“It’s too late,” Yvonne said flatly. “Nicholas, he posted photos of the contracts on social media for all to see.”
Ruby’s heart sank. “Both the contracts?”
“Yes, both the contracts. We’ve been exposed.”
Ruby barely cared about the fact that everyone now knew the intimate details of their arrangement. What she cared about was how much this was clearly hurting Yvonne.
Ruby approached her. Her back was still turned, but as Ruby drew closer, she saw Yvonne’s face reflected in the window, warped with despair.
“Yvonne, everything is going to be okay.”
Yvonne shook her head. “No, it’s not. There’s no way I can get my inheritance now. All that money, gone. How am I going to help Nita?” Her voice cracked. “And now everyone knows our marriage is a lie. Do you have any idea how humiliating this is? This farce of a relationship, exposed to the entire world.”
Ruby felt a pang in her chest. Pushing it aside, she reached out and touched the other woman’s shoulder. “Yvonne-”
Yvonne broke away and began pacing before the window. “This was all for nothing. All the lies, the pretending.” She threw her hands up. “Almost three months, wasted on this stupid charade. And now, it’s over.”
The ache in Ruby’s chest turned into a stabbing too painful to ignore. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked quietly.
“No.” Yvonne’s voice was devoid of emotion. “Just leave me be.”
“I’m sorry, Yvonne. I’m so sorry.”
Ruby turned and fled from the room, her eyes stinging with tears. She returned to her bedroom, shut the door, and collapsed onto the bed, Yvonne’s words echoing in her mind. Her chest felt hollow. Sure, Ruby had messed up. Sure, she’d ruined things for Yvonne. But did Yvonne truly believe that this was all for nothing, that these three months had been wasted?
Ruby buried her face in her pillow, trying to smother the hurt inside her. She had no right to be upset. The whole point of their marriage was so that Yvonne could get her inheritance. That was all Yvonne had needed Ruby for. From the very beginning, Yvonne had made it clear that their arrangement was purely business.
To Yvonne, Ruby was just a means to an end.
Ruby sat up and yanked the wedding ring from her finger, tossing it to the floor. To think she’d opened up to Yvonne, sharing all her darkest secrets and desires. To think Ruby had trusted Yvonne. To think Ruby had started to believe that what they had was real.
To think she’d started to wonder whether she was falling in love with Yvonne.
Ruby should have known better. She’d been stupid to let her feelings get caught up in everything between them. Stupid to think their arrangement could have been more. Stupid to give her mind, and body, and everything else to this woman who only wanted her for money and pleasure.
She’d been stupid to agree to this sham of a marriage in the first place.
Ruby got up from the bed. She didn’t want to stay here. Yvonne herself had said that it was all over.
Ruby went into her closet, grabbed her suitcase, and started to pack.
Chapter 24
Yvonne knocked on Ruby’s bedroom door. She needed to apologize for her behavior the night before. She was ashamed of how badly she’d reacted to the situation. Everything had been spiraling out of control, and she’d found herself out of her depth.
It wasn’t a feeling she was accustomed to. She’d been terrified. The things she’d said to Ruby, the way she’d treated her, had been callous and unfair. Yvonne had been so consumed by the fact that her inheritance plot was falling apart that she hadn’t even considered how Ruby’s encounter with Nicholas had affected her.
Yvonne knocked on the door again. “Ruby? Are you in there?”
She waited but didn’t get a response. It was morning, so there was a chance Ruby was still asleep, but Yvonne needed to talk to her. She waited a few seconds more, then began knocking more insistently.
Just when Yvonne was about to give up, the door swung open.
Ruby stood before her, her face blank and her blue eyes cold. “What is it?”
“You’re awake,” Yvonne said. Ruby was already fully dressed. She looked like she’d been awake for a while. “Can I come in?”
Ruby stepped aside for Yvonne to enter the room. Ruby took a seat on the edge of her bed, while Yvonne perched on a nearby armchair, taking a moment to gather her thoughts.
“So?” Ruby said. “What do you want?”
Yvonne’s stomach tightened. Clearly, she’d hurt Ruby more than she’d realized. “I want to talk about last night. I need to apologize for how I behaved.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. I should never have said what I did. I never meant to…” Why did Ruby’s room look so bare? Yvonne looked around it.
Sitting in the corner were two fully packed suitcases.
Her heart lurched. “Ruby. You’re leaving?”
Ruby gave her a dismissive shrug. “It’s over. You said so yourself last night.”
“I didn’t mean-” Yvonne shook her head. “I didn’t mean you should leave.”
“What’s the point in staying?”
“Ruby-”
“What, Yvonne? What is it that you want? Do you even know yourself?” Ruby’s voice rose. “It’s been like this with you from the start. You say you want one thing, but you behave in the complete opposite way. You push me away, then you tell me I’m precious. You play these games with me while saying they mean nothing. Then yesterday, you said that these three months were a waste, that they were all for nothing? What am I supposed to think? How am I supposed to feel?” She shook her head. “I’m so tired of this. Do you ever mean anything you say? Do you ever stop to think about who you hurt just by being the way you are? Or are you just too stuck in your own head to even care?”
Yvonne flinched. “I-”
“Just tell me what you want, Yvonne! For once, just tell me.”
“I don’t know!” Yvonne stopped and took a deep breath. “I
