The girl’s bright smile made it impossible to see her as the same timid young woman she had first met.
“Fine!”
Ruby Grant almost laughed in exasperation.
‘She was no fool.’
‘No wonder Vince arranged for her to come here himself.’
Her gaze swept sharply across the girl’s face, and she regretted having been so pleasant to her at first.
“Touch my things again, and I’ll make you pay.”
Ruby Grant stared the girl down, her aura flaring in an instant—powerful and cutting.
The girl froze in terror, too frightened to move.
‘Wasn’t she supposed to be just some ordinary mom?
Where is this terrifying, oppressive aura coming from?’
While the girl stood there, stunned, Ruby Grant held her child in one arm and stuffed her belongings into a suitcase with the other.
She hadn’t been living there long and hadn’t acquired anything new for herself.
Most of the items belonged to Ceci, so packing was quick.
By nature, she was an exceptionally gentle person.
But now, Ceci was her line in the sand.
The moment she saw the girl holding Ceci with a hostile look, a wave of hot fury had rushed to her head.
When she walked out of the dorm room with Ceci, she found several of the older women she was friendly with waiting outside.
Ms.
Pound stood at their head, right in the center.
They had also heard the commotion inside.
As Ruby Grant opened the door, they all shot displeased glances at the girl within.
Their gazes were full of warning.
The girl flinched and quickly shut the door, blocking their view.
“Honey!”
Ms.
Pound waved to get Ruby Grant’s attention.
She walked over, grabbed Ruby’s hand, and pressed a large plastic bag into it.
“We all heard you got fired.
There wasn’t much else we could do to help, so we all pitched in and bought a few things for the little one.”
Ruby Grant felt a sudden prickling in her nose and tried to refuse, but Ms.
Pound shot her a glare.
“It’ll be a pain to return this stuff, and besides, it’s for Ceci.
Don’t you dare refuse!”
With that, she hooked the plastic bag right onto Ruby Grant’s luggage and patted it with satisfaction.
“Everyone… Thank you all for taking care of me recently!”
With her eyes welling up, Ruby Grant gave the women a deep bow.
From the wife of a billionaire and a top lawyer to a janitor—it had been a swift and difficult fall from grace, but the kindness of these warm-hearted women had made it bearable.
“Nonsense!
It was nothing!”
Ms.
Pound boomed, speaking for the others.
“You can always come back and visit if you miss us.”
“Kids grow up so fast.
I really want to see how that handsome little face of Ceci’s turns out.”
…
The women laughed and joked, trying to lighten the sorrow of their farewell.
Ruby Grant left under their watchful eyes.
Even the ever-formidable Ms.
Pound couldn’t stop her own eyes from turning red.
“Alright, alright, back to work, everyone!”
She wiped her eyes and waved a hand, dismissing the small crowd.
Ruby Grant held Ceci in one arm and dragged her suitcase with the other, walking aimlessly along the side of the road.
She quickly found a cheap apartment on a rental app.
But just as she was about to pay for half a month’s rent, she found her online banking wasn’t working.
In a bind, Ruby Grant thought for a moment and decided to head to a nearby bank.
‘Cash should be fine, too.
I’ll contact the landlord and arrange to pay in person.’
That was until she stood in front of an ATM.
But when she inserted her bank card, the machine just kept displaying an error.
She couldn’t withdraw any cash.
Ruby Grant frowned.
‘Didn’t the supervisor say he’d already deposited this month’s wages into her account?’
A deep sense of unease settled in her heart, and she decided to call him.
“I sent it this morning.
If you can’t get it out, it’s probably a problem with your card.
I have the records on my end, so don’t try to pull a fast one on me.
You’re not trying to get greedy and get paid twice, are you?”
The supervisor’s mocking tone was jarring, but the panic in Ruby Grant’s chest was even more intense.
A dreadful possibility began to form in her mind.
After hanging up on her passive-aggressive supervisor, she hurried to find a bank employee.
A quick check revealed the unbelievable result: her bank account had been frozen.
“When did this happen?”
“Around noon today.”
Ruby Grant’s body trembled, and she nearly collapsed right there.
The blazing sun overhead was so intense she nearly fainted.
Or perhaps it wasn’t the sun.
She shielded Ceci from the sun, her own heart feeling as though it were being wrapped in layers of spiderwebs, pulling her into an airless black hole.
The vicious sun beat down on Ruby Grant’s fair skin.
A fine sheen of sweat had broken out on her forehead, yet a cold shiver ran through her.
‘Besides Caleb Lawford, she couldn’t think of a single other person who could freeze her bank account without her consent.’
Ruby Grant bit her lip, her eyes turning red.
Not from sadness, but from rage.
She was furious and full of hate.
‘Did he really have to hunt them down, to leave them with absolutely nothing?’
Holding Ceci, Ruby Grant felt as though the smooth pavement beneath her feet had suddenly turned treacherous and uneven.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
A message from the landlord popped up: “Have you decided on a time to see the apartment?”
Ruby Grant’s hand tightened around her phone.
With a sense of helpless apology, she could only make up an excuse and decline.
She shoved the phone back into her bag and watched the people coming and going on the street, her eyes filled with a lost, dazed look.
‘Without money, where could she and Ceci possibly go?’
Her gaze drifted helplessly as she walked, her steps faltering until she came to a stop in front of a small loan advertisement plastered on a wall.
Ruby Grant looked up in a daze, surprised to see that the wall belonged to a private law firm.
Ruby Grant paused at the entrance, a complicated feeling churning inside her.
Being a lawyer was once a profession she had loved and revered.
But that life was now a distant memory.
Holding Ceci, Ruby Grant lowered her head, forcing her eyes back to the loan ad.
Just as she was concentrating on memorizing the phone number, she felt a cool sensation on her forehead as a shadow fell over her.
Someone was holding an umbrella over her.
Ruby Grant froze for a second, catching the clean, sharp scent of pine from the person beside her.
“Ruby, come with me.”
“I have a villa that’s been waiting for you.
It’s been a long time.
We can hire an experienced nanny to help you with the baby.”
Miles Spade was standing beside her, though she hadn’t noticed him approach.
His charming eyes were soft and filled with affection; when he looked down at her, it was as if she were the one true love of his life.