Chapter 12
Seeing that Elise hadn't questioned her caution or tried to force the candy into her hand, Astrid gradually allowed herself to relax.
She settled a little deeper into the plush armchair, the rigid tension in her shoulders easing as she leaned back against the cushion.
Although she remained alert, the guarded look in her eyes wasn't quite as sharp as before.
She studied Elise quietly from the corner of her eye, as though trying to reconcile the woman sitting across from her with everything she had expected before arriving.
After a long moment, she finally spoke.
"You're pretty too."
The unexpected compliment caught Elise completely off guard. She blinked once before looking up, her lips curving into a surprised smile.
"I wasn't expecting you to be this beautiful," Astrid admitted, her voice quieter now. "To be honest... you're prettier than any woman I've met in my whole life."
A soft laugh escaped Elise.
"Thank you."
As she smiled, Astrid's gaze drifted almost absentmindedly to the delicate silver earrings swaying beneath Elise's hair. They caught the light whenever she moved, glimmering softly against her fair skin.
"They're beautiful," Astrid murmured. "Those earrings really suit you."
Almost instinctively, Elise reached up and touched one of them, her fingertips brushing the cool silver.
"I bought them when I was traveling overseas," she explained with an easy smile. "I've always liked simple jewelry, so I wear these quite often."
Before the conversation could continue, the sitting room door opened.
Layla entered carrying a polished silver tray, her expression far more restrained than it had been earlier.
She crossed the room and carefully arranged everything on the coffee table between them—a fresh porcelain tea set, a steaming pot of lemon jasmine tea, and several unopened packages of imported chocolates, biscuits, candies, and crackers, each one still sealed inside its original wrapper.
"There you are, Miss Foster."
"Thank you, Layla."
After receiving a small nod from Elise, Layla quietly excused herself, leaving the two women alone once more.
Elise reached for one of the snack packets first and deliberately broke the seal before setting it back on the table. She poured herself a cup of tea, stirred one of the floating lemon slices gently with her spoon, and took an unhurried sip before picking up one of the biscuits.
"Mmm." She smiled after taking a bite. "I always like this tea."
Only then did she glance at Astrid.
"Everything's unopened now."
Astrid didn't answer.
Instead, she watched.
Her eyes followed every movement Elise made, from the way she calmly drank her tea to the biscuit she had already eaten from the freshly opened packet.
Only after silently convincing herself that nothing was wrong did she finally lean forward.
She reached for the second teacup, wrapped both hands around the warm porcelain, and cautiously took a sip before opening one of the snack packets herself.
Watching the wariness gradually leave Astrid's eyes, Elise couldn't help smiling.
Without the slightest hesitation, Elise reached up and unclasped one earring, then the other. Her long hair slipped over one shoulder as she leaned across the coffee table and held them out in her open palm.
"You can have them."
Astrid froze.
Her hand stopped midway to the biscuit she had been reaching for, and her eyes widened as they darted from the earrings to Elise's face.
"...What?"
"You like them, don't you?" Elise said, her voice carrying the same gentle sincerity as before. "Then I'd like you to have them."
She reached across the table, took Astrid's hand before the younger woman could react, and unfolded her fingers one by one. With a careful smile, she placed the earrings into her open palm before closing Astrid's fingers around them.
"I bought them while I was traveling overseas," Elise explained. "They're not sold here, so I won't be able to buy you a new pair."
Astrid stared down at the earrings resting in her hand.
Almost immediately, she shook her head.
"No."
She opened her fingers again and instinctively tried to hand them back.
"I can't take these."
Elise didn't reach for them.
Instead, she gently pushed Astrid's hand back toward her.
"Why not?"
"You've been wearing them." Astrid's voice was filled with genuine bewilderment. "They're yours."
There wasn't the slightest hint of greed in her expression. If anything, she looked almost uncomfortable accepting something that clearly belonged to someone else.
Elise couldn't help laughing softly. She looked at the earrings fondly before lifting her eyes to Astrid again.
"I've worn them so many times already." Her smile remained warm and effortless. "They've served their purpose."
Before Astrid could protest again, Elise wrapped both hands around hers, closing her fingers securely around the earrings.
"Now I'd like you to wear them. They'll look prettier on you than they ever did on me."
Astrid hesitated at first, her fingers resting lightly against the silver earrings in her palm.
She stared at them for a moment longer than she intended, and despite her best efforts to remain composed, a flicker of genuine liking appeared in her eyes.
The delicate design had clearly caught her attention, and the faintest hint of a smile touched her lips before she quickly seemed to realize she had let her reaction show.
Clearing her throat softly, she straightened her back and settled deeper into the chair, carefully putting her usual composed expression back in place as though she hadn't been affected at all.
"They're really beautiful," she said after a moment, her voice calm but slightly softer than before. "I really like them."
A brief pause followed before she added, almost reluctantly, "Thank you."
Elise simply smiled. Picking up her teacup, she took another quiet sip of jasmine tea.
Astrid lifted her own cup and took a small sip, but her attention remained fixed on Elise.
The more she observed her, the more she failed to understand her.
A woman in Elise's position should have been angry.
She should have looked at Astrid as a threat, especially when Xavier's family had brought her into the manor with marriage expectations hanging between them.
Yet Elise wasn't angry.
She wasn't cold.
She wasn't even pretending to be polite.
She was simply... kind.
Astrid took another sip of her tea, but her attention wasn't on the drink in her hands. Her sharp gaze remained fixed on Elise, studying her quietly as though she were trying to uncover something hidden beneath her calm expression.
After a moment, she lowered the cup onto the saucer and raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"Why aren't you angry?"
Elise looked at her in confusion.
"Angry?"
"At Xavier." Astrid leaned back slightly, her eyes narrowing. "He brought me home, even though you're the one his family wants him to marry."
She waited.
She expected at least a flicker of jealousy. A trace of irritation. Something that would prove Elise was just like every other woman who wanted Xavier Chen.
Instead, Elise simply shook her head.
"No, I'm not."
Astrid stared at her.
The answer was far too simple.
She slowly placed her cup down and rose from her chair, the elegant movement carrying the same confidence she seemed to have in everything she did. She began walking around the sitting room, her heels making quiet sounds against the polished floor as she thought through every possible explanation.
Yet none of them made sense.
After a few steps, she turned back toward Elise, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"Then you must be with him because of his money."
She pointed toward Elise, completely certain she had figured it out.
"Right?"
Elise only gave a small shrug.
"No."
Astrid stopped.
"No?"
"No."
She stared at Elise for a moment, then slowly continued pacing.
"His looks, then?"
She turned around again, lifting her eyebrows.
"He's Xavier Chen. He's handsome, powerful, and successful. Any woman would want to be beside him."
Again, Elise only shook her head.
"No."
Astrid's expression tightened.
She clearly wasn't used to someone rejecting her logic so easily.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Elise with a mixture of disbelief and frustration.
"Then his family connections?"
"No."
"His status?"
"No."
Each answer came calmly, without hesitation.
And somehow, that only made Astrid more suspicious.
She stopped in front of Elise, staring down at her as though she were trying to understand a completely foreign concept.
"Then why?"
Elise met her gaze.
There was no embarrassment in her expression. No attempt to justify herself.
"I am with him because I love him."
For several seconds, the room went completely silent.
Then Astrid's face changed.
A look of disbelief slowly crossed her features, followed by something dangerously close to disgust. She stared at Elise as though she had just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
"You..."
She let out a short breath, shaking her head.
"You are such a lovesick fool."
Her words were blunt, almost careless.
"Who in this day and age stays with a man just because they love him?"
The disbelief in her voice was impossible to miss.
Astrid folded her arms tighter across her chest and looked down at Elise with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.
"You know, I come from a very rich and powerful french family." She lifted her chin slightly as she spoke, clearly proud of where she came from. "My mother runs our company, and my grandmother was the one who built it from nothing. One day, I will take over everything."
She paused, adjusting the sleeve of her dress with effortless elegance.
"My mother only wants me to complete the formality of marriage first so that everything is settled before I take control."
A faint, dismissive smile appeared on her lips.