Chapter 14
The question stirred an old memory.
The first time he had tasted Elise's cookies...
He had never cared for sweets, yet after one bite, he had finished almost the entire plate before arrogantly declaring that from then on, she wasn't allowed to make them for anyone else. Those cookies belonged exclusively to him.
Now, hearing they hadn't been made by her, an inexplicable disappointment settled heavily in his chest.
Completely oblivious to the thoughts running through his mind, Elise simply nodded toward Astrid again.
Astrid happily picked up one of the cookies from her plate, walked up to Xavier, and raised it toward his mouth with an eager smile.
"Xavier, open your mouth," she said brightly. "You'll love these. I made them exactly the way Elise taught me."
Elise straightened with a faint smile. Rather than looking at Xavier or Astrid, she deliberately looked away, her gaze settling on the plate in her hands.
The words I'm not your girlfriend anymore had come out so naturally, yet saying them aloud stirred something she had been trying so hard to bury.
The future she had once imagined with Xavier had already fallen apart, and every unexpected reminder seemed to reopen the wound all over again.
Rather than dwell on it, she focused her attention on the plate of cookies in her hands, silently urging herself to move on.
Across from her, Xavier watched the entire exchange.
Seeing how naturally she had stepped aside and encouraged Astrid to feed him, as though she truly didn't care anymore, sent an inexplicable surge of anger through him. His jaw tightened, the muscle ticking beneath his skin as his gaze lingered on Elise's lowered face.
"So," he said coldly, loud enough for both women to hear, "since you want me to eat the ones Astrid made so badly... then I'll do exactly what you want."
Astrid's face lit up immediately.
"See, I am telling you—"
Without taking his eyes off Elise, he reached out and took the cookie from Astrid's fingers.
Before she could finish, Xavier brought the cookie toward his mouth. Even then, his eyes kept drifting back to Elise, waiting... expecting... hoping for some kind of reaction.
But there was none.
She never looked up.
She simply stood there, quietly staring at the plate in her hands as though nothing around her concerned her anymore.
The complete lack of a reaction only made Xavier's expression darken.
His jaw clenched as his fingers slowly tightened around the cookie until it crumbled in his hand. Tiny crumbs scattered onto Astrid's plate before he casually dropped what remained back onto it, his gaze never once leaving Elise.
"It's fucking delicious," he announced, his voice carrying through the room. A cold smile tugged at his lips. "Really. It's a very good cookie."
He wasn't complimenting Astrid.
He was watching Elise.
From the moment he had taken the cookie, his eyes had repeatedly drifted back to her, waiting for the slightest change in her expression. A glance. A frown. Even a hint of jealousy.
Anything.
But Elise gave him nothing.
She merely shifted the plate slightly in her hands and quietly straightened a few cookies that didn't need straightening, her attention fixed entirely on them instead of the two people standing only a few feet away.
It was as though she had accepted the situation so completely that she no longer cared to watch it unfold.
For some reason, that hurt.
A strange heaviness settled in Xavier's chest, quickly giving way to frustration. He couldn't understand it. He was the one who had decided to be with Astrid. He had been the one to draw the line between himself and Elise.
Then why did her indifference make him feel like he had somehow lost?
What Xavier failed to realize was that Elise wasn't indifferent at all.
The moment she had instinctively offered him that cookie, she had been reminded just how deeply the habit of caring for him had rooted itself inside her.
She had already made up her mind to let him go, but letting go of someone you had loved was never a decision your heart obeyed overnight.
Feelings didn't simply disappear because you wanted them to.
They faded slowly, one painful moment at a time.
Seeing Astrid standing so close to Xavier, smiling as she tried to feed him with the same familiar gesture that had once belonged to Elise, hurt more than she wanted to admit.
The ache spread quietly through her chest, but she refused to acknowledge it.
Instead, she kept her gaze on the plate in her hands, her fingers absentmindedly adjusting the cookies as if they required all of her attention.
Her face remained calm, her smile faint but polite, giving away nothing of the emotions she was carefully keeping buried inside.
After a long moment, Elise finally lifted her eyes.
She looked directly at Xavier, her expression calm and sincere, without the slightest trace of jealousy.
"I think it's time you introduced Astrid as your girlfriend."
The room fell silent.
Elise glanced briefly at Astrid before looking back at Xavier.
"You should introduce her to everyone—your employees, your business partners... everyone." A faint look of concern crossed her face. "The longer people misunderstand your relationship, the more they'll end up saying hurtful things about Astrid. She doesn't deserve that."
She paused before continuing in the same composed tone.
"It would be better if everyone knew where she stands in your life as soon as possible."
Xavier simply stared at her.
For the first time since walking into the mansion, genuine confusion appeared on his face, followed by disbelief.
His brows slowly drew together.
"You want me..." he repeated slowly, as though he hadn't heard her correctly. "You want me to introduce Astrid as my girlfriend?"
There was something almost incredulous in his voice.
Elise nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
She spoke so matter-of-factly that it only deepened his confusion.
"You're constantly attending business events, charity galas, and public functions.
If people keep seeing you with me while Astrid is kept in the background, it'll only create unnecessary misunderstandings.
" She glanced at Astrid again before returning her attention to Xavier. "That wouldn't be fair to her."
Her voice remained steady and practical.
"So I think you should start introducing her as your girlfriend from now on. That way everyone will understand her place in your life, and no one will say anything that could hurt or embarrass her."
The more sincerely Elise spoke, the darker Xavier's expression became.
Not once had she sounded reluctant. Jealous.
It was as though she truly wanted him to belong to someone else.
The muscles in his jaw tightened so hard that they stood out beneath his skin, and a dangerous look settled in his eyes. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his trousers, clearly restraining himself from saying something far harsher than what was about to leave his mouth.
A humorless laugh escaped him.
"Miss Foster..." he said, his voice low and edged with irritation. "You're very generous, aren't you?"
He took a slow step toward her, his gaze never leaving her face.
"Always thinking about everyone else."
His lips curved into a cold smile.
"If I introduce Astrid as my girlfriend..." He raised an eyebrow, the anger in his eyes impossible to miss. "What happens to the title you hold?"
He held her gaze.
"You're my girlfriend, aren't you?"
His voice hardened.
"You're the woman everyone knows lives with me."
Before he had even finished speaking, Elise answered without the slightest hesitation, as though she had already thought everything through.
"It doesn't matter."
Her reply was calm and matter-of-fact.
"You and I never publicly confirmed our relationship." She met his eyes steadily. "You never officially introduced me as your girlfriend, never told anyone we were dating, and never acknowledged our relationship in public."
She gave a small shake of her head.
"So I never really had a title to lose."
A gentle smile appeared on her face as she looked at him with complete sincerity.
"You can introduce Astrid as your girlfriend whenever you want. I don't think anyone will question it."
There wasn't the slightest trace of resentment in her voice.
If anything, she sounded as though she were genuinely trying to help him.
And somehow...
That only made Xavier even angrier.
The fury that had been simmering beneath the surface finally snapped.
"You really are too generous, aren't you?" he barked, a bitter laugh escaping him. "Someone should give you a fucking award for being the most generous woman on this fucking earth."
His voice echoed through the mansion.
Without waiting for a response, he turned sharply on his heel and stormed away. His long strides carried him across the living room, and moments later, the heavy thud of his footsteps rang through the house as he climbed the staircase two steps at a time.
Neither Elise nor Astrid said a word.
They simply stood there, watching as his retreating figure disappeared down the hallway upstairs before the bedroom door slammed shut with enough force to make the entire house tremble.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Astrid slowly turned her head toward Elise, only to find her calmly walking back to the dining table. Elise set the plate in her hands down beside the other one as though nothing unusual had just happened.
"You know..." Astrid said after a moment, still staring toward the staircase. "He never actually took a bite of the cookies I made."
She pointed to the cookie lying on her plate.
"He just crushed it."
Looking down at the broken cookie, she frowned slightly.
"He didn't even take one bite."
Elise's eyes lingered on the crushed cookie for a brief moment before she looked back at Astrid with a reassuring smile. Reaching over, she gently nudged the plate toward her.