You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 668

Normally, when this sort of thing happened, Sara would just shake her head, almost like she was trying to shake the thought right out of her mind. And Oliver? He’d just smile, pull out his phone, and send her money like it was no big deal.

That night, Patricia used her anger as an excuse to finally get a good night’s sleep. For once, no one was bothering her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt like she’d uncovered some kind of secret hack.

September nights had this crispness to them. The autumn air was cool and biting, and if you stayed out too late, you’d start to feel the chill settling in, making you want to hurry home.

Out on a quiet street in Riverdale, right in front of a little hidden gem of a restaurant, Ruby pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She waved goodbye to someone in a business car, forced a smile until they were out of sight, and then let it drop the second the car turned the corner.

Driving home felt like a marathon. By the time she got there, she was completely wiped. She dropped her bag and her shawl right by the door and collapsed on the couch, not even caring where anything landed.

“Did it go badly?”

The question came out of nowhere, snapping Ruby out of her daze just as she was about to drift off. She blinked, startled, and sat up a little straighter. “No, not really.”

“I’m going to turn the light on, okay?” Tina said softly. Ruby just nodded, barely making a sound.

A small table lamp glowed to life, filling the living room with a warm, gentle light.

Tina looked at her daughter, and it hurt, watching her like this. Ruby used to be carefree, always laughing and happy. Back when she was with Theo as a teenager, he’d made sure everything was taken care of for her, like she never had to worry about anything. Later, when she and Emerson took over the Martin Group, they handled every little detail. All Ruby had to do was enjoy life.

Now, though? The girl who once lived like a princess was out there hustling, going toe-to-toe with people in the business world. Ever since Emerson ended up in prison, it was like a dark cloud had settled over Ruby. She was always tense, always on edge, never really able to relax.

Tina reached over, squeezed Ruby’s hand gently, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ruby, why don’t we just walk away from all of this? We could move abroad, start fresh.”

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