CHAPTER 6
RUBY’S POVI felt like a shell of myself by the time I got to the front porch of my house.I had no idea how I even got there but I knew I walked all the way back and I saw Clarissa was seated on the porch, reading a book.I froze by the sidewalk when I saw her and it took seconds before she noticed me. I could tell that she knew something happened immediately she saw the look on my face.I had no idea how I looked but I knew I was feeling numb. I didn’t know what to feel after everything Dax said to me and I hated that those mere words from him were taking such a huge toll on me.“Ruby, are you okay? You look pale” Clarissa asked worriedly as she came toward me and I sniffed when my eyes began to sting again. I really didn’t want to cry but I couldn’t help it when I was always defenseless around her.As if sensing the tears that were about to come, she quickly pulled me in for a hug and patted me on the back while the dam I had been holding back right from the cafe finally broke.The tears fell in torrents and I had to gasp to catch my breath in between the sobs I let out. Then she walked me into the house and sat me down before handing me a napkin and a glass of water. With a mumbled thanks, I took them both from her and she sat opposite me with worry still etched on her face.“Tell me. Did he say hurtful words to you again? I’m going to make him pay in any way that I can” she asked and I managed to let out a chuckle as a lazy smile graced my face. I looked at her and she looked relieved to see I could still smile.“Did he hurt you, Ruby? I know I’m trying to hold my place without my family’s influence but I mean it when I say I’ll make him pay. Even if I have to beg my parents” she told me while placing her hand over mine on the table and I shook my head.“He did quite the opposite, Clarissa. It was very unexpected and I don’t even know why I’m crying. It makes no sense but here I am, breaking down over a man that broke me down years ago. I should be immune to him but I can’t help it and I hate it so much”“What do you mean by the opposite? What did Dax do?” she fired another question at me and I swallowed before speaking.“He told me he wants me back. That he still loves me and needs me back in his life” I finally let the cat out of the bag and I watched her eyes widen as she let the weight of my words sink in.“What? He said that to you?” she asked me in disbelief and I nodded my head before sniffing again.“And I have no idea why. Why would he do that after eight years? It’s a long time for him to get over me. It wasn’t like he even loved me” I told her and she leaned back in her chair before folding her arms over her chest.“What if he needs something and thinks you would be the perfect tool to get whatever he wants?” she asked me and she went on when I didn’t understand what she meant.“Imagine you hear about a billionaire who got back with his ex-fiancee whom he broke up with years ago. Such news is definitely going to make the headlines on celebrity gossip outlets and it will be a boost to his companies. I believe he’s just trying to use you, Ruby” she explained further and I scoffed as my heart tugged with pain.I felt hurt and I couldn’t explain why. Not like I ever wanted to get back with him but to think he was pretending to want me back just for publicity hurt me. It was better if he just left me alone and acted like I never existed instead of wanting to use me for his personal gain.Cleaning the last of the tears on my face, I tossed the napkin into the nearest trash can and drank the whole contents in the glass of water that Clarissa gave me then I stood up and dragged in a long breath before releasing it. Dax was just going to be a phase that I would never give in to.I was going to live my regular life like how I did before he showed up again and in due time, he was going to give up and walk away because I never meant much to him to put in effort. All I had to do was forget about him and everything would be normal again.“It’s a good thing I turned him down then,” I told Clarissa who had been watching me and she smiled.“I’m glad you did. He doesn’t deserve you… He never did” she replied and I nodded before heading to my room.Then I returned with an envelope and handed it over to Clarissa who looked confused as she picked it up and opened it. I laughed when she saw the envelope’s contents and gasped then she shot me a wide-eyed and shocked look that demanded answers immediately.“This is a huge amount of money, Ruby. Why are you giving it to me?” she asked me and I shrugged. It was the little I could do for her after being the best friend ever to me.“You should use it for your business. And I’m not taking it back no matter what you say. I have enough money of my own and that is just a little from the inheritance I got from Michael. You’ve always been there for me as a best friend and a sister so you should accept that money from me because those cafes buying your cookies don’t deserve them. You should be taking the praise for your baking, not them so I think you should open your bakery or cafe… whatever you want”I finished my speech and smiled at her while she stared at me for a while. Then she leaped from her chair and rushed over to pull me in for another hug while she squealed happily.“I love you so much, Ruby. I really do” she said and I hugged her right back while nodding my head knowingly.“I know sweetie. I know you do” I replied. I was willing to do anything at all when it came to Clarissa. She and Sally were all I had and I loved them both so much, it hurt sometimes but that was the essence of it, wasn’t it?**********Another night at the club, Black Pearl, came and it was a struggle to keep my spirits high because all I wanted to do was return home and go to bed.Thanks to Dax who ruined my day.With a sigh, I finally finished applying my makeup and wore my mask, a pink and purple colored balaclava. Not like anyone was going to see my face but it was part of the club rules to make sure our faces were made up.Somehow, Avery believed the men could tell if we were pretty or not just from looking at our eyes through the masks so to make them return every night, we had to keep them satisfied by dolling ourselves up.I stood up and took off my dress before putting on a purple plaid mini skirt and a sleeveless corset top that had my breasts puffed up with my cleavage exposed.I looked in the mirror and I couldn't deny the fact that I looked very sexy.So I added the final touch to my look by wearing my heels and I felt a bit of my mood lighten up as my new look boosted my confidence.Whoever it was I was performing for tonight, was going to have a show.Immediately, Avery knocked on the door to my dressing room and opened the door before popping her head in. She gave me a once over and I saw her eyes lighten up before she smiled at me and gave me an approving nod.“Does anyone want me for tonight yet?” I asked her and she nodded her head before opening the door wider.“I don't know what it is you've been doing recently but I've been getting a lot of special requests for you. You may just be the best dancer of this month” she told me and I grinned beneath my mask.“Then that's a good thing for me. I'll be getting a bonus for working so hard” I replied and she winked at me, obviously in agreement.“So a man is in the same room you performed yesterday. He's quite drunk but I'm sure you can handle it. Just give him the best time so he can return on another day” she told me and I nodded even though I was already dreading performing for a drunk man.It never went well and I was sure this one wouldn't either. Somewhere deep inside me, I found myself wishing Dax returned so I wouldn't have to perform for a drunk ass of a man but I quickly discarded that thought because I could take care of myself without him.I got to the room, opened the door, and walked in and I never expected to see the man who stood before me with a bottle of red wine in his hand while he smirked at me.Somehow, before meeting him, I just knew this night wouldn't go well and it was so disappointing to know I was right.Hi everyone. I apologize for not updating regularly. I've been busy with my exams but I'm done now. Please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts in the comments and if you like my story, please give me a gem to support the story❤️. ✨Thanks everybody✨
CHAPTER 7RUBY’S POVDennis Alistair. An old friend of Dax before they had a huge fight and fell out then became enemies and hated each other’s guts.He was the one standing before me and from the way he looked at me, I had a suspicion that he knew who I was.There was no other way to explain why he would be at Black Pearl specifically asking for me when there were so many clubs back in New York where he lived. Was Dax reentering my life bad luck? Because why did they all keep finding me here after eight long years of living in hiding? Composing myself because I didn’t plan on giving myself away, I went toward the music box in the corner of the room and turned it on. Then I turned to look at Dennis who was watching me with so much interest in his eyes and I swallowed nervously.“What might interest you tonight? Slow dancing, pole dancing, or perhaps a lap dance?” I asked him and I felt disgusted when he looked me over from head to toe like I was his next meal. “What do you think is b
CHAPTER 8RUBY’S POV“Why don’t you have a seat first? Let’s have a lengthy and civil discussion” Dennis said to me when he saw I wasn’t trying to run away anymore and I eyed him again before I grudgingly walked over to the second couch in the room and sat before him.“This better make sense or I won’t be making any deal with you,” I told him and he chuckled before taking a swig of his wine. With a sigh, as I rolled my eyes, I pulled the bottle from his hand and placed it beside me while he gave me a questioning look.“I won’t be making a deal with a drunk man. What if you wake up tomorrow and can’t remember anything because you blacked out?” I asked him and that made him grin while he nodded his head knowingly.“You’re right though, I should have a stable mind while having such an important discussion with you since what we both want is on the line” he replied and leaned toward me while I stared at him with pure distaste and he scoffed.“I’m curious though, how did you become a masked
CHAPTER 9RUBY’S POVI didn’t get a wink of sleep because we stayed up all night since Clarrisa wanted me to rephrase my words and explain some things that happened over and over again. I couldn't blame her though since she was too surprised to take it all in at once.She needed me to let her know that I wasn’t joking about any of it. Including when Dax came over to the club without knowing who I was.“I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything. How could so much have happened in two weeks and then you kept it all away from me because you thought you didn’t want to burden me with it?” She asked probably the millionth question since the previous night and another snag of guilt pulled at my conscience.“I’m sorry. I thought it was going to be just a one-time incident so I didn’t worry about it” I tried to explain to her and she groaned out loud while pulling at her hair.“It doesn't justify the fact that you kept it all away from me, Ruby. And now, Dennis is imploring you to ma
CHAPTER 10RUBY’S POVIt was a weekend so Sally didn't have to go to school and I planned to sleep through the day before heading to the club at night since Clarissa kept me up all night. Breakfast ended and I washed the dishes while Clarissa returned to making plans for her new bakery idea then I headed to my room when I was done with the dishes.First, I took a long bath to get rid of every single touch from Dennis the previous night, then I had my hair dried while wondering if Dax was going to reach out to me again.He had to for me to take him back so I hoped he would. The man was stubborn and relentless when it came to getting what he wanted so I was certain that if he genuinely wanted me back, one try wouldn't be his last. He was going to return sooner or later.Once my hair was dry, I slipped into a pair of pink pajamas and made my way to the bed tiredly but when I laid down, I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned repeatedly, hoping I was going to fall asleep soon but with ti
CHAPTER 11DAX’S POV“I don’t like you, Dax. I don’t like people that hurt me” Ruby’s slurred words when she was half-conscious kept on playing in my head like a broken record and it broke me just as many times as I remembered her saying them to me before she passed out.They said a person’s true colors showed when they were either drunk, sedated, angry, or desperate, and well, Ruby was angry at me.Coupled with her being half-conscious, I could tell that she meant what she said.First, it was the tears she shed on the sidewalk after she walked out of the cafe and that broke me to know I caused her pain.Now, she said I hurt her and she didn’t like me and she wasn’t wrong. I did that to her and I didn’t know if I was ever going to do enough to make up for my foolish mistake of hurting her.Who the hell broke up with their fiancee over the phone on the day of their pre-wedding photoshoot and then called them a fake but still secretly loved them? I was the only idiot who could do such
CHAPTER 12RUBY'S POVI almost began to panic when Sally had called me mum in front of Dax but I was happy with the way Clarissa handled the situation. The only thing to do now was to get Sally to start calling her mum instead of Aunt Clarissa and I was sure that would be a piece of cake.Once everyone was gone, I knew this was it. The moment that I would have to take Dax back if he asked again because I couldn’t wait to get on with the revenge and have him out of my life for good once I was done with him.I felt nervous and I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him because I could remember what I said to him before I passed out.Slowly, I looked beneath my blanket and I saw I was still in my pink pajamas. For an unexplainable reason, I suddenly felt embarrassed and conscious about how I looked so I quickly tried to fix my hair before sitting up and he was quick to assist me but I still didn’t look at him. Not when he had his hands on my skin and it was making me have a huge meltdow
CHAPTER 13RUBY’S POVThe next hour was filled with tense awkwardness in the air while we all had dinner from the takeout that Clarissa had ordered for all of us. I was surprised she even included Dax and Simon, his bodyguard but one of her rules was never to get back at anyone with food.She claimed it would be harder to poison them because it would be suspicious if she offered food out of nowhere. So she believed it would be easier since feeding whoever she hated had always been her treat. I just hoped she didn’t poison Dax because I didn’t want him to die yet. Not when I hadn’t gotten my revenge yet.Soon, dinner ended and Dax took his cue to leave, claiming that he still had to set up where he just moved into but I knew he was lying. He was a billionaire so he could just hire someone to get it done for him but I still played along to not make him feel embarrassed.Once the door closed after he and Simon, Clarissa immediately turned to me and stared questioningly. I shrugged which
CHAPTER 14RUBY’S POVMorning came and the doctor was in the middle of checking my vitals when Dax walked in and Simon was also on his trail. Clarissa scoffed audibly from beside me and when I looked at her, she was glaring at Simon. I looked at Simon and he was staring at her too but his eyes were so cold, they could laser through ice. I had no idea what it was they argued about the previous day but after seeing their countenance toward each other, I didn’t think I wanted to be involved. They were both two grown adults so I was sure they could resolve it amicably.“That’s all, Miss Sinclair. You can head to the nurse on duty now to get discharged and go home. Also, be careful not to take an overdose next time” She ended with a warning and I gave her a sheepish smile while nodding my head. There was no way I would be making that mistake again.The doctor walked out and I turned to look at Dax who had been standing in a corner of the room. He came toward me with a smile directed at me