Page 169 of King of Ruin

The words immediately made his expression change.

The fury on his face faltered, replaced by confusion as he searched hers for any sign that she didn't mean it.

"Thank you for everything you've done until now, Mr. Chen."

The way she addressed him made his brows draw together.

She had never called him that.

Not once.

But Elise didn't stop.

"I won't be staying with you anymore," she continued softly. "I don't want to live here."

Her fingers tightened slightly around the handle of her suitcase before she looked away from him.

"I think it is better for both of us if we part ways now and live our own lives."

Xavier could barely believe it. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling as he stared at Elise, his heart pounding so hard that he could barely think straight. He had told her everything last night. He had explained himself, admitted his mistake, and begged her to understand him. Yet she was standing in front of him now with that same indifferent expression, as if none of his words had changed anything.

"Didn't anything I said last night make a difference to you?" he asked, his voice rising with disbelief. "We talked about it, didn't we? I explained everything. I begged you, and now you just stand here like a rock. Like none of it mattered to you."

His rough voice echoed through the quiet morning, but the anger in it couldn't hide the hurt underneath. He wanted her to fight with him. He wanted her to scream at him, blame him, or even hate him for what he had done. Anything would have been easier than the emptiness in her eyes.

But Elise said nothing.

She only looked at him with a quiet distance that made his chest tighten. The woman who used to react to every emotion he showed, who used to worry about him and fight for him, was now standing in front of him as if she had already accepted that he was no longer hers.

She reached up and took hold of his hand that was still against her face. Without anger, without hesitation, she gently removed it and lowered it away from her.

Xavier's jaw tightened as he stepped back, his expression hardening even though his heart was aching. He looked at her, trying to understand how they had reached this point.

"Maybe I was wrong about this relationship from the beginning," he said, his voice turning cold.

A flicker of pain crossed Elise's face.

"I should have never let you into my life," he continued. "I don't even understand how I allowed myself to become this attached to someone like you."

The words were cruel, and somewhere deep inside, he knew they weren't true. Elise had cared more than anyone. She had given him everything without asking for anything in return.

But fear had turned into anger, and anger made him say the one thing that could hurt her the most.

"This relationship was a mistake from the beginning."

Elise's eyes changed slightly.

The sadness that appeared on her face was brief, but Xavier saw it. He saw how deeply his words affected her, and the sight of her hurt expression made his own chest ache.

He wanted to take it back.

He wanted to tell her he didn't mean it.

But he stayed silent.

After a moment, Elise looked away from him and turned around. She walked toward the car, opened the door, and stepped inside without saying another word.

The very next second, the car engine started.