Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 5

Ten minutes later.

Nona collapsed to the floor, her knees giving out beneath her. "I've told you everything I know. Please, don't hurt Mrs. Veyne. She's suffered enough, she—"

"She's suffered?" Cassian's voice dripped with scorn. "With all the privileges Mrs. Veyne enjoys, she still wants more? She thinks she can outmaneuver me in her little game of cat and mouse?"

He let out a cold laugh and turned sharply on his heel, striding away.

The group of security guards followed, melting away like a receding tide.

Left behind, Nona sat trembling, her conscience wracked with guilt. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. This is as far as I can help you. I told him almost everything… except for one thing."

"The most important thing."

—

In the study.

"Sir, do you want us to bring Mrs. Veyne back?" The word "bring" carried a weight that needed no explanation.

Cassian's eyes were cold and sharp. He waved a dismissive hand.

"No need. If she wants to run, let her. Freeze all her properties and bank accounts. I want to see how long she'll last out there with nothing."

"She'll come crawling back to me sooner or later."

With a sudden snap, the pen in his hand broke in two, ink spilling across his fingers.

His assistant, Bennett, shivered at the sight.

"But sir, Nona said Mrs. Veyne is in desperate need of money. Are we really not leaving her a single cent? Where will she sleep tonight? What will she eat?"

Cassian shot him a cold glare. "Oh? Feeling sorry for her, are you? If she ends up sleeping on park benches and living off scraps, that's her choice. Sympathy for a convict—impressive, Bennett. I'm so proud of you."

"It's freezing outside, Miss Grayson! You're carrying your child out so late—please, come in, tell me what you need. I'll get it ready and have it delivered right to your apartment."

The clerk remembered seeing Ruby earlier that day, entering Southgarde Estate with her baby in tow. Southgarde was the kind of place where only the wealthy or the elite could afford to live. When she'd first seen Ruby, dressed in worn clothes and clutching her child, she and her coworkers had gossiped—surely another mistress, here to demand recognition from some rich businessman.

They never expected Ruby to announce her name as Ruby Grayson, owner of one of the best units in the entire complex. Unit Three—the crown jewel of Southgarde Estate.

It was hard to believe this slender, lonely woman in shabby clothes could own such a place. And when the security guard respectfully swiped her in, the clerk's opinion of her changed completely. She even felt ashamed for her earlier assumptions.

Even with her mask on, Ruby's delicate features and expressive eyes—clear and luminous as the moon—spoke volumes.

"I'll take three packs of these diapers, size large," Ruby said. "And this formula—I need two boxes each of stage one and stage two."

She paused, scanning the racks. "These cotton onesies, size 66—wrap up the whole row for me, please."

Ruby added a few more essentials to her basket before finally turning to see the shop assistant staring at her, wide-eyed and speechless.