Page 83 of King of Ruin

Beside her, Amara nodded immediately.

"Same."

She reached toward a passing waiter carrying a silver tray of cocktails, effortlessly picking up a Bloody Mary before gently placing it into Elise's hand.

"Here."

Elise accepted it with a quiet smile.

"Thank you."

Amara leaned one hip against the railing, folding her arms loosely.

"I honestly couldn't believe they'd put you through something like that."

Juliet laughed under her breath, though there wasn't much humor in it.

"Cassian got the biggest lecture of his life. And deserved every second of it."

A satisfied smile tugged at her lips.

"And Ellias spent the next three nights sleeping on the couch." Amara smirked.

As if hearing his name from halfway across the yacht, Elias suddenly paused in the middle of his conversation and glanced over his shoulder.

His eyes landed directly on Amara. She was still looking at him. Still frowning.

He frowned back in complete confusion, lifting his brows as if silently asking what he'd done now.

Amara answered by narrowing her eyes another fraction.

Elias wisely decided not to investigate further.

He simply turned back to the businessmen around him.

Juliet watched the exchange with a grin.

"He still looks terrified."

"He should be," Amara replied without missing a beat.

The comment drew a quiet laugh from Elise.

"It's really okay."

She lowered her eyes to the cocktail in her hands, absentmindedly tracing her thumb around the rim of the glass before taking a small sip.

"I know they were genuinely sorry, and I know they never meant to hurt me."

Almost without thinking, her eyes wandered across the deck until they found Xavier among the clusters of businessmen.

He stood slightly apart from the group, one hand tucked into the pocket of his tailored trousers while the other adjusted the silver glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. The setting sun caught the edges of his dark hair as he listened to one of the executives speaking, every inch the composed billionaireeveryone admired. Even surrounded by dozens of influential people, he somehow remained the person everyone's attention naturally gravitated toward.

He wasn't looking at her. His attention was completely on the discussion before him.

Yet simply seeing him made the smile on her lips soften.

"I'm happy with him," she admitted quietly. "If that ridiculous prank was his unusual way of finding out whether I'd stay beside him when life became difficult..." She let out a small laugh and shook her head. "Then I suppose he has his answer."