Page 180 of King of Ruin

Before Lucius could say another word, Xavier shoved past him and strode out from behind the car. His long strides were fastand hard, his jaw locked so tightly that the muscles ticked beneath his skin. He didn't spare Lucius another glance.

The valet had just reached the counter and was about to place Xavier's keys down when Xavier walked straight up to him and snatched them out of his hand without slowing. The startled attendant barely had time to react before Xavier pressed the unlock button. The sharp beep echoed through the parking area as the headlights flashed.

Without breaking stride, Xavier yanked open the driver's door, slid behind the wheel, and slammed the door shut with enough force to make the entire car shudder. A second later, the engine roared to life, and he pulled out of the parking lot, following the direction Elise's car had taken.

For the entire drive, his attention remained fixed on Elise's car ahead of him. He kept enough distance so she wouldn't notice, but not enough that he could lose sight of her.

He had spent days trying to stay away from her.

Days convincing himself that giving her space was the right thing to do.

But seeing her with another man had destroyed every bit of control he had forced himself to maintain.

When the car finally stopped in front of a high-rise building, Xavier pulled over a short distance away and remained inside his vehicle.

He watched as Elise stepped out of the car with the man beside her.

His fingers moved automatically toward the cigarette pack resting on the passenger seat. It was nearly empty. He had been smoking constantly since leaving the mansion in the morning,and the smell of smoke had soaked into his clothes, clinging to his skin and filling the car.

It was the only thing keeping him from losing his mind completely.

The man followed Elise toward the entrance of the building, and just before they reached the doors, she turned around.

"Go home now," she said, giving him a gentle push toward his car. "Yesterday you promised you were only staying for one last night. It's already late. Go home."

The man immediately looked unhappy.

"Why? Let me stay a little longer. What difference does it make if I sleep here or go back to my place?"

Elise's expression remained firm. "I told you not to do this again. You promised me that after dinner, you're going home."

"But I want to stay with you," Logan argued, his voice softer now. "It's been so long since we spent nights together. Don't you miss those days when we used to watch television and just stay up talking? You used to let me stay at your place for days. Sometimes even a week. Now you're suddenly pushing me away. Don't you love me anymore?"

Xavier froze.

The words struck somewhere deep inside him.

His jaw tightened as his entire body went rigid, his eyes burning as he stared at them. He had asked Elise the same thing only days ago. He had looked at her and wondered why she didn't seem to love him anymore, why she could look at him with such distance when he couldn't even imagine his life without her.

The cigarette between his fingers continued burning, unnoticed.

The heat finally reached his skin, and only then did he realize he was holding it too tightly. He dropped it immediately, the pain barely registering compared to the ache spreading through his chest.

But even that didn't make him look away.

His hand moved toward the cigarette pack again, pulling out another one with shaking fingers. He lit it and brought it to his lips, inhaling deeply as if the smoke could somehow calm the chaos inside him.

Before Logan could say anything else, Elise reached out and caught him by the shoulder, stopping him before he could take another step toward the apartment building. She gently turned him around to face her before giving him a small push toward his car.

"Go home," she said firmly. "We'll talk later."

Logan immediately frowned, disappointment spreading across his face. He looked at her with undisguised affection, his eyes silently pleading for her to change her mind, but Elise only shook her head and pointed toward his car once more.

"Go home. And don't come back until I tell you it's okay."

His brows knitted together in stubborn refusal.

"No. I'll come back next week."