Epilogue #3
He was dressed in loose trousers and a casual T-shirt, clearly dressed for the night, his hair slightly messy, but there was a grin on his face as he walked toward her.
The moment he reached her, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer.
"You’re finally back. Let's go inside."
Without waiting for her response, he started guiding her toward the house.
But Elise barely took a step before another tug stopped her.
She turned around and saw Astrid standing behind her.
Astrid walked closer and immediately wrapped her arms around Elise, holding onto her tightly.
"I want to sleep with you tonight," she said with a slight whine in her voice. "Can we sleep together for one night? I came back after such a long time, and you're telling me to go sleep at the hotel? How can you let that happen to your friend?"
She hugged Elise even tighter, refusing to let go.
"I want to sleep with you tonight. Please, please, please."
Elise looked at her amused expression and smiled.
"You want to sleep here?" she asked.
When Astrid nodded eagerly, Elise thought for a moment.
"Okay. Let me ask the maids to arrange the guest room, and we can sleep—"
Before she could finish, Xavier sharply pulled Elise away from Astrid, holding her against his body as he looked between the two women.
His eyes narrowed at Astrid.
"Didn’t I tell you that she has bad intentions toward you?" he said seriously.
Then he looked back at Elise, as if trying to make her understand.
"Look at her. She's acting like your boyfriend. Opening car doors for you, taking you on dates at nights, bringing expensive gifts for you. If I let her stay around you any longer, she is definitely going to convince you to marry her."
His gaze shifted back to Astrid, completely suspicious.
"She's already convinced you to sleep with her."
Elise covered her mouth, trying her best to hold back her laughter at his words.
“Astrid didn't mean that kind of sleeping together. She was only talking about having a girls' sleepover.”
"No," Xavier said firmly, his expression turning serious. "You are not having any kind of sleepover with her in bed with you."
He tightened his hold on Elise slightly as if making his point clear.
"In fact, remember this—if she is sitting on the bed, you are not sitting on that same bed. If she is sitting on a cozy fucking couch with Netflix on, you are not getting anywhere near that damn couch."
Elise stared at him in disbelief.
"Xavier!"
She drew in a slow, deep breath, forcing herself to remain patient as she lowered her voice. Leaning closer to him, she tried to make him understand rather than argue with him.
"She has been through such a long journey, and you're really just going to let her walk away?"
But Xavier didn't look like he had any intention of changing his mind. He remained completely firm.
"No. I already told you I don't like her. She's not sleeping with you."
Elise turned back toward Astrid, her expression softening as she gave her an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry, Astrid. Let's meet again tomorrow. Your hotel is probably more comfortable than this house anyway, so you can get a good night's sleep."
Astrid's expression fell for the briefest moment before she quickly hid it behind a resigned smile.
"Alright, Elise. If that's what you want, then I'll listen to you." She let out a small sigh. "I'll go back to my hotel."
Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around Elise in a tight hug.
Elise smiled and hugged her back just as warmly.
For a long moment, Astrid rested her cheek against Elise's shoulder. Then, without moving from the embrace, her gaze slowly lifted until it landed squarely on Xavier.
The softness disappeared from her face.
A smug little smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she met his icy stare head-on. Still hugging Elise, she silently mouthed the words only he could see.
“You won't succeed every time.”
The last thread of Xavier's patience snapped.
"Enough!"
His voice rang through the air as he strode toward them, his dark eyes flashing with barely restrained jealousy.
Without a moment's hesitation, he slipped between them, firmly breaking their embrace before pulling Elise away from Astrid.
His fingers closed around Elise's hand, and he immediately started leading her back toward the house.
"Xavier!" Elise protested with a helpless laugh as she hurried to keep up with his long strides.
She glanced over her shoulder and lifted her free hand.
"Bye, Astrid!"
Astrid smiled brightly and waved back. "Goodbye, Elise!"
Then, the instant Elise turned away, Astrid's sweet smile disappeared. She shot Xavier one last thoroughly displeased glare, one so full of smug defiance that his jaw clenched even tighter.
Without sparing Astrid another glance, Xavier marched Elise straight through the front door, down the hallway, and into their bedroom.
The moment they stepped inside, he closed the door behind them, turned to face her, and lifted her into his arms before taking her to the bed.
"We're recreating our wedding night."
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