Chapter 528
“Okay,” Ruby nodded in agreement.
Once Eileen and Bryan had left, Ruby spent some time playing with Gabriela on her play mat. The little girl was still unsteady even with support.
Soon, Gabriela, tired of playing inside, began to whine, missing her outdoor adventures with Bryan. She wanted to go outside.
Ruby quickly dressed her in a soft beige jacket and settled her into the stroller. She then headed out for a walk.
The villa complex boasted wide roads, but there was only one park, featuring a naturally shaped lake, a popular spot among the parents and their children.
As Ruby walked with the stroller toward the park, she passed by many people.
Among them was a group of women, who normally exchanged pleasantries, but now maintained their distance from Ruby, murmuring among themselves.
They whispered words like “stepmother” and “shameless.”
“Can you believe she has the audacity to take that child out in public?”
“Later, we need to find out where she gets the nerve to leave her own daughter’s house for this place.”
“I’ve heard her daughter owns an educational center, but it was actually Eileen who helped the center develop. Her daughter probably can’t handle it, and the center might collapse under her leadership. Well, isn’t it obvious she’s just clinging to her financial lifeline now?”
Ruby paused, her gaze fixed on the whispering women. Her brow furrowed as she found herself unable to move closer.
Just yesterday, during an outing with Gabriela, this same group had subtly pried into her personal matters.
She had responded with measured politeness, careful not to stir up any issues for Eileen and reluctant to badmouth Denise.
Once people formed their opinions, those ideas stuck.
Realizing that any attempt at clarification would only be dismissed as mere excuses, Ruby had opted for silence.
Yet, today’s encounter surpassed her expectations in its brazenness.
Turning away, she steered Gabriela down a different path, deliberately avoiding the familiar confines of the small park.
Gabriela, easily pleased, found joy in the simplest outings. A stroll along the winding roads of their complex was enough to keep her content.
As Ruby pushed Gabriela’s stroller around, a familiar security guard, probably in his late fifties, greeted her warmly near the community gate.
“Watching over your granddaughter again? This little one grows more charming by the day!” the security guard said.
“Yes,” Ruby replied, her voice filled with a hint of pride. “She’s the spitting image of her mother, Eileen, at that age.”