Page 176 of King of Ruin

"Logan!"

He froze.

"Hush!"

Chapter 19

Logan immediately fell silent, surprise flashing across his face. A second later, a grin spread across his lips.

Elise let out a long, tired breath.

For the first time in two days, there was silence.

It settled over her like a cool breeze, easing the constant buzzing in her head that Logan's nonstop chatter had created. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking back at him.

"For the love of God, Logan," she muttered, rubbing her forehead, "please stop talking for a while."

Logan blinked.

"I'm getting tired just listening to you," she continued, looking at him with a mixture of concern and exasperation. "How do you even talk this much? Doesn't your mouth get tired?"

Logan laughed.

"Fine." He nodded obediently. "I'll stop talking aboutthat."

A mischievous smile slowly crept across his face.

"I'll just talk about something else."

Before Elise could protest, he reached over, grabbed her hand, and tugged her forward.

"Come on."

Shaking her head in resignation, she let him pull her inside.

A waiter greeted them at the entrance and led them through the elegant restaurant to the table Logan had reserved. It sat beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the glittering Manhattan skyline. Thousands of lights stretched into the distance, flickering against the night sky while the city hummed far below.

Once they were seated, the waiter handed them their menus before returning a few minutes later to take their order.

The food arrived soon afterward.

They started eating, and for the first time in days, Elise found herself distracted from the thoughts that had been consuming her.

Logan talked about everything—his life, her life, random things that had happened, and every little thought that crossed his mind. Somehow, he always had another story to tell, another opinion to share, another comment that made her shake her head.

And slowly, despite herself, Elise began to relax.

A small laugh escaped her when Logan exaggerated a story, and a moment later, she found herself giggling softly at his expression as he acted out the entire situation with his hands moving around while he spoke.

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from across the restaurant.

Lucius Frost stood beside the reception desk of the restaurant, his eyes fixed on the two people seated across the room.

He remained completely silent as he watched them, observing the comfort they shared and the ease between them. His attention kept returning to the way the man had grabbed Elise’s hand and guided her inside, leading her toward their table as if the gesture was something completely natural between them.

Now, sitting together, they continued talking as though they had done it a hundred times.

Elise smiled. Laughed. Giggled.