Page 150 of King of Ruin

Leaning forward, Xavier planted both hands on the desk and lowered his head, forcing out another long, exasperated breath. His fingers tightened against the polished wood, the muscles in his forearms flexing with the effort of holding himself together.

"I just wanted..." The words caught in his throat. He closed his eyes briefly, searching for the right way to explain himself before finally forcing the confession through gritted teeth. "I just wanted to see her bothered. I wanted her to stop hiding things from me."

A bitter laugh escaped his lips as he slowly shook his head.

"I saw her with another man. She wouldn't fucking tell me who he was." He looked away, his jaw tightening as the memory replayed in his mind. "I was pissed off, all right? Then, when I was on that business trip, Astrid suddenly asked me if I wanted to marry her." He let out another humorless laugh and rubbed a hand over his face. "It felt like such a fucking joke."

He pushed himself away from the desk, throwing one hand into the air in frustration.

"And I just..." He exhaled sharply, dragging both hands through his already messy hair before letting them fall to his sides. "I didn't think much. I just brought her home."

Restless energy coursed through him as he began pacing across the office, his long strides carrying him from one end of the room to the other. Every few steps, he would rake a hand through his hair again, making the usually immaculate strands even more disheveled.

"I wasn't even going to let her stay the night. I was going to send her back the same day, refuse the marriage, give her some kind of compensation, make a deal with her or something."

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the office.

For a moment, he stood perfectly still, one hand braced against his hip while the other tightened around his phone. His chest rose and fell with restrained breaths as he fought to regain control, but the anger simmering beneath the surface refused to settle.

"But this woman..." he growled, squeezing his eyes shut for a brief second before lifting the phone back to his ear. "This damn woman of mine isn't even bothered."

His voice echoed through the office.

“She didn’t even think twice.” A sharp, disbelieving laugh escaped him as he shook his head and turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “She welcomed Astrid into the house, told her to settle in, and then had the nerve to call her beautiful.” He scoffed, rubbing a hand over his jaw before letting it fall back to his side. “Beautiful? What the hell is she talking about?”

He threw one hand into the air, his frustration finally boiling over.

“Has she completely forgotten what she looks like?” His voice rose with every word. “Astrid doesn't even come close to her. Not even close.”

He let out another humorless laugh before rubbing a hand across his face.

"I don't understand it."

His voice lowered, but the frustration was no less intense.

"Why would she even say that? Is she lying to me?" He paused, his jaw tightening. "Or is she lying to herself?" His fingers curled around the phone. "Why the hell is she giving Astrid all this attention while looking at me like I'm the outsider?"

Unable to stand still, he started pacing again.

"And then do you know what she did?" he asked, not waiting for Elias to answer. "I prepared everything for her this morning."

His free hand moved animatedly as he spoke, counting each point off on his fingers.

"I had her favorite car brought around. I had her favorite perfume sprayed inside it. I bought flowers for her." He laughed bitterly, dragging his hand through his already messy hair. "I even planned lunch because I thought she'd finally realize none of this was about Astrid."

He stopped beside his desk, planting one hand against its edge before bowing his head with a frustrated sigh.

"And she tells Astrid to get into the car instead."

For a second, he simply stared at the floor before letting out another disbelieving laugh.

"And then she tells Benjamin that Astrid should start taking over her position at the company."

His eyes widened again as he repeated the words aloud.

"She actually said Astrid should replace her." He shook his head slowly, still unable to comprehend it. "She wants Astrid to learn everything so she can take over when she's gone."

The words reignited his anger.