Chapter 117: I’m Sorry
The engine’s hum filled the silence in the car as Rayna drove through the winding coastal roads. Ruby sat slumped in the passenger seat, her arms wrapped around herself like a shield.
The wind outside blurred into streaks against the glass, but inside, it felt like time had slowed. The tightness in her chest hadn’t eased. If anything, it had only grown heavier.
"I can’t believe he came all the way here," she muttered, her voice low and trembling. "I left for a reason. I just... I didn’t want to feel like this again."
Rayna reached over and turned down the radio volume. "I know, Rubes. I know. That wasn’t fair of him."
Ruby let out a bitter laugh. "Fair? Since when has anything about this entire situation been fair? He didn’t even give me a chance, Ray. Not once. I begged for just a simple chance to speak to him but he... he just looked at me like I was some kind of manipulative monster. And now he shows up like the wounded victim, talking about how he loves me?"
Rayna gave a soft sigh but didn’t interrupt.
"I stood there," Ruby continued, her voice rising. "I stood there, right in front of him the day he got his sight back—his sight, Rayna—and the first thing he and his dear wife did was accuse me. Humiliate me. All that time I was by his side, taking care of him, lying for him, protecting his image, fighting against his enemies, fighting for his company.... it meant nothing."
She turned her face toward the window, blinking furiously. "It’s like I never mattered. Not as Ruby, not even as Ivy. I was just a pawn in Elizabeth’s and Ivy’s twisted play."
Rayna reached over again and placed a hand on Ruby’s arm, her grip warm and grounding. "You did matter. He just didn’t see it soon enough."
"But it’s too late now," Ruby whispered. "Everything hurts too much. I feel like I’m cracking from the inside."