Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

In a black Maybach, Adrian and Victor sat in the back seat, smoking cigarettes in silence. Adrian had a cut lip, Victor a bruised eye—like two rivals.
Victor thought, 'Adrian's stupid move bit us in the butt today.' He finally spoke up. "Saying Elara went into your room naked just to piss them off? That was a low blow."
Adrian sneered, his face dark, "Who said I did it to piss them off?"
"If not, you'd have called the cops after the first punch. You're just butting heads with them."
"Why would I butt heads with them?"
"Because they've been hanging around Elara. Grow up, Adrian."
"You're overthinking it. I was testing Julian."
Victor frowned, "Meaning?"
"Didn't you say Julian's branch has been after you all year? Doesn't it seem fishy—getting caught up in this mess now?"
Victor froze for a second. "You think Julian sent Elara to mess with me?"
Adrian raised his eyebrows. "Could be."
Victor thought back over the whole thing and finally said, "Well, the idea you brought up isn't completely impossible." He took a puff on his cigarette and blew out the smoke slowly. "But honestly, pulling it off would be as tough as a spy movie plot."
He looked at Adrian and concluded, "So, you saw how close they were to Elara and got jealous. You're implying that you sleep with Elara. That's childish."
Adrian sneered coldly.
"Adrian, even if Julian set Elara up to mess with me, saying that in front of her friends wasn't cool." Victor stubbed out the cigarette butt. "If you like her, respect her first."
Adrian let out a bitter laugh. "I said I'm avoiding her. You just don't believe me. Go ahead. Let the truth speak for itself."
"I've said what I had to say. Do whatever."
"You're nuts. I'm not playing around. Instead of bugging me, you should clean up your own mess. Don't end up sick and not even know it."
Victor just ignored him. He glanced at Nancy, who was asleep in the passenger seat. "So, what about her?"
Adrian's face went cold. "Take me home first. I'm tired."
Victor rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir."
The next morning, Elara woke up feeling like crap. She'd stayed up late last night, and the chaos of the past few days had stressed her out. Now, she was being forced awake too soon and couldn't even catch her breath.
Even Elara's usually calm patience snapped. "Ruby, move over, will you? I'm about to fall off."
Ruby just moved a tiny bit.
Feeling wiped out, Elara opened her eyes. She glanced at the sunny day outside and slowly got out of bed. After washing up, she came out and saw Ruby was awake.
Ruby's curls were a mess, and her white nightgown was all twisted up. "Elara, Alex texted the group. He's inviting us to dinner at his place tonight."
Elara pulled her skincare stuff out of her suitcase and lined it up on Ruby's dresser one by one. Slowly, she patted on toner and serum, ignoring Ruby's chatter.
Ruby gave Elara a look. Normally, Elara would be the first one jumping for joy at the mention of going to Alex's. But Elara was so calm now.
Ruby wondered if Elara was deaf. "Hey? Did you hear me?"
"Got it," Elara said flatly.
Ruby scratched her ear. "Seriously, Elara?" It was the first time that Elara was so calm after hearing about Alex. Ruby found it unbelievable.
Ruby's eyes followed Elara. Elara finished her last skincare step, and then slowly stood up and headed out of the bedroom. Ruby jumped off the bed quickly, forgot her slippers, and followed barefoot.
Elara grabbed eggs, toast, and milk from the fridge.
Ruby sidled up next to her. "Elara, what's going on? Did something get to you?"
Elara said nothing.
"Nancy's been all over Alex forever—"
"Want a sandwich?" Elara asked.
"Yes. Nancy—"
"Milk or coffee?"
"Coffee. Nancy—"
"Americano or latte?"
"Latte. Nancy—" A warm piece of toast crust was shoved in her mouth, cutting off Ruby's talking.
Elara made two sandwiches, and then grabbed two fancy mugs and went to the coffee machine. The rich smell of good beans filled the air, easing her mood a bit.
But the toast didn't shut Ruby up. "Elara, it's been years. If he really liked you, you'd have a bunch of kids by now. Just let it go."
Elara stood by the coffee maker, her back to Ruby. She took a sip from her cup, her fingers tightening on the handle. She set it down, and her shoulders slumped.
It was 4 AM when Elara and Ruby got home. Ruby lay in bed, listening as Elara cried softly in the bathroom. The sound was quiet, but Ruby heard it clearly.
Elara had cried, partly because Adrian had bullied her, but mainly because she saw Alex and Nancy hugging. Even though Elara and Alex hadn't been together for years, Alex had stayed single, with no relationships.
Before her hope faded, Elara still had a little anticipation; now, it was gone.
Last night was the first time Ruby saw Alex with a girlfriend. It was Nancy, who they all knew, and Ruby had been chasing him since college.
Ruby thought, 'Compared to Elara, Ruby hasn't spent as much time with him and isn't as pretty. But Alex chose her. Is it only because Nancy is rich?'
Elara was stubborn. Once she set her mind on someone or something, she never gave up.
Back in high school, while studying for finals, Elara found out Alex was going abroad after graduation. Afraid he might disappear, she wrote him a love letter to get her feelings out there.
Elara had thought their relationship just needed one confession to be official. But after she gave Alex the love letter, it vanished into thin air.
After that, Alex acted like nothing had happened. He was so nice to her that Elara wondered if he'd even gotten the letter. But she'd seen him find it in a book and put it in his pocket.
After her confession failed, she told Ruby that she planned to study psychology. Ruby asked her reason.
Elara said, "I can't understand Alex. I wanna study psychology to figure out his heart."
Ruby thought it was a joke. But after graduation, Elara went abroad to study psychology. She spent four years there, got her professional license, published a bunch of papers, got a little famous overseas, and became the youngest expert in psychology.
Later, Elara realized that even as an expert, she still couldn't figure out what was going on in Alex's head.