Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 422

The sound of the door opening was anything but quiet. As soon as Sylas stepped inside, he found himself staring straight into Cassian’s eyes, which had just lifted to meet his.

Those eyes were as dark and inscrutable as ever, but now shaded with a melancholy that Sylas didn’t remember from before. The moment Cassian recognized him, his chin tipped up, and the air in the room seemed to sharpen with a commanding intensity.

“You’ve been sticking close to Ruby lately, haven’t you?”

Cassian didn’t even wait for Sylas to sit down before launching his accusation, his tone clipped and demanding.

Sylas sprawled out on the cushion with deliberate nonchalance, legs stretched wide, owning the space as if it were his own.

They now sat opposite each other—one, young, ruggedly handsome, and a little wild; the other, composed, aristocratic, exuding the kind of power that comes from years of dominating boardrooms.

“Of course I have. I came to Quinborough to find her. Now that I have, I intend to stay with her until I can bring her safely back to The Capital.”

Sylas folded his arms behind his head, easy and relaxed, as if the tension in the air didn’t touch him.

His frankness about his intentions only darkened Cassian’s expression.

Cassian narrowed his icy gaze, his words edged with barely restrained anger. “Are you forgetting she’s your sister-in-law?”

“Cassian, you and she divorced a long time ago, didn’t you?” Sylas’s posture straightened, his tone sharpening—though a faint, almost mocking smile played at his lips. “And if my memory serves, I actually met Ruby before you did, didn’t I?”

He tilted his head, feigning innocence like a mischievous pup, though every word was calculated to hit a nerve.

As soon as the words left his mouth, an awkward, suffocating silence filled the car, so thick it felt as if the air itself had frozen.

Sylas didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it. He just shrugged, grinning like nothing could faze him.

Of the three in the car, Bennett was the most visibly affected. His gaze bounced anxiously between the two men, sweat beading on his forehead, but he didn’t dare lift a hand to wipe it away.

Sylas stared Cassian down. Their eyes clashed in the space between them—one fierce and untamed, the other cold as steel.

Sylas himself wasn’t even sure what he felt in that moment, except a stubborn impulse to challenge his uncle just for the sake of it.

When he was a child, he’d heard countless stories about this legendary uncle in far-off Quinborough, and he’d even idolized him a little, despite never having met. But once he learned that Cassian was Ruby’s ex-husband, all that admiration vanished.

He’d spent years searching for Ruby, only to find her by Cassian’s side. If Cassian had treated her well, maybe he could’ve accepted it. But after years apart, the cheerful, optimistic girl he once knew had become numb and withdrawn—and it was clear who was to blame.

He didn’t know when it happened, but he’d found himself standing firmly on the opposite side from Cassian.

Now, even though Cassian and Ruby were divorced, it was obvious Cassian still hadn’t let her go.

In a way, they were rivals.

“The Cunningham family’s calling. You’d better answer.”

Cassian never wasted time. He’d used that brief lull to text Sylas’s family, prompting them to call.

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