Chapter 5
1184 Words
Absolutely no one saw that coming, especially Mr. Thompson, who had made sure there were no loose ends at the wedding, only for the person whom he considered family to have betrayed.
Ruby's phone kept buzzing non-stop. The calls were from various media and curious acquaintances who certainly found it difficult to mind their businesses.
Frustrated, she moved to switch off the phone, but one last call made her hesitate. She shook in fear at the thought of responding to the call.
It was her father!
Her heart became heavy. Her chest tightened, not because she had done anything wrong to him, but because of the fear he had instilled in her since childhood. His calls meant no good.
She finally picked up the call.
"You filthy daughter of a b***h, come and see me right now!"
The line went dead.
Ruby's heart pounded. She bent her head over her palm. A sudden headache hooked her.
She bit her lips in regret for ever making the decision to go into that marriage.
"I could have just given up my position in the company and had my freedom." She thought aloud. It was now too late to turn back.
There was a soft knock on the door. She wondered who could have needed her attention so early in the morning.
She made to open the door. It was Stanley.
"Why are you here?" Ruby asked, frowning, refusing to forget the predicament he had put her through since the wedding.
"Mmm......about the news that came from the media this morning, I just wanted to ask if you're okay." He said carefully. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out." He added.
"Oh! Are you remorseful now? You care about it now that the situation has escalated?"
"Uhmm...sorry about yesterday." he said quickly and rushed to leave.
Ruby was too dazed to speak further, she couldn't believe the Almighty Stanley could crush his arrogance.
She stood in a rush, knowing if she wasted one more minute, her father would come looking for her himself, and with heavy consequences.
She rushed outside to take a taxi, looking for every means possible to avoid Stanley.
"Isn't it better to keep arguing every day so I can live? I can't deal with the awkward vibe between us when he's remorseful," she thought.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A deep familiar voice came from behind.
Ruby froze!
She slowly turned back to face Stanley.
She keeps getting caught.
"My... My father sent for me," she answered.
"Then why are you taking a taxi when you could have asked one of the drivers to drive you?" he questioned.
Her heart melted!
"Does he care about me this much?" she thought.
"Are you taking the car or not?" he questioned further when he noticed Ruby wasn't responding to his previous question.
Ruby was jolted back to life.
Ye... Yes...she stammered, struggling to catch her breath from the shock of his sudden good behavior.
"Or do you want me to drive you?"
Ruby immediately became flushed. She stared at him intently, unable to open her mouth to give an answer.
Stanley didn't wait for her response. He grabbed the car key from his pocket, and moved towards the car.
Ruby gave a quick awkward run towards the car like a controlled chicken.
It was dead silent in the car.
Stanley, noticing the awkward vibe, tuned in to sweet, slow love music.
Ruby knew she had to control her emotions as much as possible as she had been doing since high school. She wouldn't let her feelings for him become a weakness to her.
"Maybe I was wrong about him after all. He's actually a sweet man," she thought, but she immediately waved off that thought, knowing it was all just pretense.
"Or does he want something from me?"
She couldn't help but bother about his sudden change in attitude. The thoughts kept ringing in her mind till she got to her father's house.
"We're here," he said.
"Ooh... Thank you." she muttered.
Ruby turned back to take a last look at him before leaving. He had zoomed off.
Stanley almost made her forget that she might be in trouble with her father. She walked towards the mansion, terrified of what to expect from her father. She knew that she should prepare for the worst.
True to her thoughts, the worst happened. She met Mr. Thompson pacing to and fro in the living room. Then, she knew she was in big trouble.
"Holy Mary, mother of Jesus, please save me today. I promise I'll start going to church regularly from now on." She prayed silently as she approached her father slowly, her heart pounding and almost jumping out of her chest.
"You bastard". He shouted as soon as he sighted her.
Ruby froze. She dared not move closer to him.
"What have I done to this man again?" She thought in fear.
"You ungrateful child. What did you ask for that I didn't give you?" Mr. Thompson asked furiously without expecting an answer from her.
"We have done everything parents could do for their children, yet you repaid us with evil?"
Ruby stood still, all confused. She squeezed her face, her expression searching for answers.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Can you make it clear to me?" Ruby asked carefully enough not to provoke more anger in her father.
"Quit the pretense, Ruby. You have been exposed," he shouted.
Ruby got more confused. She kept looking at Mr. Thompson inquiringly, but he was not yielding.
"You colluded with Lily to ruin the wedding party just because you didn't want it?" he finally confessed.
"What?" Ruby shouted in shock.
"What do you mean I colluded with Lily?"
"That's absurd!" she shouted in disbelief.
"You don't have to act anymore, Ruby. Lily had already confessed everything to me. She told me you planted the reporter at the wedding venue to capture everything, and you even paid him to release that absurd news," he said, his voice filled with frustration and disappointment. "Now the company's stock has plummeted. We're in big trouble," he added.
"So, you believe everything Lily said to you? You didn't care to consult me to verify the truth?"
"Of course, I believe her. There is obvious evidence," Mr Thompson said in affirmation.
He took out his phone and showed Ruby a screenshot of her own chat with the reporter. The chat covered how everything was planned step by step.
Ruby staggered back, unable to believe what she had just seen. She gaped at the phone, frozen in disbelief.
"Now that you're here, I can easily confirm the truth directly."
Ruby came to the realization that everything had been planned step by step from the beginning. No matter how she denied it, no one would believe her. Everything had been planted on her phone. She had been trapped.
She trembled, praying that what she had thought wouldn't be the truth, but unfortunately for her, the chats were there!
Not just that, her transaction history also revealed that she had sent money to the reporter!
- Writer
