Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 325

Ruby stared at him for a long moment, her gaze icy and unwavering. Finally, she let out a cold, derisive laugh. “Cassian, I don’t need your trust—and I certainly don’t need you meddling in my business.”

She tugged at her wrist, trying to break free from Cassian’s grip, but he didn’t budge an inch.

Her brows knitted in frustration as she glared at him, but Cassian only tightened his hold and pressed her arm down even more firmly.

“Enough,” he said, his voice low and edged with a hint of impatience and irritation.

Ruby’s back stiffened instantly. That frosty, mocking smile returned to her lips, and her eyes glinted with a chilling sharpness. “Let go.”

Cassian’s hold tightened further, his fingers digging into her wrist. “You’re coming home with me. Mira’s waiting for you at Northridge Manor.”

Ruby fell still, her body rigid. She looked Cassian straight in the eye, her words clipped and deliberate. “Let. Go.”

Something slammed into Cassian’s chest—hard. He knew that look all too well, and yet, for the first time, it felt alien—stripped of feeling, cold and empty. It made his heart stutter in his chest, as if an invisible hand had clenched around it, squeezing tight.

He tried again, even using Mira as leverage. “If you’re not satisfied, I’ll have Bennett run another investigation—but you’re coming home first. Mira’s still at the manor. Can you honestly say you’re not worried about her?”

As his gaze fell on Ruby’s rigid jaw, his tone softened almost reflexively, a note of gentle persuasion slipping in.

Ruby shot him a sidelong look, her expression dripping with scorn. Her lips curled into a cold sneer. “Why should I be worried? Once I’ve taught whoever’s trying to hurt Mira a lesson, scared them off for good, she’ll be perfectly safe.”

With that, Ruby suddenly raised her hand, ready to lash her riding crop at Gennifer.

A blood-curdling scream tore from Gennifer’s throat, echoing off the ceiling. Only then did the others snap out of their shock and rush to pull the two women apart.

Gennifer’s face swelled almost instantly, red and puffy, her cheeks streaked with tears—a pitiful mess, as if she’d been beaten to the verge of bursting.

“Gennifer!” Frieda rushed forward, gathering Gennifer into her arms, cradling her battered face with trembling hands.

Elin stepped between Ruby and Gennifer, glaring at Ruby with outrage. “Ruby! Mr. Veyne already said Gennifer didn’t do it—why would you go so far?”

Ruby met their accusing, furious stares as if they were nothing but empty air. Her gaze never left Gennifer. “You know better than anyone what really happened. If you dare try this again, next time will hurt ten—no, a hundred times worse.”