Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 57

Ruby acted as if she hadn't heard a word. She pressed the still-smoldering end of the incense into the holder, then turned to face Frieda directly. "That's my grandmother's legacy—mine by right. Even if I were to give it away, it wouldn't be to someone who isn't a true Grayson by blood. And this time, I'm not backing down. No one is taking what was left to me."

Her eyes were resolute, her words sharp and deliberate.

Frieda blinked, momentarily thrown off by how unfamiliar Ruby suddenly seemed. But as the meaning settled in, anger flared across her face. "I am your mother!"

"Then you should remember that I'm your real daughter."

Ruby shot back, a mocking smile flickering on her pale face—she still hadn't fully recovered, but her sarcasm was undiminished.

As her words faded, Frieda seemed rooted to the spot.

"Ruby… are you blaming me?"

Into the tense silence of the chapel came Gennifer's plaintive voice.

Ruby turned. There Gennifer stood, eyes brimming with tears, the picture of wounded innocence.

It was as if Ruby's words had shattered her. She stifled sobs, barely able to speak. "It's all my fault… If my mom hadn't done so much for Frieda back then, I wouldn't have taken up so much of her attention—all that care that should have been yours."

Once again, Gennifer was playing her old tricks, dredging up the past.

She wept as if her heart would break, her eyes red and swollen.

Frieda's anger, which had nearly burned itself out, reignited in an instant. Her glare toward Ruby was laced with accusation. "Gennifer's mother saved me. Can't you—my own daughter—give up a little for her?"

"All these years, maybe you've forgotten."

Forgotten who her real daughter was.

She'd treated her own flesh and blood like a weed, while the adopted girl became her precious flower.

"You owe her your life. Settle your debt yourself. Don't drag me into it."

Without looking back, Ruby walked away.

Her cool words hung in the air for a moment, then were swept away by the draft, settling like dust over Frieda's heart.

Fury welled up inside Frieda. She glared at Ruby's retreating figure and shouted, "I'm your mother! Like it or not, you're giving it to me!"

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