Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 360

“If you’ve been waiting all this time, then you can deliver it to your precious Cassian yourself. I don’t even want to lay eyes on him.”

Ruby tossed the divorce papers onto the table in front of Gennifer.

Her hands were steady, her movements brisk—there wasn’t an ounce of hesitation or regret.

Gennifer clearly hadn’t expected this. She stared, momentarily dumbfounded.

But the stark black print and the official crimson seal on the page left no room for doubt.

“You…”

She opened her mouth, shock written all over her face.

Ruby was really going to divorce Cassian?

How dare she? Was she out of her mind?

Cassian was the wealthiest man in Quinborough—maybe even in all of Veytura—a man with power and influence that few could rival. And Ruby? A woman who’d been to prison, raising a child on her own, now wanted to leave him?

Gennifer’s eyes widened, but beneath her disbelief, a thrill of anticipation flickered, sharp and hungry as a wolf’s grin.

Ruby wasn’t bluffing. She could see that now.

She didn’t understand how someone who’d once clung to Cassian so desperately could be the one to bring up divorce. But what if it was true?

Cassian might act like he despised Ruby, and he usually took Gennifer’s side, but she could sense he wasn’t ready to let Ruby go.

If Ruby really wanted out… that was perfect.

“Are you serious?”

Gennifer looked at Ruby, nervous but hopeful.

Ruby caught the flicker of anxiety in her eyes and couldn’t help but smile.

“Cassian is the perfect catch for you—but not for me.”

She smiled, self-assured and radiant, an easy confidence lighting up her whole face.

Fanny’s gaze softened, a glimmer of respect in her eyes.

“This is stamped by the court,” Fanny said at just the right moment. “As soon as Cassian signs, it’s final.”

Fanny’s words sealed the deal. Gennifer’s joy nearly spilled over, though she quickly forced herself to appear calm. “Fine.”

“Ruby, don’t you dare regret this! Don’t come back begging when I become Mrs. Veyne and start living the good life,” she said, working hard to hide her glee behind a mask of concern.

“I won’t,” Ruby replied, her tone sharp and final.

At that, Gennifer, worried Ruby might change her mind, snatched the divorce papers. “Alright, I’ll do you this favor.”

She strode away with so much purpose she nearly forgot the nasty remarks she’d meant to throw at Ruby.

At last, the room was quiet. Ruby raised her glass to Fanny and the other woman.

The three of them clinked their glasses together in the warm glow of sunset—a moment of fleeting beauty.

“By the way, Fanny, don’t you have some investigative pull?” Ruby asked, glancing over.

Frieda’s hand paused. “You mean—?”

“Anyone who betrays the Graysons or dares to fight us—I won’t let them live comfortably.”

Hanley narrowed his eyes, malice simmering beneath the surface.

Frieda looked uneasy, clenching her fists, but said nothing more.

That day, the Grayson Group’s long-dormant website exploded with a bombshell headline:

“Selina, the hottest designer right now, is nothing but an ungrateful, selfish woman!”

The scandal shot to the top of the trending topics, instantly eclipsing C Collective’s launch.

Hanley even recorded a video, playing the victim for all it was worth.

“I’ve seen the recent C Collective promotions, but as Ruby’s father, I can’t stand by and watch everyone be deceived by her.”

With just that opening line, he captured the public’s attention.

What came next stunned everyone.

“Ruby is the only child of my wife and me—the sole heir to the Grayson family. We poured our hearts into raising her, only to watch her go astray.”

He went on to recount, in excruciating detail, every lie Ruby had told as a child, and insinuated that the latest designs couldn’t possibly be her own work.

He didn’t say “plagiarism” directly, but his meaning was clear: Ruby was a fraud.

But this time, the public was smarter. Most demanded Hanley show proof, while only a handful clung to his story.