Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 207

Maybe her little performance with Cassian earlier had actually worked.

“Wait, I thought you said you weren’t coming! And you’ve not only shown up, but you brought a child?”

Gennifer was the first to notice Ruby’s arrival. She hurried over, smiling sweetly, her eyes glinting with barely concealed excitement.

Everyone knew full well about the fallout between the two women. And that single word—“child”—snapped everyone out of their previous boredom and lit up the room with sudden, electric energy.

All eyes turned to Ruby, and only then did people notice the delicate, porcelain-faced little one she cradled in her arms.

That single glance told the guests there was far more to this than met the eye.

The room was no longer calm.

Everyone was well aware that Ruby was still Cassian’s legal wife.

So why was she holding a child now?

Nearly every gaze in the room settled on Ruby—and the baby she held.

If this was Mr. Veyne’s child, that would make the little one practically royalty, born at the very top of the social pyramid. Someone like Cassian Veyne would have made an announcement to the world if he had a child.

But up until now, there hadn’t been so much as a whisper—there wasn’t even the tiniest hint of this baby’s existence.

Ruby stood a short distance away, letting everyone’s eyes roam over her and the child.

Feeling the weight of their stares, she suddenly realized exactly what this was all about.

It was just a party, but every single staff member and chef had been pulled out of the house. Add an unexpected power outage, and it was no wonder she couldn’t bear to leave Mira alone in a pitch-dark house.

Even if Ruby was slow to catch on, she’d have to be a fool not to see what was going on.

Cassian was seated beside Gennifer; when Gennifer stood up, her seat beside him was left empty.

Ruby’s face stayed icy. She didn’t so much as glance at Gennifer, who’d taken the initiative to greet her.

“The power’s out.”

Cassian stared straight at Ruby, and after a half-beat, repeated her words as if to confirm: “The power’s out?”

His eyes showed a flicker of confusion, but he still motioned for Bennett to check it out.

After all, Northridge Manor’s electrical and fire safety systems were the best money could buy. How could the power just go out?

Gennifer’s expression darkened for a split second when she realized Ruby was ignoring her. Something unreadable flickered behind her eyes, but she forcibly lifted the corners of her mouth into another dazzling smile. “Since the power’s out, Cassian, you’d better arrange for someone to fix it. Ruby, why don’t you sit with us and have something to eat while we wait? It is, after all, my celebration, and you’re the one I most wanted to share it with. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have taken an interest in law—and I wouldn’t have been able to help Cassian out later on.”

She put on a show of gratitude that just made Ruby feel sick to her stomach.

Ruby’s eyes were frigid; Gennifer’s polite words struck her as nothing but the worst kind of mockery.

“Ruby, Gennifer’s talking to you!”

Renee, already irritated by Ruby’s indifference, reached out and gave her a shove.

Ruby clearly hadn’t expected someone to actually lay hands on her in front of everyone. Caught off guard, she stumbled toward the nearest armchair, nearly falling.

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