Hiding from Mr. Billionaire

8 Judgement and Secrets

"You are a fool!" Reuben yelled, following after him. The door slammed, making Vivian jolt in surprise. "You and your father's toxic money are ruining this family! and now thanks to you I may never see that lovely girl again."

"Praise the lord!" she herd Jasper laugh out loud in the distance, "This isn't a fairy tale, Reuben. It may be okay now, but pretty soon you'll have to get a grip on yourself as life goes on."

"Says the man who remains alone and is nearing thirty," Reuben retorted.

"Better alone than to be romantically sucked in with someone I just met for thirty minutes." Jasper's voiced carried on in the distance until it shrunk and there was nothing left, just silence. Vivian stood there for a moment, frozen in shock.

When the ball came to a near end everyone crowded at the front door to bless their goodbyes. Her sister, Ruby, raised her head among the others in search of Vivian around the ballroom. "Care for me to stay?" the same blond haired man asked. Ruby gave him a short smile. "It's fine Gilbert, thank you for staying with me. You've made this night worthwhile."

"No problem at all," he said. "I do hope to see you again, correct me if I'm wrong;  but I do remember mentioning where I usually meet on Tuesdays."

Ruby winked, "believe me, I remember."

Gilbert left the ballroom and pretty soon she was almost the last one there. Realizing Ruby might've already gone outside with her mother she danced alone while no one was watching till she reached the hallway. Vivian caught her eye as she neared the bottom of the steps. The moment her feet hit the marble Vivian stared across the door that led into the empty ballroom, almost lifeless. Ruby caught this and rushed up to her like the concerned sibling she was. "Vivian are you alright? Vivian!" Ruby grabbed her arm as Vivian turned and nodded silently.

"Why were you up the stairs?" Ruby asked.

Vivian looked at her blankly. "I had to go to the bathroom"

Ruby raised a brow suspiciously. "But there's already a bathroom on the first floor"

"That one was dirty."

Ruby crossed her arms and gave her a pointed look. "There are maids that clean the bathroom throughout the entire night. Let's be serious Vivian, I know you, since when are you worried about how nice a rick family's bathroom is?"

Vivian studied her for a moment and sighed to herself. She was horrible at hiding things from her sister. One who knew everything about her since birth. "Ruby, I have something to tell you when we get home. But you have to promise me that whatever I have to tell you can never be known to our parents, not unless I tell you say something."

"Well it's not like I haven't done it before," Ruby quipped.

Vivian rolled her eyes at her sister's wit and met with her mother before getting on the carriage ride home. The sisters both sat in silence in front of their mother. Vivian studied her carefully. It was almost hard to believe that she was once strikingly gorgeous when she looked so worn down. So striking she was they called her pearl, instead of Gretchen.

"Mother?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't father come with us to the ball?" She'd asked the question earlier but never got a definite answer.

Gretchen swallowed. "He assumed he wasn't invited"

"Why?" Vivian pressed.

"Because he doesn't get along with the hosts and they were kind enough invite us anyway."

Vivian scrunched her brows in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense."

Ruby nervously kept her eyes glued to the sidewalk, feeling the tension arise in the air. 

"And it doesn't have too," Gretchen turned to face Vivian with a straight face. "You're young and you wouldn't understand what makes up an adult."

"And yet you still want to marry me off," she mumbled under her breath.

Gretchen's face transformed into what appeared to be Vivian's death sentence staring right at her in the face. "Watch your mouth young lady or you won't even make it before becoming an old lonely maid," she threatened through clenched teeth, scolding her harshly. "And see just how well your clients treat you then, because unless you already met them and your happy and dandy giving up your life to please others. And without having a say in anything; who knows what you might get. Surely none that treat you as good as I. I can bet on it right now! there will be no chance of love of your life. No children. No prospects. No leisure. Not even time for yourself. So if you really want that useless life, then get out of mine, because you are wasting my precious time and all that it took to raise such a person."