Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 245

She had no intention of dipping into the inheritance her grandmother left her—not yet, anyway. The fact that Garrison was willing to extend her a friendly olive branch had already been a pleasant surprise.

After she hung up the phone, she felt noticeably lighter.

Late into the night, Mira somehow slept through Ruby’s quiet conversation, her eyes closed, her breathing soft and steady.

Ruby let out a long, relieved sigh, her gaze softening as she looked at Mira’s plump, rosy cheeks. For the first time in a long while, her heart—usually tossed about like driftwood in a storm—felt eerily calm.

She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Mira’s sleeping cheek.

Between nearly drowning, the kidnapping, and the endless stream of online rumors, it had been all too easy to overlook her well-behaved little girl.

Careful not to wake her, Ruby tucked the covers around Mira and then slipped under the blanket herself, drawing her daughter close and finally allowing herself to sleep.

But while the world outside was quiet, not everyone found rest that night.

In a penthouse high above Quinborough, a woman’s voice cut sharply through the silence. “Ruby is Selina? That’s impossible! She’s nothing more than a bookish lawyer. If she weren’t so obsessive, she’d never have even made it as a lawyer!”

The room rang with contempt and curses.

The woman slammed a chair against the edge of her vanity, her delicate face twisted in resentment.

Gennifer bit her lip hard. “I don’t care! Last time, you botched it for me. This time, you’d better fix it!”

She gritted her teeth. “I’ll double my offer—another hundred thousand!”

There was a moment’s pause on the other end of the line. No one in their right mind would turn down that kind of money—especially not from a client as generous as Miss Gennifer.

“Please transfer the deposit first, Miss Gennifer.”

—

The next morning, an invitation, still damp with dew, arrived right on Ruby’s doorstep.

Embossed in gold, it announced an exclusive C Collective gala. And there, in bold relief spanning almost half the card, her name—“Selina”—stood out even more than the C Collective logo itself.

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh, though the feeling that washed over her was far from amusement. It was something warmer, something that crept right into her chest.

Cassian was just adjusting his tie, getting ready to leave, when he caught sight of the invitation in her hands. His eyes, always a bit brooding, narrowed as he let out a cold, dismissive snort.

Last night, when tensions were high, all he’d seen was the tabloid gossip about Ruby and Garrison. But after returning to his room, he’d noticed Ruby’s public statement.

Seeing “Selina” printed in giant letters across the invitation felt like a slap across his face.

Selina?

Ruby was Selina?

He’d prided himself on knowing Ruby well, but the second that news broke, he’d been floored.

He wasn’t exactly a stranger to the business world. He remembered Selina—a mysterious, brilliant designer. He’d even considered reaching out to commission a custom suit, only to have her studio turn him down.

No one had ever refused him before.

But if Selina was Ruby… suddenly, it all made sense.

She looked him up and down, baffled. What was wrong with him today?

But when she met his gaze, the words she’d meant to spit out died on her lips.

Something heavy slammed into her chest.

She stared into Cassian’s eyes, suddenly realizing these were the things she’d once longed for, but never received.

A tangled mess of feelings seized her heart, leaving her unable to let go, yet suffocating her all the same.

Why?

Ruby’s lips trembled. She looked up again, her eyes now cold and dark.

A year ago, he’d been the one to throw her into prison, showing not an ounce of pity. He hadn’t believed her, choosing instead to trust Gennifer’s lies and discard Ruby like she was nothing.

She’d survived those months in prison, scraped together a life for herself and Mira on the outside, only to be humiliated by Gennifer again and again—all with Cassian’s silent approval. Hadn’t he enabled every bit of it?

The heat in Ruby’s chest turned to ice. She forced herself to look away.

She let out another cold laugh. “You really do have a short memory, Mr. Veyne.”

The scorn in her voice was unmistakable.

Cassian’s lips parted, dry and tense, as if he were steeling himself. “Veyne & Co. will issue a statement to clarify your identity, and we’re working to control the media spin.”

His eyes flicked to the invitation in her hand. “As for some of these parties—completely unnecessary.”