Joseph's buddies were bent on pushing him and Ruby together, whooping it up with a round of drinking games and going out of their way to corner her.
Ruby lost, and Joseph pulled her into his arms to take the drink for her.
"You've got the guts, come at me. What kind of man picks on Ruby?"
I was tucked away in the shadows gathering evidence, and I never expected Ruby to spot me anyway.
She didn't make a scene. Without a flicker of expression, she slipped free of Joseph's protection, walked over, and backed me into the restroom.
The fragile, innocent act she wore in front of everyone was gone, her eyes full of mockery and superiority.
"Flora, you actually followed us all the way here?"
"Let me be honest with you. You saw right. Joe never went bankrupt, and he doesn't have depression either. Every single day you were out there killing yourself for money, he was with me."
"Joe doesn't love you at all. From start to finish, you were nothing but my stand-in!"
I feigned shock and shot back coldly, "You're lying!"
Ruby's smile was thin and cold, her posture haughty and brazen. "Am I lying? Do you have eyes or not?"
"The photo on Joe's lock screen is me, his passcode is my birthday, and even that villa you wouldn't let Pudding into? It was never auctioned off to pay debts. It was signed over to me."
"It's home for me and Pudding now."
She watched the color drain from my face inch by inch, and her smile turned smugger still.
"Haven't you noticed? Ever since you two moved into that dump of a rental, Joe hasn't spent a single night there. He hasn't touched you in three years, has he?"
"That's because he's been living at my place all these years. Oh, and that twenty grand you nearly died for, hauling up a drill bit? He handed it straight to me, told me to spend all of it on food and clothes and whatever else for Pudding."
"Flora, everything you've suffered these three years, Joe was punishing you for Pudding. In his heart, you're worth less than a dog of mine."
"If I were you, I'd have been too ashamed to keep living. I'd have just died down in that mudpit and gotten it over with!"
Ruby's words were made to gut me, and they weren't wrong.
The fury boiling up in me couldn't be held down any longer.
Smack!
I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.
"Who the hell do you think you are? My life is none of your business!"
Ruby's face twisted, her teeth grinding. "You bitch, you dare hit me?"
I grabbed her wrist and gave a cold, cutting smile. "Tell me, if I drag you to Joseph right now and make you say it to his face, do you think he'll blame you for running your mouth and blowing his cover? Will that pure, precious little image of yours survive?"
Ruby froze for a beat, then clapped a hand over her face, threw off my grip, shot me a vicious glare, and turned and ran.
Her words had actually reminded me of something. I stopped the recording, walked out of the private club, hailed a cab, and went straight back to what used to be our villa.
I keyed in Ruby's birthday, and the lock on the front gate popped open.
How fitting.
Back then, Joseph had fallen out with his own mother rather than give up marrying me, a woman with no background and nothing to my name.
I'd stupidly believed it was because he loved me.
But not long after our wedding, Ruby, the first love who'd vanished on him for two years, suddenly showed up at our door with a dog in her arms.
Looking pitiful, she said, "Joe, I broke up with him. I've got nowhere to go. Could I stay with you a few days?"
Joseph went stiff where he stood, saying nothing.
I thought he was caught in the middle, unable to turn her away.
As it happened, I'm allergic to dog hair, so I just refused her request outright.
I meant to get him off the hook. I never imagined that offhand refusal would be the start of three years of undeserved misery.
I pulled myself out of the memory and went straight to the study. It was exactly as it used to be.
I opened the computer, typed in Ruby's birthday again, and it unlocked.
Talk about a pillow arriving the moment you're sleepy. This place had not only what Lambert wanted, but what I wanted too.
After I photographed it and sent it to Lambert, my palms were slick with sweat.
Just then a message came from Joseph.
"Flora, got lucky tonight. It was a customer's birthday and they gave me a slice of cake, blueberry, your favorite. I'll bring it home for you in the morning."
"Also, Mr. Zane just messaged. There's a pile-driving dig the day after tomorrow, pretty tough one, and he wants you on-site and ready. He's offering thirty grand this time. Get a good day's rest tomorrow, okay?"
Acting like that, it's a crime nobody's handed him an Oscar.
I couldn't help the smile, and I didn't answer him.
On my way out, I spotted a Delgado family invitation on the coffee table in the living room.
Joseph's mother, the mother-in-law who'd never had any use for me, was turning sixty.
Nobody had told me, and the date happened to be set for the day after tomorrow.
What a coincidence.
Once it clicked, I let out a cold laugh. My mother-in-law's big birthday, and how could I, as her daughter-in-law, not attend?
Perfect. I'd bring them a nice big gift.
