Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 211

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Was he really that oblivious, or did he just trust Gennifer too much?

Ruby closed her eyes, memories from before she fell into the water flickering in her mind.

It was obvious now—Gennifer and Renee had planned everything. One of them pressed a hand to her waist, and a sudden electric jolt shot through her limbs. In the blink of an eye, her strength vanished, and the next moment, she was plunging straight into the water.

Ruby lowered her gaze.

She leaned toward the latter—Cassian was simply too willing to believe Gennifer. Which was why she couldn’t bear to see him right now.

Bang! Bang!

A sharp knock shattered the silence.

Cassian, who’d been holding Ruby’s gaze in a tense standoff, finally rose from his seat.

He barely cracked the door open when Victor Hargrove all but shoved his way inside.

Victor strode right into the hospital room and dropped himself into Cassian’s chair without a second thought. “I thought you could swim! How on earth did you end up hurt so badly from falling into a pool?”

Gone was Victor’s usual air of buttoned-up composure—now, he was nothing but frantic concern.

Meanwhile, Cassian stood off to the side, forced from his seat, his eyes fixed on the hand Victor had placed protectively over Ruby’s.

A chill seemed to fill the room.

Victor shivered, suddenly aware of a coldness creeping up his wrist.

“So, when are you getting discharged?” he asked, worry etched into every word.

Ruby shook her head, uncertain.

Victor launched into a brotherly tirade. “Honestly, Ruby, you knew this was a setup and still had to join the party? You’re lucky it turned out okay, but what if something had really happened? Who’d fight for you? Who’d take your side?”

He sounded like he was scolding Ruby, but his words were clearly aimed at the brooding man standing nearby.

Ruby caught the subtext and couldn’t help but feel both amused and a little bitter.

After all, she’d agreed to go to the party just to ruffle Gennifer’s feathers.

She’d even ordered a custom gown from C Collective, determined to outshine Gennifer for once.

But she hadn’t expected Gennifer to be so bold—using a heavier girl to block everyone’s view before casually pushing Ruby into the water right in front of them all.

“Mr. Veyne, don’t you think we deserve an explanation? How does someone end up in the water for no reason?” Victor rose, squaring his shoulders until he was eye-to-eye with Cassian.

“An explanation?” Cassian repeated coldly. His expression was unreadable, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop another degree.

He let out a low laugh, his patience clearly running thin. “Victor, you played your part in that last Veyne & Co. case, and I appreciate your contributions. But let’s get something straight.”