruby announced. "To start."
Elara rarely ate food like this when she was abroad, but tonight, she was ready to let loose. She ordered half the menu.
The owner, a woman with a kind face and busy hands, beamed at them. "Well, look who it is. Just you two tonight?"
Elara smiled back. "Long time no see. You know how we like it."
"You got it, sweeties," the owner said warmly. "There's an open table in the back. Go on, get settled."
Elara had been about to suggest takeout, but the warm, noisy energy of the barbecue hit her. On a whim, she said, "Ruby, I want to eat here."
"Sounds good to me," Ruby said.
Ruby flagged down the waitress and ordered a six-pack of beer. When they arrived, she popped the cap off one with a bottle opener and handed it to Elara. "Tonight, we drink until we forget our own names."
Elara took the bottle. "I have work tomorrow. One is my limit."
"Lame," Ruby scoffed. "Adrian's your boss, isn't he? Just text him and ask for the day off, will you?"
Elara nudged the plate of freshly delivered baby back ribs toward Ruby. "My job doesn't work like that. There's no backup, and Adrian is a control freak. Trust me, the hangover wouldn't be worth the fallout."
Ruby didn't push it. "Alright then. You eat, and I drink."
"It's a plan," Elara said. "Drink up. I'll make sure you get home safe, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder."
A real, hearty laugh finally escaped Ruby. "You got it. Okay, spill. You said Josie looked like she wanted to rip your hair out. How did you roast her today? I need some juicy drama to go with my beer."
Elara chuckled. "She tried to give me 15 million dollars to leave Adrian, and I told her that wouldn't even cover the cost of the car he gave me."
Ruby howled with laughter. "No way. The great Heaton family heiress is strapped for cash?"
"I was just messing with her," Elara admitted. "But then I called Adrian, put him on speaker right in front of her, and made him admit he was chasing me. You should have seen her face. Her face just froze."
Ruby's jaw dropped. "Damn, that's badass. What happened then?"
"Then she offered me a deal," Elara continued. "She gave me her blessing to be his mistress, basically. Said she didn't care what we did in private, as long as he didn't actually break off the engagement."
"What? That's insane," Ruby exclaimed.
"Yep," Elara confirmed. "Completely insane."
The swelling on Ruby's cheek had faded to a rosy flush. She lifted her bottle in a grand, theatrical toast. "To that story. Damn. Cheers."
Elara clinked her bottle against Ruby's and took a small sip. "You know, the crazy thing is, not everything Josie said was wrong."
"What else did she tell you?" Ruby asked.
Elara recounted the entire conversation, piece by piece. By the time she finished, Ruby just stared at her, speechless. "Geez," she finally breathed.
"Adrian's a genius," Ruby said, shaking her head in disbelief and admiration. "At eighteen, he locks in a strategic engagement but postpones the wedding for twelve years. For all that time, he's free to do what he wants.
"He uses the threat of the marriage to keep Sadie in check, and leverages the power of both the Hartley and Heaton families to build his own empire.
"And on top of all that, he gets a free pass to sleep with whoever he wants, just like Josie. Who even thinks like that?"
Elara finished her first beer and let out a little burp. She giggled. "Yeah, well. He's a genius. But hey, that's Adrian."
The words hung in the air, and Elara froze for a second as she heard them. A strange new emotion bloomed in her chest. 'Wait, am I actually falling for Adrian?' she thought.
Ruby finished the last bit of pulled pork. "But seriously, why didn't he just join the family business back then? What made him want to start his own law firm instead?"
"I'm just guessing," Elara said, "but he's got that rebellious streak. Probably wanted to make his own mark while he was young. He knows he has to go back and take over the family empire eventually, anyway."
Fully absorbed in her pulled pork, Ruby's earlier gloom had completely vanished. "So, let's say you never showed up. Do you think Adrian would've just married Josie at thirty? And they'd live separate lives, sleeping with other people?"
Elara hadn't thought of that, and it threw her. "Maybe," she answered slowly. "Honestly, I've been wondering... if this engagement is such a big deal, why is he so ready to just throw it away?"
Ruby gave her a look like she was crazy. "Hello? He did it for you. How is that not obvious?"
"I know, Adrian said that, but..." Elara mumbled. "We've known each other for less than a month. How could I possibly be worth that?"
Rub shrugged. "Love isn't logical. It's impulsive. It's chemistry. Look at you and Alex. Years of friendship, zero sparks. That's how you know it was never meant to be love."
Elara sighed. "Maybe."
"So if Adrian really does call off the engagement, you have to say yes when he asks you out. Right?" Ruby teased.
Elara's mind started racing. She thought, 'Ruby's right. If he breaks the engagement, he's not just giving up the Hartley family fortune. He's handing Sadie a weapon to use against him.
'And if he does all that for me, and I turn him down... God, what kind of monster would that make me? Should I tell him to slow down? To not call off the engagement for me? I don't even know how I feel yet.'
She'd always wanted a relationship that grew naturally, without any pressure. It was supposed to be easy, something that just felt right.
Elara's own confusion was one thing. The other problem was a mountain. Even if Elara and Adrian did get together, it would be a constant battle.
She would go down in history as the girl who destroyed the alliance between the Hartley and Heaton families. She'd have more enemies than she could count.
What happened to Ruby today left a knot of fear in Elara's stomach.
'Ruby and Victor's relationship blew up just one day after they went public,' Elara thought, her mind racing. 'How could they possibly have a future unless they break up or hide their relationship forever? But how long can that last?'
'Or they could be like Josie and Noah—one person in a public engagement, the other on the side, with no hope of marriage.
'Ruby would never live like that, and neither can I. She made a choice. She ended the relationship. Maybe I need to do the same with Adrian. Get out now, before I fall any deeper.'
Lost in her troubled thoughts, Elara ended up drinking two more beers. Ruby was completely hammered.
Dizzy and unsteady, Elara wrestled a stumbling Ruby out of the restaurant. Outside, a cool autumn rain was falling, and the sudden chill snapped her partially sober.
They took a cab to Ruby's. After Elara managed to get Ruby safely inside, she realized she had to go back to her own apartment. She needed her work clothes for the morning.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but Elara just stared blankly out the window of the Uber. The rain streaked across the glass, blurring the streetlights and headlights into glowing dots of color.
"Maybe it's better not to even start," she murmured to the blurry face looking back at her from the window. "Being single is fine."
The Uber dropped her at the curb of her building. The red soles of her black heels slapped against the wet pavement as she hurried inside and into the elevator.
Once she got home, she didn't even bother to towel off her rain-dampened hair. She opened WhatsApp and sent a message to Adrian. [Adrian, maybe you shouldn't call off the engagement.]
He replied instantly: [?] It popped up on her screen before she even had time to close the app.
Elara hesitated for a second, then typed back. [It's too much pressure.]
Then, she grabbed her pajamas and went to take a shower. Half an hour later, she emerged, scrubbing her hair with a towel, when the doorbell buzzed through the apartment.
Frowning, Elara glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning. 'Who the hell is here at this hour?' she wondered.
She crept to the door and looked through the peephole. Her heart stopped. It was impossible. It was impossible. She thought the beer was making her hallucinate. Then she ripped the door open.
Adrian stood there, drenched from head to toe in just a T-shirt. He was soaked because he'd given his jacket to her. His eyes found hers, and they were dark and stormy.
Elara's mind went blank. On pure instinct, she reached out with the towel still in her hand and started trying to dry the rain from his arms. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night. You're completely soaked."
"Tell me what that text meant," he demanded. "'It's too much pressure.' Explain it."