Page 133 of King of Ruin

"See, I am telling you—"

Without taking his eyes off Elise, he reached out and took the cookie from Astrid's fingers.

Before she could finish, Xavier brought the cookie toward his mouth. Even then, his eyes kept drifting back to Elise, waiting... expecting... hoping for some kind of reaction.

But there was none.

She never looked up.

She simply stood there, quietly staring at the plate in her hands as though nothing around her concerned her anymore.

The complete lack of a reaction only made Xavier's expression darken.

His jaw clenched as his fingers slowly tightened around the cookie until it crumbled in his hand. Tiny crumbs scattered ontoAstrid's plate before he casually dropped what remained back onto it, his gaze never once leaving Elise.

"It's fucking delicious," he announced, his voice carrying through the room. A cold smile tugged at his lips. "Really. It's a very good cookie."

He wasn't complimenting Astrid.

He was watching Elise.

From the moment he had taken the cookie, his eyes had repeatedly drifted back to her, waiting for the slightest change in her expression. A glance. A frown. Even a hint of jealousy.

Anything.

But Elise gave him nothing.

She merely shifted the plate slightly in her hands and quietly straightened a few cookies that didn't need straightening, her attention fixed entirely on them instead of the two people standing only a few feet away. It was as though she had accepted the situation so completely that she no longer cared to watch it unfold.

For some reason, that hurt.

A strange heaviness settled in Xavier's chest, quickly giving way to frustration. He couldn't understand it. He was the one who had decided to be with Astrid. He had been the one to draw the line between himself and Elise.

Then why did her indifference make him feel like he had somehow lost?

What Xavier failed to realize was that Elise wasn't indifferent at all.

The moment she had instinctively offered him that cookie, she had been reminded just how deeply the habit of caring for him had rooted itself inside her. She had already made up her mind to let him go, but letting go of someone you had loved was never a decision your heart obeyed overnight. Feelings didn't simply disappear because you wanted them to. They faded slowly, one painful moment at a time.

Seeing Astrid standing so close to Xavier, smiling as she tried to feed him with the same familiar gesture that had once belonged to Elise, hurt more than she wanted to admit.

The ache spread quietly through her chest, but she refused to acknowledge it. Instead, she kept her gaze on the plate in her hands, her fingers absentmindedly adjusting the cookies as if they required all of her attention. Her face remained calm, her smile faint but polite, giving away nothing of the emotions she was carefully keeping buried inside.

After a long moment, Elise finally lifted her eyes.

She looked directly at Xavier, her expression calm and sincere, without the slightest trace of jealousy.

"I think it's time you introduced Astrid as your girlfriend."

The room fell silent.

Elise glanced briefly at Astrid before looking back at Xavier.

"You should introduce her to everyone—your employees, your business partners... everyone." A faint look of concern crossed her face. "The longer people misunderstand your relationship, the more they'll end up saying hurtful things about Astrid. She doesn't deserve that."

She paused before continuing in the same composed tone.

"It would be better if everyone knew where she stands in your life as soon as possible."