Page 190 of King of Ruin

Her eyes widened as she quickly looked around the quiet corridor, making sure there was no one outside to hear the outrageous words that had just come out of Xavier's mouth. Satisfied that the hallway was empty, she turned back to him, her face burning with embarrassment.

"Stop talking like this," she snapped, lowering her voice as she shot another glance down the corridor. "You're standing out in the hallway. What if somebody hears you?"

Xavier only looked at her, completely unconcerned.

"I am not returning to your house," she continued firmly. "We have already broken up. I told you. I'm never coming back!"

For the first time, something shifted in Xavier's expression.

The smug smile faded ever so slightly, replaced by a look she had never expected to see on his face.

Pain.

It was fleeting, almost imperceptible, but she saw it.

The look in his eyes made something twist painfully inside her chest. Before she could let herself dwell on it, she grabbed the doorknob and quickly pulled the door shut.

Bang.

The apartment door closed between them.

Outside, Xavier remained standing in the silent corridor.

The smile that had been on his face disappeared completely. His shoulders seemed to slacken as his gaze slowly dropped to the floor, the weight in his chest becoming heavier than he could suppress.

For a long moment, he simply stood there, staring at the closed door.

Then, lowering his head, he let out a quiet, bitter laugh that carried no amusement at all.

"You are the only one who can almost make me cry, Elise," he murmured under his breath.

His voice was rough.

Soft.

Disturbed.

Leaving her apartment building, Xavier drove straight to the office.

The day passed buried under endless work, but his mind wasn't on the documents piling up on his desk. It was on getting back to her apartment as quickly as possible.

Ever since Elise had left his house, he had stopped going home altogether.

The office had become the only place where he could distract himself, yet without her, even that had become unbearable. Every hour dragged on longer than the last, and by the time evening began to settle over the city, all he wanted was to finish work and go back to her.

Just as he was about to leave, the phone on his desk started ringing.

Xavier frowned impatiently, snatched it off the table, and put it to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Come to Florence Restaurant on Fourth Street."

Amara's voice came through the other end of the call.

"We're having dinner. Come join us."

Xavier halted in the middle of the office, one hand slipping into his pocket as he looked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows.