RUBY |Completed|

|Chapter Forty Three|

Ruby's POV

     Some days later, I had to go see my mother-in-law and as I got there, Edith ushered me in. I waited for her to come downstairs, Edith had told me she was having a meeting with someone.

Some minutes later, she came down and I stood up to go hug her when I saw the last person I could never have imagined, my aunt in my in-laws' house... Wow was the only thing I could say. I stood rooted as she said, equally shocked,

"Ruby?"

"You too know each other?"

We answered simultaneously, "She is my Aunt."

"She is my niece."

"But, you are Lucy Daniels?" Caroline asked and Lucy nodded before turning to Ruby,

"Where have you been? I searched for you. Ken said you ran away."

"Yes, I did. I could not take it anymore."

"We need to talk. Can we go to The Hamburger?"

"Of course. Mum, I need to leave, I will see you later." I said to Caroline and she nodded.

As they reached the door, Caroline asked,

"Ruby, will you be okay?"

"Yes Mum." She replied and we left. We arrived within minutes of each other at The Hamburger and we went in and sat at a table at the extreme end of the café and a waiter took our order of a hamburger and coffee with preference.

Aunt Lucy took my hands in her and said,

"I am so sorry, Ruby. I really am. Ken confessed everything before he died. He was asking me to tell you to forgive him, he told me about everything. I am a horrible person, Ruby. How could my husband and son be raping my niece and I was ignorant of it? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't Aunt Luce. They both threatened to kill me and you were not always around. Wait, how did you know Nick was involved too?" I asked just as the waiter served us, then she answered after he left.

"Ken told me. He suspected it but the day you got missing, Nick confronted him in anger and he made it known you were his, that he was sleeping with you."

"Oh!" I exclaimed as the memories rushed back causing fat tears to roll down her face.

"I am so sorry Ruby, please forgive me. How do you know Caroline King? Did she help you after you ran away?" Aunt Luce asked and I replied,

"Actually Mrs King is my mother-in-law." Her eyes went to my ring finger, she must have not noticed it before, then I continued, telling her the long and short of my experience.

"Wow. You have every cause to be thankful. I must meet these Butlers to convey my appreciation."

"What about Nick? Where he is?"

Aunt Luce sighed, "Hmmm, Nick? He is in prison, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. After you, I think he fell in love with forceful sex and so he did with someone else. He was sent to prison twice but the last person he raped, her family has a lot of money and so they charged him to court, in fact I heard he attempted to kill a relative of the girl and that's why his sentence is that heavy."

"Wow! You heard? You were not there?"

"Immediately Ken confessed their atrocities, I disowned him and left him with the house and cars and all that Ken had, after all, he was his father. I started over with the money I got from my business and with my contacts, it worked out steadily."

"How did Uncle Ken die?"

"Oh, he died of cancer two years after you left."

"Where are you based now?"

"I stay at Los Angeles, business is great in that place." She replied, sipping her coffee as I could finally bite into my hamburger. I don't know why but I felt this strange peace and calm all over me. Maybe because my assaulters finally got what they deserved.
I could not have been happier.

"How are you and Mrs King connected?"

"I am designing some clothes for her. I have been her designer for quite a while now and trust me, she pays good money." Aunt Luce explained and I laughed. It was refreshing. We talked some more before we realized we had spent two hours in the café. We exchanged phone numbers and she promised to call me.

As I drove home, I searched for Nichols Daniels on Google and of course, the news online confirmed everything Aunt Luce had told me and then I knew what I had to do.