Page 171 of King of Ruin

With a defeated breath, Xavier started the car and drove back to the mansion.

The moment he stepped inside, he didn't bother looking around. He tossed the keys toward the living room table, but they missed and fell onto the floor with a sharp clatter that echoed through the quiet house.

His steps became slower as he walked through the mansion, his body struggling to keep going. The fever that had been building inside him burned through his skin, and his head throbbed painfully, but he pushed himself forward until he finally reached the bedroom.

The moment he stepped inside, exhaustion overwhelmed him.

He fell onto the bed, his heartbeat pounding violently in his ears as dizziness consumed him. His body was burning, his mind was exhausted, and the pain of losing Elise was the last thing he remembered before darkness finally took over.

***

The high-rise apartment was covered in darkness, even as the bright lights of Manhattan continued to glow outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The city was alive beneath the evening sky, with countless lights flickering across the skyline, but inside the luxurious apartment, everything remained silent and still.

The apartment, once filled with warmth and carefully chosen details, sat untouched. Soft pastel tones covered the interiors, with floral accents on the walls, elegant paintings, and natural decorations scattered throughout the space, creating an atmosphere that was gentle and inviting. But tonight, none of its beauty reached the woman lying inside one of the bedrooms.

The only sound in the apartment was the quiet sound of breathing.

The room remained completely dark, with even the glow of Manhattan outside unable to reach through the heavy curtains.In the middle of the bed, Elise lay curled up beneath the blankets, her body still, her eyes wide open as she stared into the darkness.

It had been three days since she had left Xavier's mansion.

Three days since she had walked away from the life she had built with him.

And in those three days, she had barely moved.

She had tried.

The moment she returned to her apartment, she had changed into her pajamas and attempted to unpack the suitcase she had brought with her. She had tried to put her clothes away, to organize her things, to convince herself that this was her home now and that she had to start again.

But she couldn't.

She had stood there in the darkness, staring at the suitcase for what felt like hours, unable to move or even think. The reality of what she had done had become too heavy, and eventually her legs had given out beneath her. She had collapsed onto the bed, and since then, she had barely left it.

Her mind refused to let her rest.

Over and over again, it replayed everything Xavier had said.

The way he had looked at her when he made the omelette for her. The way he had confessed that he loved her. The desperation in his voice when he told her he couldn't breathe at the thought of losing her. The way he had held onto her as if she was the only thing keeping him together.

And then, the words that had shattered everything.

That their relationship was a mistake.

That he should never have let her into his life.

The more she remembered, the tighter her chest became.

She felt physically sick from the pain.

The fear she had buried deep inside herself for so long had finally surfaced. The fear that no matter how much she loved someone, eventually they would realize she wasn't enough. That eventually, everyone she cared about would decide she had disappointed them.

It wasn't just Xavier anymore.

Her mind turned toward her parents.

What would they say when they found out?

They had always wanted her to have a successful marriage. They had wanted her to find happiness, to build the kind of life they dreamed she would have. But now she had failed at that too.