You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 461

“I went to high school with Ruby. After my family went bankrupt, I moved overseas. I've been back for over two months and still haven’t seen her. Honestly, I thought she must’ve gotten married or something. So when you say she’s back, what do you mean?”

Sara played dumb, her eyes darting from one girl to the next. She wasn’t about to miss out on any of this gossip.

Someone finally spoke up, sounding a little hesitant. “Her family went broke and she still managed to get in here?”

Colton and Roger, standing off to the side, both raised their eyebrows. Conversations were always more interesting with people who weren’t clueless.

Sara lifted her hand and pointed right at Colton. “That’s what my sugar daddy is for!”

Colton just stared at her, totally thrown off.

“Come on, you really think I could afford a place like this after everything that happened? Places like this are for girls like you, born into old money.”

The woman across from her looked a little embarrassed at Sara’s straightforward praise. She scratched her nose, trying to act cool but not quite pulling it off. “Well, at least you know your place.”

Sara flashed a grin. “Of course. After my family lost everything, I learned to see people a little more clearly. But…” She dropped her voice, leaning in a bit closer. “What’s this about Ruby and her boy toy?”

Someone snorted. “Oh, you know, Ruby’s always been messy. She’s not exactly innocent. None of them are.”

“Theo’s just as bad. He cheated on his wife and then set her place on fire. Not exactly a prince. And Ruby? She’s been seeing two guys at once. At first, everyone thought they were childhood sweethearts, but the more you see them together, the more you realize—people like that always find each other.”

“Don’t forget,” another girl chimed in, “back then, the Newtons wouldn’t even look at Ruby. If Emerson and Tina hadn’t teamed up with the Martins’ grandma to steal her brother’s company, Ruby wouldn’t have even gotten near the Newtons.”

Unless, of course, the son was a total lost cause.

To them, daughters were either bargaining chips for marriage or just kept around and spoiled.

“You really think Nina’s lucky? Maybe you should take another look at who actually came out on top after everything that happened with Joseph.”

Whoever benefits the most is the one pulling the strings.

And in Joseph’s case, from beginning to end, there was only ever one real winner.

As soon as those words landed, the little group went quiet. Even Sara couldn’t think of anything else to say.