<b>Chapter 95 </b>
Chelsea finally escaped from herb after what felt like forever.
In her words, sometimes you just have to get out and soak up some energy. Otherwise, you start living like a ghost, drifting around and scaring yourself.
By pure coincidence, she’d picked a newly opened Chinese restaurant for lunch today. She’d barely sat down when she spotted Ruby sweeping in through the front doors, swinging a rare Hermès Birkin and oozing confidence like a peacock. Usually, Ruby never stepped out without her trademark heels, but today, she was in ts–a shocker if there ever was one.
Chelsea couldn’t help but watch as Ruby disappeared up the stairs.
“Who’s got you staring like a hungry wolf?” her friend teased, ncing over but clearly not seeing anyone special.
Chelsea smirked. “My ex–brother–inw’s one true love.”
Her friend blinked. “That sounds… dramatic.”
Chelsea just chuckled and waved down a waiter, whispering something in his ear. He nodded and hurried off with her message.
/* <![CDATA[ */
fpm_start( "true" );
/* ]]> */
Upstairs, Ruby was about to push open the door to her private room when the door across the hall opened. She turned and spotted Theo stepping out with a few business executives.
Theo looked surprised. “Ruby? What are the chances?”
“Cody,” Ruby greeted, shing a bright smile at the man beside Theo. “My dad told me you heard about my ident–broken leg and all. But as you can see, I’m in one piece.”
Cody grinned, giving her a quick once–over. “d to see you’re back on your feet, Ruby.”
Ruby nodded, her eyes flicking to Theo as she changed the subject. “So, you two talking business?”
“Yeah,” Cody said, but he kept ncing between her and Theo, clearly picking up on the tension. He didn’t say anything, but his look said it all.
Ruby just yed it cool, pretending not to notice. “Sorry for dropping in at a bad time. Cody, how about I walk you out?”
Cody thought, She’s not trying to walk me out–she just wants to talk to Theo.
In the parking lot, once everyone else had left, Ruby let her smile fade and turned to Theo.
“So, your leg’s better?” she asked softly.
Theo nodded. “Yeah. Weren’t you here for lunch? You should head back in.”
“I’m not here for lunch.” Ruby caught up to him as he tried to walk away. “I’m here to see you.”
She stopped him, her voice shaking a little. “Theo, I was in the hospital for half a year. You didn’t visit me once. I tried to hold it together, but as soon as I was discharged, I had to find you.”
Theo’s heart twisted. He looked at her and sighed. “Ruby, this isn’t the right time to talk about this.”
<b>11:18 </b>
“Why not?” she pressed.
“Don’t you get it? This is exactly what Patricia wanted. Even in herst moments, she set <b>up </b>everything so we’d never be together. I don’t want her to win, and I know you don’t either.” <fn47f9> Discover more novels at Find?Novel</fn47f9>
Patricia was gone, but her influence was still everywhere–both the Newton and Martin families were still tied up in her schemes. Even when Ruby was stuck in the hospital and Theo’s name was sshed across the news, Patricia was still pulling strings, making sure they stayed apart.
Ruby saw him hesitate and took another step forward. “Theo, we already missed our chance once. ! don’t want to let you slip away again.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached for his sleeve, just like she used to when they were kids–timid, hopeful, and a little bit lost.
Theo could never figure out why, with someone as dazzling as Patricia around, he’d fallen for Ruby. Maybe it was her vulnerability. Maybe it was because she made him want to protect her, even from the world itself.
Growing up, the second branch of the Martin family didn’t have it easy. They weren’t some old–money dynasty, and there was no family fortune waiting for them. It was Patricia’s parents who built everything from scratch, turning their little business into an industry giant in just over a decade.