Page 116 of King of Ruin

“If he wants you, then you should be the one staying with him. Not me.”

The words carried no bitterness. No anger. Only a strange acceptance that made Astrid’s heart ache even more.

Elise noticed her expression and gave her a faint smile.

"You know..." Elise began softly, her voice growing quieter as she looked down at her hands. "When I was living with him, I actually made a lot of good memories."

Her fingers slowly traced along the edge of the cushion beside her, the small movement almost absentminded as she became lost in those moments from the past.

"I don't think I have a single memory where I regretted the possibility of marrying Xavier." A faint smile touched her lips, gentle and almost nostalgic. "Not once did I look back and think that I shouldn't have done this."

She paused for a moment, her eyes lowering as if carefully choosing her next words.

"Even knowing how complicated everything was... even knowing we didn't start this because we were in love... I never felt like choosing him was a mistake."

A small smile slowly appeared on Elise's face as the memories began filling her mind.

"Even though he was cold..." she said softly, her fingers resting lightly against the fabric of the cushion beneath her. "Even though he didn't always know how to show what he was feeling, he was still kind to me."

Her eyes softened as she looked down, a quiet warmth spreading across her features.

Astrid remained silent, watching her carefully.

There was something almost unfamiliar about the way Elise spoke about Xavier. She wasn't describing the man everyone else knew—the distant, intimidating Xavier Chen whose presence alone could make people nervous.

She was talking about someone different.

Someone hidden beneath all those walls.

Someone only she had ever truly seen.

"I still remember when we first met," Elise continued, a quiet laugh escaping her as she shook her head slightly. "Actually, before we even met, Xavier had already made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with the arrangement."

A faint smile touched her lips as she remembered.

"He called me and told me that our meeting was only a formality. He said there was no reason for us to take things further because he had no intention of agreeing to a marriage."

Astrid's eyebrows lifted slightly, almost unsurprised.

"That sounds exactly like him," she murmured.

Elise smiled because she couldn't deny it.

"It does." She lowered her gaze for a moment, remembering how certain she had been back then. "At the time, I thought the same thing. I thought he was someone who would never accept this."

She paused, her smile becoming softer.

"But we still met." Her fingers gently brushed over the edge of the cushion as she continued. "And honestly, I was completelyshocked when my parents told me afterward that he had agreed."

A small flicker of happiness returned to her expression.

"They told me that after meeting me, he went to his parents and said he was willing to date me."

Astrid stared at her.

"Xavier actually said that?"

Elise nodded.