Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 521

What is…

Hanley felt a rush of panic that outpaced even his own shock.

People from the Steele family! How could they have arrived in Quinborough so quickly—and without him hearing a thing?

He shifted uneasily, clearly unsettled, but as the group approached, Hanley had no choice but to stand his ground.

Lowering his head, he glanced at Frieda, catching sight of her trembling lashes and lips from above.

Since he’d come home last night, Frieda had barely left his side, clinging to him even as they waited by the door for Ruby to arrive. Now, however, she unconsciously stepped toward the visitors, drawn in despite herself.

The group stopped when they stood no more than five paces from Frieda.

Frieda’s gaze locked onto the faces of the two elderly visitors she hadn’t seen in so many years. The deep lines etched into their cheeks made her nose prickle with emotion, her eyes stinging red.

“Aunt… Uncle…”

Her voice was hoarse, choked with tears, but the room was quiet enough for everyone to hear.

Ruby’s usually composed face registered wide-eyed shock; the calm she always wore was all but gone. Her eyes darted between Frieda, the two older guests, and Pearl.

Aunt? Uncle?

If these were Frieda’s aunt and uncle, didn’t that make them, in some sense, her own grandparents too?

She looked up at Sylas, her disbelief plain.

Originally, Sylas had assumed Hanley wouldn’t let him into the house, but when Hanley only restricted Fanny and Hayley, Sylas slipped in with the rest.

He caught Ruby’s stunned expression, lips quirking in a small smile as he leaned toward her and whispered, “Surprised?”

Surprised wasn’t the word for what Ruby felt—she was completely floored. She frowned, watching Frieda’s reaction, replaying her words in her mind.

Could she really have gotten it right?

But… her own grandmother had passed away years ago. Why were her grandmother’s sister and brother-in-law—members of the Steele family—here in Quinborough now?

She dared another glance at the group.

Sylas’s eyes dimmed visibly as her gaze drifted away.

But Ruby pressed her lips together and forced herself to refocus.

Sylas lowered his gaze, looking at Ruby with a mix of longing and restraint, his posture carefully lazy as he tried to maintain a façade of calm, even though he couldn’t help leaning toward her.

Pearl, arching an eyebrow, let her attention slip from the two young people, turning instead to the scene unfolding before them.

Despite her rigid posture, Ruby still held the old woman’s left hand, while the old woman clung tightly to her husband’s arm with her right.

At the sound of Frieda’s greeting, the old man looked down, and the woman’s grip tightened, wrinkling the fabric of his sleeve even more.

At the sight of this child, an image flashed in his mind: a little girl in a frilly dress, laughing and begging for attention. Suddenly, he realized with a start how old they had grown—perhaps the lines on their faces now outnumbered the creases in their clothes.

Hanley’s heart pounded. He shot a glare at Ruby, then cast a dark look at the assistant he’d ordered to escort her.

How could this idiot have brought Ruby here—and with half the family in tow?

Catching Hanley’s furious glance, the assistant shrank back, shoulders hunched in fear.