Ruby crossed her arms, the silk of her sleeves cool against her skin. She refused to show a flicker of the pain clawing at her throat. "You've embarrassed yourself enough today, Seron. Don't add a kidnapping charge to the list."
Seron let out a laugh, a broken, bitter sound that bounced off the mirrored walls. "You planned this. The board meeting, the takeover… the humiliation. You've been waiting for this."
"I survived you," she corrected, her voice as sharp as a diamond. "There's a difference. Survival isn't a plan, Mr. Byron, it's a consequence of your own failures."
"You married my father just to spit in my face," he hissed, stepping so close she could see the frantic pulse in his neck. She didn't move. She didn't even blink. "I admit, Ruby, I'm impressed. I underestimated how far you'd go to hurt me."
"Don't flatter yourself," she said, tilting her head. "I didn't marry him to hurt you. I married power. You just happened to be the one who lost it."
