Still the same night
"I just don't want you anymore.”
The words kept ringing in her ear as she looked at him. She just couldn't believe this. Why was he suddenly being this cruel to her, showing her the side she had always wondered about?“Is this some sort of joke?” she asked as she picked his hands but he removed them sharply. “Do I look like I'm joking?” he asked her, a stern look on his face. He shook his head. "Look, Ruby. I don't want to hurt you, that's why I wanted to leave it at that, but you're making a face as if I'm a bad person. I'm not.” He said. But he was! He was cruel and being an ass for no reason, or maybe there was one, so she asked. "Why? Why are you doing this? Did I do something wrong? Is that it?” she didn't care that her voice was starting to rise with the tempo. "If that's it, please. Let me apologize.” She said. Roy rolled his eyes and grunted. "Oh, please you can't. How can you apologize for being a prude? I can count the number of times you kissed me even when I ask you to. I always kiss you, and you won't kiss me back sometimes. How can you apologize for being in a relationship with me without me getting anything out of it? Not sex, not money, not even the kind of partner I want. You don't dress like you should as a woman even though you have a great shape, which was why I approached you in the first place. “I honestly thought you would change your mind as time goes by about the no sex thing in the relationship, trying so hard to get down with you, but you wouldn't bulge. You wear khaki instead of jeans like a man and wear big blouses like you're some old chick. Well, I can take it any longer.” By the time he was done talking, Ruby was already crying. She felt the tears running down her cheeks but she was too dumbfounded to react or clean them off. Maybe she should beg him and assure him she would change, maybe that would stop her from feeling as if she would die from the chest pain she was currently feeling. It was as if her heart would rip out of her chest any moment from now if care wasn't taken. This man had just admitted to only approaching her because she had a great figure and whether or not he could get her to have sex with her was why he stayed with her, and the first thing she could think of was to beg him.Was she trying to be pathetic or what? A man whom she couldn't recognize at that moment was staring back at her, waiting for her to say something, but what to say eluded her. She couldn't tell whether this was a dream or she was really going through a mess. She had just lost her job some hours ago, with her boss complaining of how weirdly she dressed to work and being too clumsy, and now this? Something was definitely wrong with her. Both of them couldn't have been wrong, now, could they?“Don't you dare think about yourself like that, Ruby.” She heard Olivia’s voice in her head as if she was right there behind her. Ruby nodded her head mentally. That was true, that wasn't who she was, no matter what they said. She might wear weird clothes that looked unattractive, but it wasn't enough reason for anyone to get rid of her. It was there loss, not hers. She wasn't going to allow them bring her down. Her mistake was not seeing them for who they were and trying to see reason with them. She regretted crying in front of the ass like this, letting him see her in that condition. He probably think that he was too important she was scared to lose him and thought that she couldn't live without him. Clearing her throat, she picked out a tissue paper from the box on the table and cleaned her eyes. To control her voice, she spoke in almost a whisper. "You're such a terrible person, Roy, and I am the biggest fool for not seeing it until now. I was so blind by the need to have a man in my life that I didn't see who you really were, or heard all I was told about you by Olivia. Now I see why she had always hated you because she could see the scum that you were and smell how rotten you are. I hope that you find someone as cruel as you and you end up together.” She said. She didn't expect what happened next. Roy threw his head back and laughed. "What the hell was that?” he asked after he stopped laughing. “You must think that saying all that would make me feel bad about myself, don't you?” he asked with his brows raised. When Ruby didn't say anything, he laughed again. She couldn't because her tongue was tied. She really couldn't believe she had been with a man like this for the period of time they had been together. It was just so shocking for her, surprising even. “Just let me give you a piece of advice. Whether you change your way of dressing or you don't, you're doomed to never find anyone. No one would want a prude like you, never. They sure would come no doubt, but they would never stay with you, trust me. I don't know why I bothered coming all the way here when I could have broken up with you over a text. Just so you know, I still had sex today, so it's never a problem for me.” He stood up from his seat and looked down at her. He stared for a long while before shaking his head at her. "I'm so sorry for you. You look pathetic even now. I mean, who brings their boyfriend to a fancy restaurant like this, with clothes looking like a sack of rice?” he asked, and Ruby looked down at the free gown she had on. "You're surely a lost cause.” And with that, he walked out of the restaurant without a backward glance. Ruby put her hands to her face to cover it, embarrassed because he had said the last part in a loud voice, knowing that people that were two tables over had heard him. Behind her hands, she peeked at one of them to see them giving her a weird look, then she covered her face right back. It was the sound of the waiter arriving at her table with food and wine that made her raise her head. Damn! She had totally forgotten about the food and wine they ordered. She looked down at the baked potatoes, steak, and cheese. The bastard had even ordered her his favorite. She was going to have to pay for his food as well anyway, but it sure won't feel good anymore. Signing, she smiled up at the waiter and said. "Please, can I get this packed to go?” He looked at her and nodded. "Right away ma'am,” and he was goneCameron looked beside him at his five and seven years old children already dozing off to sleep. They should be in bed, but he couldn't leave them at home alone as he couldn't find a babysitter for the night. Their last nanny quit a week ago because she couldn't understand his kids. At least, that was the silly reason she gave when she submitted her resignation letter. Tonight, he had dinner with his family; his parents, grandmother, and sister, and he had told them he would be bringing his children over as well since he couldn't find someone to stay with them tonight. They should be in bed, not out here in his car sleeping. Thankfully, it wasn't a school night, so they would sleep in tomorrow morning. He should talk to his best friend; Lee, if he could talk to his wife for him. She ran an agency that hire people to work as a temp in a company. Maybe she could get someone who was interested in working as his nanny or something. The car soon rolled to a stop and Mr. Paul; his driver
Ruby didn't know how far she had walked, from the restaurant to her house, but she did, with the box that was packed at the restaurant in one hand and her bag in the other. She walked to her apartment and got into the elevator. Thankfully, it was still working. If she had to go up to her apartment through the stairs to the third floor, she would have been exhausted. Finally, she got to the door of her apartment and unlocked the door, the bunch of keys already in hand. As she pushed the door in and walked by it to enter into the apartment, the edge of her dress pocket was caught in the knob, pulling her back and making her fall down flat on her ass. Thankfully, the box of food she was holding wasn't that much affected, but the content of her bag was scattered on the floor. Frustrated, she sat there instead of getting up and letting lose the wail she had been suppressing in her. She began to shake uncontrollably, crying as she remembered everything she had gone through in a day. Her
Ruby had her head resting in Olivia’s lap as she cried, while Olivia had her right hand in her hair, massaging her scalp and hoping that would get her to stop crying. She was still burning with fury but she tried to not show it for her dear cousin’s sake. It wasn't easy to go through what Ruby had just in one day, so she would try to stop her from crying. Besides, crying was good, it meant that she wouldn't keep it in and later hurt herself from the compressed emotions she felt. "Do you think that I don't dress well?” Ruby asked Olivia suddenly, turning her body so that she was now facing her. Olivia's hand stopped massaging her scalp and she stared down at her. She sighed, wondering how best she would answer her. She shook her head slowly and said. "No, Ruby. I would say that you can do better if you want, but if you want to go with this, nothing is wrong with it. You're a beautiful woman, and no matter what you wear, including a sack of rice, you'll look good.” Ruby smiled, and
Someone was shaking her awake, but Ruby just wanted to sleep for five more minutes. She didn’t have a job to go to anyway, and it wasn’t as if she had a date she was going for. She seriously just needed her beauty sleep. She was going to sleep more and see if the person would leave her the hell alone. “Wake up you brat. You can't just stay in all day without going out to look for a job.” The voice said and Ruby groaned. She popped one of her eyes open to look at the annoying person and it turned out to be the only person it could be. Olivia!“Leave me alone, for goodness sake. I just want to sleep for five more minutes.” She said. "Well, you've been saying that since six o’clock and this is seven o’clock. I'm going to work in an hour but I sure as hell won't leave you at home to continue your moping around routine.”Ruby rolled her closed eyes and then she opened them to look at her cousin who decided to be annoying today. She had lost her job and her boyfriend a week ago, so why w
"Ms. Hardin?" Ruby heard a voice call and she jerk out of her thought.That meant that it was almost her turn, seeing as the woman they had just called was beside her. Her nervousness increased and she tried taking a deep breath so that she could calm her nerves down a notch. It was just like that, no problem at all, but she was prone to riling herself up like that all the time.It wasn't her fault, it was probably how she was wired, plus it was Olivia’s fault for not hinting to her about the job before this morning. Now, everything was a disaster.It wasn't only her work life that was a disaster though. Her love life was the worst, but she couldn't think about that now. She shook her head and muttered to herself again, wanting for this interview to be over as fast as it could.She had prepared all the way here in the car for the interview and she had even practiced some of the questions she knew they always asked in common. She just hoped that her nerves wouldn't get in the way and
Ruby walked erratically, not sure of what to do. She was left with nothing but the clothes she had worn this morning. Her bag had been stolen, which meant that she had no money for a bus or cab. She walked to the bus stop even though she was sure she couldn't board the bus without any money.The rain was falling so heavily, and it had drenched her to the bone if that was a thing. She wanted to go into an alley and scream her throat out, getting out the fury that she was feeling.She was so angry at herself and if she had a chance or even the courage to do so, she would have taken a blade to her wrist even if it was just to punish and not to kill herself.Why was she so stupid, so much that she had forgotten something so important? She asked herself.Her dress, or rather, Olivia’s dress, clung to her body with the rain that had drenched her. She was starting to feel the cold creep into her body so deep that her teeth were starting to clash.She was beyond a reasonable doubt, hopeless
“I've been calling you all day to know how the interview went.” That was the first thing Olivia told her as she entered their apartment later that night. She dropped her bag on the kitchen counter before coming to sit with her on the couch. Ruby sighed, just at that moment, remembering that she had lost her phone earlier. “I had the craziest day today, Livy.” She said, and then she explained how stupid she had been today at the interview she went for. As she narrated the event, Olivia stared at her with her eyed widened in surprise and her mouth opened as if she had never heard such stupidity before. “What the hell, Ruby?” Olivia asked, frowning. “You don't have to say it, Livy. I definitely know that I had been a fool. I was just so uncollected and nervous that I ruined the interview.” She said. “And you're this calm? You lose your phone and your money but you're this calm? How?” she asked, wondering if she had missed the part where her cousin had cried her eyes out. Her eyes
“That's how I got a job as a nanny.” She said to Olivia. She had a pleased smile on her face, talking to her because she knew that it was something she would be happy about. As she predicted, Olivia smiled, marveled at the way luck had shone on her. "So, what's the name of the people you're supposed to work for?” she asked her. Ruby shrugged her shoulder. "All I have is a name, and nothing more. I also know I have to look after two kids and the house is in the rich neighborhood of New York. I think it's in Hudson Yards.” She said. "You should have asked more questions about who you would be working for, you know.” Ruby nodded. "Yes, I really should have but I was half happy and half nervous about the whole thing. I couldn't even eat the lunch the woman bought for me properly.” She said. Olivia threw her head back and laughed like a crazy person. "Of course, you can't. She bought you a salad and some crazy ass diet person meat that tasted bland.” She said. Rolling her eyes, Ruby a