Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 56

Ruby clenched her jaw, aching to tear Gennifer apart with her bare hands.

But suddenly, she stumbled back, letting go, as a crushing wave of exhaustion and helplessness surged through her chest.

She closed her eyes, unable to hold back the grief that threatened to swallow her whole.

Her grandmother was gone.

And besides—this woman in front of her wasn't worth ruining her life for.

She still had Mira. If she went to prison for assault, Mira would be left all alone.

Gennifer would have to pay for what she'd done.

But Mira couldn't lose her mother.

Gennifer, realizing she could finally breathe again, staggered backward, clutching her throat, gasping for air. Even now, she couldn't resist a sneer.

"Ruby, you never should've been born."

Ruby let out a bitter laugh.

All her kindness and care over the years—wasted on someone who never deserved it.

She looked away, numb, and headed back toward the chapel. She moved like a shadow, light as air, barely more than a ghost passing through the room.

Gennifer watched her retreat, her gaze strange and unsettled.

She's changed so much…

"Where's your sister?"

As Ruby stepped into the chapel, Frieda's eyes slid past her, searching the space behind her.

Ruby pressed her lips together, silent, standing stiffly before her grandmother's portrait.

Frieda frowned, annoyed. "What kind of attitude is that?" But as her eyes fell on Ruby's thin, rigid back, an odd pang of doubt flickered through her mind.

When did she get so thin?

Then Frieda shook the thought away. Ever since Ruby came back, she'd been walking around like the walking dead. So what if she'd spent a little over a year behind bars? No need to act so tragic.

Really, Gennifer was the thoughtful one. Compared to Ruby, who was always stubborn and distant, Frieda sometimes wished Gennifer were her real daughter.

She turned away coldly, suppressing that strange feeling.

She couldn't do it. If her grandmother were still alive, she'd never allow this.

"I don't agree."

"What did you say?"

Frieda was stunned by Ruby's rare defiance, but then remembered just how much the inheritance was worth.

Her expression hardened, her voice rising. "It's not up to you to agree or not. I'm your mother!"

Gennifer's eyes lit up, a smirk playing on her lips as she waited for Ruby's reaction, relishing the scene.

She'd only just found out that Frieda planned to give her the inheritance.

She wanted nothing more than to see Ruby on her knees, begging.

Now, with both her husband Cassian and her mother on her side, Ruby was no longer the celebrated Attorney Grayson—just an ex-con nobody.

What power did she have left?

Realizing this, Gennifer's smile widened, and she shot Ruby a triumphant glance.