Page 137 of King of Ruin

She took a slow breath, and a small smile touched her lips.

Her gaze shifted toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside, the first snowflakes had begun to fall.

The white flakes drifted gently from the sky, settling over the garden and the stone pathway until a thin layer of white slowly covered everything outside the mansion.

Without saying a word, Elise walked toward the glass doors.

Astrid followed behind her, watching her curiously.

The two women stepped outside onto the front porch, the cold air immediately brushing against their faces. They stood side by side, looking out at the quiet winter scene as snow continued to fall around them, covering the ground inch by inch.

Astrid's lips twisted into a disappointed pout as she lifted a hand and lightly touched her face, gently running her fingers over her cheek as though inspecting herself.

"What a shame," she muttered, her brows pulling together. "I really thought I was pretty enough to make any woman feel threatened and for any man to fall in love with me at first sight."

Elise turned her head toward her, unable to stop the small smile that appeared on her lips.

"You are very pretty. There is no doubt about that."

Astrid looked at her curiously.

"But love doesn't always happen at first sight," Elise continued. "Sometimes, feelings grow slowly over time."

She stepped closer and gave Astrid a reassuring look.

"You can make him fall in love with you slowly. I can help you."

Astrid's smile faded.

"You would really do that?"

The surprise in her voice was obvious as she stared at Elise, almost as though she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Elise simply nodded, her expression sincere.

Astrid studied her for a moment before letting out a quiet breath and shaking her head.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, her eyebrows drawing together. "Why don't you just confront him instead?"

She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"Tell him to confess his feelings for you instead of playing these games with him. If you did that, I honestly think you both would get back together."

Her eyes softened.

"You would be happy. You would get the ending you wanted."

The smile on Elise's face slowly faded as she turned away from Astrid. She moved closer to the edge of the porch, folding her hands behind her back as she looked out at the snow-covered garden. The sight should have been peaceful—the quiet mansion, the gentle snowfall, the entire world slowly being covered in a blanket of white—but instead, the snow pulled her into a memory she had spent years trying to forget.

A memory from a night that still felt like a nightmare.

The snow had fallen just as heavily that night, covering the streets in white as an eight-year-old Elise stood outside her own home, desperately pounding against the locked door.

Her small hands had hurt from hitting the wood over and over again, but she hadn't stopped. Tears had blurred her vision as she begged her parents to open the door, begged them to let her come back inside, begged them not to leave her alone.

She had been their daughter.