Page 193 of King of Ruin

Amara was the first to react. Concern immediately filled her face as she leaned forward slightly, looking at him. "Did you try to make her understand? Didn't you try coaxing her?"

Before Xavier could answer, Elias spoke, one eyebrow lifting as he looked at him in disbelief. "If you really miss her so much, then why did you break up with her?"

Xavier's head snapped toward him almost instantly.

"I didn't break up with her," he said defensively. "She broke up with me."

"Oh?" Elias cut in, one brow arching as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "So you're the innocent one in all this? You didn't do a single thing that might've made her walk away?"

A slow, mocking smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Right. She must've broken up with you because you're just too damn sweet to be around." He let out a dry chuckle before adding, "Another day with you, and she probably would've ended up with diabetes."

A quiet snicker escaped Juliet before she could stop herself.

The sound made Xavier slowly lift his head, his dark eyes settling on her with a deep frown.

Juliet immediately pressed her lips together, forcing the smile off her face as she looked away, pretending she hadn't laughed at all.

Xavier didn't say another word.

He simply looked away from all of them, reached for the bottle again, and poured himself another glass.

Watching him, Cassian let out a long, defeated sigh. He exchanged an exasperated look with Elias, before turning his attention back to Xavier.

"Do you actually want to win her back?"

The question immediately caught Xavier's attention. His gaze lifted from his glass, and for the first time since the conversation had started, there was no hesitation in his answer.

"Of course."

Cassian studied him for a moment, then leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. His expression turned serious, almost like a mentor preparing to explain something painfully obvious.

"Then start acting like a man who wants the woman he loves in his life. Men don't win their girlfriends back by ordering them around or threatening them. They court them." He counted the points off on his fingers. "Buy her flowers. Give her gifts—not because you can afford them, but because they'll make her smile. Take her out to dinner. Go on dates. Drive somewhere with no destination just so you can spend time together. Make her feel loved instead of cornered." He paused before asking, "Have you ever done any of that?"

Xavier's brows furrowed as he genuinely thought about it. After several seconds, he answered with complete honesty.

"No."

The room fell into a stunned silence.

Then, as if they had all reached the exact same conclusion, nearly everyone around the table sighed in perfect unison.

A chorus of mutters immediately followed.

"Complete clueless idiot..."

"Unbelievable."

"Hopeless."

"He's actually hopeless."

Xavier's gaze swept slowly around the table, his brows drawing together as he frowned at each of them in turn, clearly unable to understand why they were looking at him as though he'd confessed to some unforgivable crime. Without another word, he reached for his whiskey, took a slow sip, and set the glass back down with the same unbothered expression that only made the others shake their heads even harder.

Finally, Amara let out a long sigh and leaned toward him.

"Man," she said, looking at him with complete exasperation, "you have to show her that you love her. How is she supposed to know how much you love her unless you actually show it to her?"