Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 315

He leaned over her, his voice gentle as he asked how she was feeling, but his manner was so distant it was as if they were total strangers.

Ruby’s brows knitted tight.

She forced herself to shove all her memories aside, her eyes blazing with sudden urgency.

Before she’d been kidnapped, Mira was still at the hospital!

Ruby’s eyes went wide, terror shooting through every inch of her body.

She struggled to sit up, panic making her careless—her elbow knocked over the glass on the side table.

The sharp crash of breaking glass immediately caught the attention of the nurse outside.

The door swung open and a familiar nurse poked her head in. The moment she realized Ruby was awake, her face lit up and she called out excitedly, “She’s awake!”

The words were like a bell ringing in the hallway. Within seconds, a crowd of doctors hurried in, all tense and bustling as they checked over Ruby with grave concern.

“How is she awake so soon? Doctor, did you notice anything unusual?”

“No, everything looks great. She’s recovering well.”

Their voices overlapped, each more anxious than the last.

Ruby stared at the swarm of people around her, feeling completely overwhelmed.

“My baby. Where’s my baby?”

She tried to push herself upright, but her throat was so raw that her voice barely rose above a hoarse whisper, thin as a mosquito’s buzz.

It was the nurse who noticed and leaned in, raising her voice for all to hear. “She’s asking for Mira!”

Her words were sharp, immediately silencing the doctors’ chatter.

“You—” Ruby suddenly recognized her—the same nurse who’d cared for Mira before.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. Mira is perfectly healthy. I’ll go get her right away!”

With that, the nurse hurried out of the room.

The doctors seemed to snap out of their daze, too. Noticing the sheen of sweat on Ruby’s brow, the senior physician quickly ordered everyone to give her space.

Once they were sure Ruby was stable, they gave the nurse a few more instructions and quietly left the room.

Moments later, Mira was brought in.

The second Mira saw her mother, her curious eyes brimmed with tears. Her lips quivered, and she let out a wail, clinging to Ruby’s arm in pure distress.

Seeing her little girl like this, Ruby’s heart twisted painfully.

“It’s all right, it’s all right,” she whispered, rocking Mira gently in her arms despite the pain still radiating through her own body.

“Mama…” Mira whimpered into Ruby’s shoulder, her tiny nose red from crying.

Even the nurse watching the reunion felt her nose sting with emotion.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” Ruby rasped, turning gratefully to the nurse.

The nurse, flustered by the gratitude, waved her hands, insisting she was only doing her job.

Cassian frowned. “You think this could be some kind of revenge after all this time?”

Ruby hesitated, shaking her head. It didn’t quite add up.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. “Maybe it’s connected to the court case between Starseek Research Institute and Blake Tech Solutions.”

She recounted her ordeal at the warehouse in a few clipped sentences. “They tried to use my photo to threaten Victor. I think someone paid them to humiliate me.”

She forced her voice to stay level, but when she mentioned being humiliated, her hands clenched unconsciously.

Cassian listened in silence, even though most of this he already knew. He nodded, letting her speak.

The room was quiet except for the slightly raspy sound of Ruby’s voice.

It wasn’t exactly musical, but it banished the cold emptiness from the room.

Cassian found himself lost in thought.

A sudden, dry cough from Ruby jolted him back to reality.

“All right. I’ll look into it. You should rest,” he said, standing up to fetch her some water—only to realize there was no glass on the bedside table.

He started for the door, but Ruby called after him, “How did the Starseek and Blake Tech Solutions hearing go?”

Cassian paused, turning to look at her. He didn’t miss the sharp worry in her eyes.

“You just woke up, and the first thing you care about is the Starseek case?”