Ruby Pov
As soon as I stepped outside the Blue Royale Hotel, the chilly night air hit me like a slap. Still, it wasn't enough to ease the pain piercing my chest.
I had signed the documents. I had lost four years of my life in one instance. I strolled aimlessly, my heels clicking on the sidewalk, my eyes clouded by unshed tears.
Even though my heart was pounding and my stomach was heaving, I wasn't going to lose it yet. I had put all of my heart into Ramsey.
I had sacrificed, persevered, and hoped. And in return? He had degraded me, replaced me, and treated me like a piece of garbage.
I gave a sarcastic laugh. Does his universe not include me?
The irony was almost comical. Ramsey had no idea who I was. The streets became hazy as my thoughts raced. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry.
But more than anything else... I sat on the edge of the hotel bed,where I had made a reservation for our anniversary night, staring at the divorce papers as though they were going to change themselves.My heart was numb, and my mind was empty.
I was no longer Mrs. Ruby Cole, and I had accepted that truth. My phone began to vibrate in my lap. Uncle Robert.
I hesitated to respond. "Uncle."
"Tomorrow, Ruby, stop by my office. We need to talk about the business of the company". He spoke in a calm, steady voice. I closed my eyes.
The same company that my parents founded at the outset. For a man who had treated me like a contract that was up, I quit the same company. I was straightforward when I said, "I don't want to talk about it."
"It has been a problem for you for years. Keep things under control.
"Ruby—" "I said no, Uncle." I exhaled. "I just… I need time." I hung up before he could argue.
I didn't want to worry about the past or the future at this moment. All I had to do was breathe.
An alarm next to my bedside table startled me while I was typing groggily. Time to get working.
After taking a quick shower, I was off to La Bella, the five-star restaurant where I had been employed for the past three years, in five minutes.
Cooking, which had been my vacation, was one thing that was truly mine. I put on my apron and went into the kitchen, ready to divert my focus. Then I heard a familiar . Laughter.
A rich, well-known laugh—Ramsey. As I turned to face the dining room, my blood felt chilly.
My ex-husband was seated exactly where we usually were. But he was not alone. He was accompanied by Rita. She whispered something as her well-groomed fingers brushed his jaw, and he threw back his head in delight.
He appeared to be happy. The same man who had touched me earlier was holding another woman. My fingers whitened as I gripped the tray tightly.
How could he move on from it so fast? I seem to forget that he is already engaged to Rita.
"Ruby!" I was brought back to the present by the head chef's voice. "Table four, move!"
I inhaled deeply, blinked, and shoved past them. But I wasn't invisible. As I passed, Ramsey's gaze flitted to me. We exchanged glances.
For a second, I saw something—guilt?
Are you sorry?
Rita stroked his arm, and he immediately stepped back. Like I didn't even exist.
I clenched my jaw to combat the sting in my chest. Okay. He had an easier time getting over this than I did.
Before I even made it to the kitchen, my vision began to deteriorate. The air felt too heavy, and my apron was too tight. I gripped the edge of the counter and pressed my fingernails into the wood to try to catch my breath.
"You okay, Ruby?" one of the sous cooks asked. I gave a stiff nod, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"No. I didn't feel good". I was disintegrating. I shouldn't care about it. But watching Ramsey laugh with Rita, the woman who he replaced me with, was like having a dagger thrust into my chest.
With shaking hands, I grabbed for a plate, but it dropped from my grasp and shattered on the floor.
"Damn it!" My voice cracked. In the kitchen, there was quiet. With shaking hands, I knelt and picked up the fragments.
"Ruby, stop. That will hurt you. A coworker tried to help, but I refused. I felt broken already. What was that wound again? The head chef stormed in.
"What on earth is going on with you today?" I squeezed my eyelids close and held it together. Don't weep.
Not here. I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks now, though. I stumbled, "I—I need a minute," took off my apron, and hurried out the back door.
Outside, the cold air hit me hard. I leaned my back against the brick wall, panting.
Four years. Four years of love, passion, and devotion were obliterated as if I had never existed. I hid my face with my hands and started crying.
My shoulders shook as I fell under the weight of all I had kept inside.
"Why wasn't I enough?" I whispered into the night. My eyes filled with tears, which landed on my outfit. My chest was hurting like hell. My entire being had been devoted to Ramsey. And I got nothing back from him.
The scorching pain in my chest did not go away despite the cold night air. I tried to steady my breathing by putting my arms around myself, but the weight of everything was too much. Hot, stinging tears streamed down my cheeks.
I felt like screaming, smashing something, and reversing the last four years of my existence.
However, that wouldn't alter the facts. Ramsey had tossed me aside as if I were unimportant. Even worse, I had allowed him.
I pressed my forehead against the chilly brick building behind me and forced my eyes shut.
"Why wasn't I enough?" The words were an incomplete whisper lost in the night, hardly escaping my lips. It wasn't until they were directly behind me that I heard the footsteps.
"Rough night?"