Chapter 19
Logan immediately fell silent, surprise flashing across his face. A second later, a grin spread across his lips.
Elise let out a long, tired breath.
For the first time in two days, there was silence.
It settled over her like a cool breeze, easing the constant buzzing in her head that Logan's nonstop chatter had created. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking back at him.
"For the love of God, Logan," she muttered, rubbing her forehead, "please stop talking for a while."
Logan blinked.
"I'm getting tired just listening to you," she continued, looking at him with a mixture of concern and exasperation. "How do you even talk this much? Doesn't your mouth get tired?"
Logan laughed.
"Fine." He nodded obediently. "I'll stop talking about that."
A mischievous smile slowly crept across his face.
"I'll just talk about something else."
Before Elise could protest, he reached over, grabbed her hand, and tugged her forward.
"Come on."
Shaking her head in resignation, she let him pull her inside.
A waiter greeted them at the entrance and led them through the elegant restaurant to the table Logan had reserved.
It sat beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the glittering Manhattan skyline.
Thousands of lights stretched into the distance, flickering against the night sky while the city hummed far below.
Once they were seated, the waiter handed them their menus before returning a few minutes later to take their order.
The food arrived soon afterward.
They started eating, and for the first time in days, Elise found herself distracted from the thoughts that had been consuming her.
Logan talked about everything—his life, her life, random things that had happened, and every little thought that crossed his mind. Somehow, he always had another story to tell, another opinion to share, another comment that made her shake her head.
And slowly, despite herself, Elise began to relax.
A small laugh escaped her when Logan exaggerated a story, and a moment later, she found herself giggling softly at his expression as he acted out the entire situation with his hands moving around while he spoke.
Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from across the restaurant.
Lucius Frost stood beside the reception desk of the restaurant, his eyes fixed on the two people seated across the room.
He remained completely silent as he watched them, observing the comfort they shared and the ease between them.
His attention kept returning to the way the man had grabbed Elise’s hand and guided her inside, leading her toward their table as if the gesture was something completely natural between them.
Now, sitting together, they continued talking as though they had done it a hundred times.
Elise smiled. Laughed. Giggled.
The more Lucius watched, the more suspicious his gaze became.
Something about the way they interacted bothered him. The familiarity between them, the closeness, the way she looked so relaxed beside a man that wasn’t Xavier—it all made him continue staring, trying to understand what exactly he was seeing.
After watching them for a little longer, Lucius finally reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
He dialed Xavier’s number.
The call connected after several rings, but there was no greeting on the other end.
Only silence.
Lucius kept his eyes on Elise as she smiled at the man sitting across from her, completely unaware of the storm he was about to unleash.
“If you stay silent right now,” Lucius drawled, “you’re going to lose your future wife to another man.”
The reaction was immediate.
A sharp movement came from the other end of the call, followed by the sound of something shifting. Then Xavier’s rough voice cut through the silence, no longer calm.
“What?”
His voice was loud, the tension immediately obvious.
Lucius continued watching Elise and the man sitting across from her.
"She is here," he said. "She just came on a dinner date with a man."
The silence on the other end disappeared completely.
"He grabbed her hand and brought her inside to have dinner with him," Lucius continued. "He grabbed her hand and brought her inside himself. They're sitting together now, talking, and she's laughing with him."
His gaze remained on Elise as she smiled at something the man said, the sight making his suspicion grow stronger.
"They look pretty comfortable with each other," Lucius added, his voice becoming more serious. "The way they're acting... it looks like this could end with them in bed."
Before Xavier could respond, Lucius lifted his phone and snapped a picture of them together. A second later, he sent it.
The notification beeped on Xavier's phone.
The moment he heard it, Xavier looked down at the screen.
The picture opened, and his eyes immediately locked onto the image. He zoomed in, staring at it far closer than necessary.
Then he recognized the man beside Elise.
His heart slammed violently against his chest.
The jealousy that he had been desperately trying to suppress for days—the same jealousy that had been eating away at him, the same unbearable urge to hunt her down and bring her back—came rushing back with a force that nearly knocked the air from his lungs.
He had spent days forcing himself to stay away.
He had buried himself in work, pretending that if he kept busy enough, he wouldn't think about her. He had stayed in the office until late hours, operated like a machine, and avoided going back to an empty mansion because every corner reminded him of her.
But one picture was enough to destroy every bit of restraint he had built.
The sound of his chair scraping violently against the floor echoed through the silent office of the Chen Group.
For days, everyone had watched Xavier turn into someone they barely recognized. He had worked endlessly, barely speaking, his temper sharper than ever. The entire company had felt the weight of his anger.
But now, all of it disappeared.
Because the one thing he had been trying not to admit was standing right in front of him.
He was losing Elise.
The woman he loved was slipping further away from him, and for the first time, he could no longer pretend that he was in control.
His hand tightened around the phone as he brought it back to his ear.
“Send me the fucking location,” Xavier ordered.
His voice was rough, almost shaking beneath the anger and urgency that filled every word.
The moment Lucius sent it, Xavier ended the call and walked out of the office without wasting another second.
He moved quickly through the building, down the stairs, and straight toward his car.
He unlocked the door, got inside, and drove away from the Chen Group, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
The drive to the restaurant felt endless.
The traffic at night was heavier than usual, with streams of headlights filling the roads and the constant glow of traffic lights slowing him down at every turn. Every second that passed only made the pressure in his chest grow heavier.
His mind refused to stay quiet.
All he could think about was Alice sitting with that man.
What was he doing with her?
Was he touching her?
Was he holding her hand?
Was she touching his face?
Was he holding waist?
Was he kissing her?
The thoughts came one after another, each one feeding the jealousy burning inside him until he could barely breathe.
His grip tightened around the steering wheel as he fought against the images his own mind created. Every moment of waiting felt unbearable, every red light feeling like it was keeping him away from her.
His patience finally snapped.
The moment the road cleared, Xavier pressed down on the accelerator and drove faster, unable to tolerate another second of distance between them.
When he finally reached the location, he barely had time to throw his car keys toward the valet before he started toward the restaurant entrance, his entire body moving on instinct.
But before he could reach the door, Lucius appeared in front of him and grabbed his arm, pulling him sharply toward the side of the building.
"Come here."
Xavier immediately turned on him, his patience already hanging by a thread. "What the hell are you doing? Let me go. I want to see what the fuck is going on."
Instead of answering, Lucius dragged him behind a parked car, forcing him out of sight from the restaurant entrance.
Xavier's temper exploded.
"What the hell are you—"
Lucius slapped a hand over his mouth and glared at him. "Shut the fuck up. They're coming out."
The words immediately caught Xavier's attention.
His anger disappeared, replaced by a tense silence as he followed Lucius's gaze toward the restaurant doors.
Lucius looked at him then and couldn't help but stare.
The perfectly dressed man who always appeared sophisticated and sharp was nowhere to be seen. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was messy, and the faint shadow of stubble covered his face.
"Look at the state of you," Lucius muttered under his breath. “You look wrecked. Seriously, it looks like someone punched you.”
Xavier ignored him completely. His eyes remained fixed on the restaurant entrance.
"What was she doing with him?" he demanded, his voice low but filled with barely controlled tension. "Did they kiss? Did he touch her? What happened inside?"
The questions came out faster than Lucius could answer.
"Did you see anything at all?"
Lucius looked at him in disbelief. "I don't know. How the fuck would I know."
Xavier's expression immediately darkened.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean I don't know," Lucius repeated, irritated. "I wasn't sitting there watching them the entire goddamn time. I saw them holding hands when they came in, and then I left the restaurant."
Xavier's jaw tightened.
"Then why the hell did you call me? Couldn't you have stayed and found out what was happening?"
Lucius stared at him like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Are you seriously blaming me because I didn't hide inside a restaurant to watch your girlfriend kiss another man?"