Chapter 12 #2
"But I'm not going to marry just anyone.
" She brushed a strand of hair away from her shoulder, her expression making it clear that she considered the matter obvious.
"I won't waste my future on some ordinary man who has nothing to offer me.
If I am going to marry someone, he has to be worthy of me. "
Her gaze shifted toward Elise again.
"And in this country, Xavier Chen is one of the few men who actually fits that standard."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
"His influence, his power, his connections... everything he has can help my family's company expand. From France to Manhattan, there are countless opportunities waiting for someone with the right position."
She gave a small shrug, as though the answer was simply common sense.
"So why wouldn't I choose a marriage that benefits both of us? Isn't that the logical thing to do?"
As she continued speaking, her eyes slowly returned to Elise.
She narrowed them slightly, studying the woman who sat before her so calmly.
Then a proud smile touched her lips.
"My goal is simple."
She lifted her chin slightly, her confidence returning as she folded her arms more firmly across her chest.
"I will marry Xavier within the next three months."
There was no hesitation in her voice. She spoke as though the future had already been decided and everyone else simply needed to accept it.
"And once I do..." Her gaze moved over Elise with quiet certainty. "I will take over your position."
A pause followed.
Then, with a small tilt of her head, she added, "And I will kick you out of the house."
The words were blunt, almost provocative.
Astrid waited for the reaction.
She expected Elise to finally lose her composure. She expected anger, hurt, or at least some sign that her words had struck a nerve.
Instead, Elise only smiled.
Before Astrid could understand why, Elise pushed herself up from the chair.
The movement caught Astrid off guard. She watched as Elise walked toward her, her expression still calm and warm, until she stopped directly in front of her.
Then, without hesitation, Elise reached out.
She gently took hold of Astrid's hand—the same hand that was still tucked defensively against her folded arms—and carefully pulled it free. Rather than letting it fall back to Astrid's side, Elise held it between both of her own hands.
The simple gesture left Astrid completely stunned.
"Of course," Elise said softly.
Her fingers gave Astrid's hand a gentle squeeze.
"I'll help you."
Astrid blinked.
For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood.
Elise smiled at her, completely sincere.
"I'll help you take over my position and win over Xavier within a month."
The confident expression on Astrid's face slowly disappeared.
She stared at Elise as though she had just heard something impossible.
Her eyes dropped to their joined hands, then lifted back to Elise's face, searching for the hidden meaning behind those words.
A small laugh escaped Elise when she saw the complete confusion on Astrid's face.
Astrid immediately frowned.
"What?"
She pulled her hand back slightly, her brows drawing together as she looked at Elise with suspicion.
"What is wrong with you?"
Her voice became sharper.
"Why would you do that?"
Elise looked at her for a moment before giving a small, almost helpless shrug.
"Because I won't be staying with him forever."
The casualness of her answer made Astrid go still.
Elise turned away and walked back toward her chair, her fingers brushing lightly against the edge of the table as she continued.
"So it would be better if you were there."
Astrid followed her with her eyes.
"You actually mean that?"
Elise looked back at her.
"Of course."
She returned to her seat and picked up her teacup, though she didn't drink from it immediately. Instead, she stared down at the warm liquid for a moment, her expression becoming thoughtful.
"I don't want Xavier to come home to an empty house." Her voice softened. "I think he likes having someone waiting for him."
A faint smile appeared on her face, almost as if she were imagining the scene.
"Someone to talk to. Someone who makes the house feel like a home."
She paused.
"Even if that person isn't me."
Astrid remained completely silent.
Elise seemed to realize how serious she sounded and quickly brushed the thought away with a small shrug.
"That's all."
Astrid stared at Elise with a look of genuine confusion on her face.
For once, her usual confidence and sharpness seemed to falter because she couldn't understand the woman sitting in front of her.
Everything Elise had done since she arrived went against what Astrid expected.
She had expected jealousy, anger, or at least some resentment from the woman whose place she had openly announced she intended to take. Instead, Elise had offered to help her.
It didn't make sense.
"Why would you do that for him?" Astrid asked, her eyebrows drawing together as she leaned back slightly in her chair. "If Xavier isn't going to be with you anymore, then why does it matter?"
Her fingers lightly tapped against the armrest as she continued, still trying to understand Elise's reasoning.
"He's not going to be your husband. He won't be your family anymore. Doesn't that mean it's not your business anymore?"
Elise remained quiet for a moment, her gaze lowering to the teacup in her hands. Her fingers gently moved along the edge of the porcelain, not because she was unsure of her answer, but because she was choosing her words carefully.
"I know," she said softly.
Then she looked back at Astrid.
"But I was with him for a year."
There was no bitterness in her voice when she said it. No attempt to hold onto something that was already slipping away. She simply stated the truth.
"And during that time, Xavier never treated me badly." A faint smile appeared on her face, though it carried a quiet sadness. "He may not love me the way I wanted him to, but he was never cruel to me. He took care of me. He respected me. He gave me a place beside him."
She paused, her eyes lowering briefly.
"I don't want to just leave him behind as if those things never happened."
Astrid's expression slowly changed as she listened.
She had been expecting excuses.
Instead, Elise was speaking about Xavier with the kind of calm affection someone had for a person they still cared about, even when they knew they couldn't stay.
"I've never had a relationship before," Elise continued quietly. "I wanted that with Xavier."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup.
"I wanted him to be my first love. I wanted to marry him. I wanted to be his wife."
The sadness in her eyes was there for only a moment before she composed herself again.
"But if he doesn't want that with me, then I won't force him."
She lifted her gaze toward Astrid.
"I won't stay somewhere I'm not wanted."
The room became quiet.
Astrid didn't know what to say. The woman in front of her wasn't fighting. She wasn't accusing her. She wasn't trying to make her feel guilty.
And somehow, that made Astrid feel worse.
A complicated expression appeared on her face as she looked away, her lips pressing together. The guilt that surfaced on her features seemed to irritate her because she clearly wasn't used to feeling it.
"Oh my God..."
She let out a breath and rubbed her forehead, looking genuinely troubled.
She sank back into the chair, her earlier confidence disappearing completely as she stared down at her hands.
"Jesus Christ..."
A frustrated sigh escaped her.
"I'm so selfish."
After a moment, she looked back at Elise, and for once there was no arrogance in her expression.
"I'm the one who came into this house with Xavier." Her voice became quieter. "I'm the one who showed up and..."
She hesitated, her fingers curling slightly against her palm.
"...messed up your life."
Elise simply smiled.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said softly. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
Astrid looked back at her, surprised by how calm she sounded.
Elise lowered her gaze briefly before continuing, her voice quiet but sincere.
“If he wants you, then you should be the one staying with him. Not me.”
The words carried no bitterness. No anger. Only a strange acceptance that made Astrid’s heart ache even more.
Elise noticed her expression and gave her a faint smile.
"You know..." Elise began softly, her voice growing quieter as she looked down at her hands. "When I was living with him, I actually made a lot of good memories."
Her fingers slowly traced along the edge of the cushion beside her, the small movement almost absentminded as she became lost in those moments from the past.
"I don't think I have a single memory where I regretted the possibility of marrying Xavier." A faint smile touched her lips, gentle and almost nostalgic. "Not once did I look back and think that I shouldn't have done this."
She paused for a moment, her eyes lowering as if carefully choosing her next words.
"Even knowing how complicated everything was... even knowing we didn't start this because we were in love... I never felt like choosing him was a mistake."
A small smile slowly appeared on Elise's face as the memories began filling her mind.
"Even though he was cold..." she said softly, her fingers resting lightly against the fabric of the cushion beneath her. "Even though he didn't always know how to show what he was feeling, he was still kind to me."
Her eyes softened as she looked down, a quiet warmth spreading across her features.
Astrid remained silent, watching her carefully.
There was something almost unfamiliar about the way Elise spoke about Xavier. She wasn't describing the man everyone else knew—the distant, intimidating Xavier Chen whose presence alone could make people nervous.
She was talking about someone different.
Someone hidden beneath all those walls.
Someone only she had ever truly seen.