You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 68

The whole room burst into laughter, everyone piling on with teasing remarks.

“Patricia’s already out of your way. Someone like Nina? Please, Ruby, she’s just a fresh grad—totally naive, not even worth your attention.”

“Seriously! You’ve had Mr. Newton wrapped around your finger for years.”

Ruby flashed a smug, unstoppable smile. She and Theo had been together since they were kids—twenty years of history. No one was going to threaten that.

They were still gossiping when the private room door opened and a server stepped in, balancing a tray with just one envelope on it.

“Ms. Martin, someone dropped this off at the front desk for you,” he announced.

Ruby frowned. “What is it?”

The server shook his head. “No idea, ma’am.”

“Just get rid of it. I don’t want anything right now.” The media had been relentless lately, and Ruby wasn’t about to risk accepting something suspicious.

“Oh, come on! It’s just an envelope. Hand it over—I’ll check it out,” said Ruby’s best friend next to her, reaching for it.

The server hesitated, looking to Ruby for the go-ahead. She nodded, so he set the tray down in front of her friend.

Her friend tore open the envelope, but as soon as she saw what was inside, her smile froze.

“What’s in there?” someone asked, curious.

Her friend quickly shoved the photo back in. “It’s nothing,” she said, a little too fast.

That only made Ruby more suspicious. She snatched the envelope and pulled out the photo herself—and her heart dropped.

Two bodies, completely naked, tangled up in bed. Nina and Theo.

Theo glanced at the screen, then ignored the call. “Patricia, is this really it for us? There’s no chance we could fix things?”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Fix what? With your mistress, Ms. Miller? Or with your precious Ms. Martin, the one you brought home yourself?”

“Why do you always have to be so harsh? Things got this bad between us—you don’t think you played a part?”

“I know I did. Saving your life was my biggest mistake,” she said flatly. You should’ve died back then. Some debts just can’t be repaid.

She thought to herself: You should never meddle in someone else’s fate. The price is always more than you bargained for.

Theo’s jaw tightened, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

He had married Patricia, once the most beautiful woman in Riverdale. He’d never even touched her, and now he was being forced into divorce, forced to pay off the fallout.

A dark, bitter anger burned in his chest.