Page 84 of King of Ruin

Juliet looked at her for a long moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

"I really don't know whether to admire you or shake some sense into you."

She took a sip of her champagne before pointing her glass toward Xavier.

"Because, honestly? That man keeps crossing lines normal people don't even know exist."

Amara nodded in complete agreement.

Elise couldn't help laughing.

Her laughter gradually faded as her gaze dropped back to the crimson liquid swirling inside her glass. She watched it for a few quiet moments, gently turning the stem between her fingers as though the answer she was searching for might be waiting there.

"There is one thing..." she said at last.

Juliet and Amara both looked at her.

"...one thing I don't think I could ever forgive."

The smile disappeared from Juliet's face.

"What is it?" Amara asked softly.

Elise slowly lifted her eyes to meet theirs.

"Cheating."

Neither woman spoke.

"I can forgive misunderstandings," Elise continued calmly. "People make mistakes. Sometimes they say things they don't mean or make decisions they later regret. Those things can be worked through." She paused for a moment before quietly shaking her head. "But if the man I love willingly chose another woman..." Her fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around her glass. "I would leave."

She smiled faintly, though there wasn't the slightest trace of hesitation in it.

"There wouldn't be a second chance."

Neither Juliet nor Amara noticed Xavier approaching.

His conversation with the executives had ended moments earlier, and he had been making his way back across the deck when the evening breeze carried Elise's words to him.

His steps slowed.

The words settled heavily in his chest.

An unfamiliar feeling tightened there, leaving him strangely restless.

Not because he had ever been unfaithful.

The thought alone disgusted him.

But because he knew Elise wasn't speaking out of anger or making an empty threat.

Juliet was the first to notice him.

"Oh, there you are." She smiled before slipping her arm through Elise's. "We're stealing her for the rest of the evening."

Xavier's gaze dropped to Juliet's hand where it rested around Elise's arm.

His expression didn't change.