Page 113 of King of Ruin

"I will marry Xavier within the next three months."

There was no hesitation in her voice. She spoke as though the future had already been decided and everyone else simply needed to accept it.

"And once I do..." Her gaze moved over Elise with quiet certainty. "I will take over your position."

A pause followed.

Then, with a small tilt of her head, she added, "And I will kick you out of the house."

The words were blunt, almost provocative.

Astrid waited for the reaction.

She expected Elise to finally lose her composure. She expected anger, hurt, or at least some sign that her words had struck a nerve.

Instead, Elise only smiled.

Before Astrid could understand why, Elise pushed herself up from the chair.

The movement caught Astrid off guard. She watched as Elise walked toward her, her expression still calm and warm, until she stopped directly in front of her.

Then, without hesitation, Elise reached out.

She gently took hold of Astrid's hand—the same hand that was still tucked defensively against her folded arms—and carefully pulled it free. Rather than letting it fall back to Astrid's side, Elise held it between both of her own hands.

The simple gesture left Astrid completely stunned.

"Of course," Elise said softly.

Her fingers gave Astrid's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'll help you."

Astrid blinked.

For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood.

Elise smiled at her, completely sincere.

"I'll help you take over my position and win over Xavier within a month."

The confident expression on Astrid's face slowly disappeared.

She stared at Elise as though she had just heard something impossible.

Her eyes dropped to their joined hands, then lifted back to Elise's face, searching for the hidden meaning behind those words.

A small laugh escaped Elise when she saw the complete confusion on Astrid's face.

Astrid immediately frowned.

"What?"

She pulled her hand back slightly, her brows drawing together as she looked at Elise with suspicion.

"What is wrong with you?"

Her voice became sharper.