Chapter 17 #2
Patiently, he started over again until, at last, he made one he was satisfied with.
He slid the omelet onto a plate and stared at it for a moment before quietly carrying it out of the kitchen.
With each step he climbed toward the bedroom, the haze of alcohol seemed to fade a little more, replaced by a strange nervousness he couldn't explain.
When he finally reached the bedroom door, he slowly pushed it open and stepped inside.
As soon as Xavier stepped into the bedroom, his eyes instinctively searched for Elise.
The room was empty.
His heart sank.
His gaze swept across every corner of the room before the bathroom door suddenly opened.
Elise stepped out, fresh from her shower.
Her damp hair clung to her shoulders, tiny droplets of water still glistening against her skin. Wrapped in a soft white bathrobe, her face was completely bare, free of makeup, making her look even softer than usual.
The moment Xavier saw her, something inside his chest stirred.
His heartbeat, which had felt so painfully heavy all night, suddenly began pounding so hard it seemed to skip several beats at once.
Elise blinked in surprise at his unexpected appearance.
Before she could ask anything, Xavier quietly closed the bedroom door behind him and walked toward her.
She watched him with a puzzled expression as he gently took her hand. Without saying a word, he led her to the chair in front of the dressing table and carefully helped her sit down.
Then, to her surprise, he crouched in front of her.
Holding out the plate in both hands, he looked up at her and said quietly, "I made this for you."
His voice was almost hopeful.
"Look... it's really good. I made sure it isn't burnt anywhere, and it's cooked perfectly, just the way you like it. There isn't any runny egg this time."
Elise lowered her gaze to the plate.
The omelet was perfect.
He had remembered exactly how she liked it.
Her eyes slowly lifted back to him, but instead of the bright smile Xavier had been expecting, there was only a quiet hesitation.
"I'm not hungry, Xavier."
A flicker of disappointment crossed his face, but he quickly hid it.
"Just... try it," he said softly, holding the plate a little closer. "I promise it's good. I made it exactly the way you like it."
He looked at her with quiet anticipation.
"You'll like it. Please... just try it."
Elise slowly shook her head.
"I'm not hungry," she repeated, her voice just as calm as before.
She continued drying her damp hair with the small towel before letting it fall over the back of the chair. When she looked back at Xavier, her heart clenched painfully at the sight of the disappointment on his face.
"I don't want to eat it."
The words seemed to knock the air out of Xavier's lungs.
The hope on his face faltered, replaced by a sadness so raw that it made Elise's chest ache. Even then, he refused to give up. Breaking off a small piece of the omelet with his fork, he held it out toward her with quiet determination, his dark eyes never leaving hers.
"Just one bite," he said softly. "Only one. I promise it's good. I made sure it was perfect this time, exactly the way you like it. Just... taste it."
Elise's gaze fell to the fork.
The small piece of omelet remained suspended between them, waiting for her to accept it. She stared at it for several long seconds, her throat tightening as countless memories threatened to overwhelm her. Then, she quietly turned her face away.
The rejection made something flicker across Xavier's face.
His fingers tightened around the fork as hurt gave way to frustration, though it was directed far more at himself than at her.
"Elise..." His voice rose slightly before softening again, almost pleading.
"I made it for you. I really tried. I kept making it until I got it exactly right because I know how you like it.
" He looked at her helplessly, the desperation in his eyes impossible to miss.
"Please... just take one bite. I made it for you. Don't be like this."
His words made her heart ache even more.
Unable to help herself, her eyes lifted to his face before drifting down to the hand still holding the fork.
Only then did she notice the burns.
Fresh red marks stretched across his fingers and the back of his hand, some already beginning to blister from where he had carelessly touched the hot skillet while trying over and over again to make the perfect omelet.
Her breath caught.
An overwhelming urge to grab his hands, run them under cold water, and carefully treat every burn hit her so suddenly that she had to grip the edge of the chair to stop herself from moving.
The longer Elise looked at the burns on his hands, the harder it became to keep her resolve from crumbling.
Her heart ached.
She knew those burns hadn't happened by accident. He had stood in the kitchen, making omelet after omelet until he got it exactly the way she liked it, burning himself in the process without caring in the slightest.
That was who Xavier was.
He wasn't perfect.
He never knew how to express himself with words, and more often than not, he hurt her without even realizing it.
But when it came to the little things, he always tried in his own quiet way.
If he believed something would make her happy, he would put his whole heart into it, no matter how insignificant it seemed to everyone else.
He never noticed those small efforts himself.
But she always had.
And that was exactly what made this so unbearable.
She wanted to be angry. She wanted to push him away and remain indifferent to everything he did, yet every small gesture only reminded her why she had fallen in love with him in the first place.
But he had already made his choice.
He had chosen to bring another woman into their relationship.
She couldn't pretend that hadn't happened.
So, she turned her face away again, her vision blurring as tears finally gathered in her eyes.
Xavier saw them immediately.
The moment the first tear escaped, every trace of frustration disappeared from his face, replaced by nothing but panic and concern. Without another thought, he quickly set the plate on the dressing table before kneeling in front of her again.
"Hey..." His voice softened instantly.
"Don't cry." He gently cupped her face, his thumbs carefully wiping away the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"It's okay," he said softly, rubbing her arms in a comforting gesture. "You don't have to eat it."
He forced a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"It's probably not even that good anyway."
His gaze briefly flickered toward the omelet before returning to her.
"I'll make it again another day," he said gently. "When you're hungry... I'll make another one for you."
He paused before adding quietly,
"Don't force yourself. You don't have to eat it."
Elise didn't answer.
She simply lowered her gaze, sniffled quietly, and turned her face away once more, refusing to let herself look at him as she sat silently in the chair.
Xavier stared at her, unable to understand when things had changed between them.
His heart refused to calm down as he watched the indifference on her face.
Elise had never been like this with him.
She had never refused him, not once. No matter what he asked, she always found a way to make him happy, especially when it was something he had done for her.
If this had happened before, she would have eaten the omelet even if it wasn't perfect.
She would have smiled at him and told him she loved it simply because he had made it himself.
But now she wouldn't even accept a bite.
She wouldn't even look at him.
And that hurt more than he wanted to admit.
Xavier tried to hide it, but the ache in his chest only grew. He looked up at her, searching her face for the warmth he was so used to seeing there.
But it wasn't there.
"Elise..." His voice came out quieter than usual. "Don't you like me anymore?"
Her eyes immediately lifted to his.
For a moment, they simply stared at each other. The hurt in his eyes met the pain she was trying so hard to hide, and neither of them spoke.
Xavier's fingers tightened slightly against the chair.
"You don't look at me the same way anymore," he said, his voice strained. "You don't..."
He swallowed, unable to ignore the fear sitting heavily inside him.
"You don't love me anymore?"
Elise's lips parted, ready to answer, but before she could say anything, Xavier leaned forward and kissed her.
His mouth moved over hers, but there was no confidence in the kiss.
There was hunger, but beneath it was something far more unfamiliar from Xavier—a hesitation, a fear that he couldn't hide. It felt less like the possessive certainty he had always carried and more like a man desperately trying to hold on to something he was afraid of losing.
Every emotion he couldn't say aloud poured into the kiss.
He kissed her as though he was trying to convince himself that she was still his, that the distance between them wasn't real.
His lips moved over hers slowly. He tasted her, memorized her, breathing in the familiar scent that had always belonged to Elise, yet even with her right in front of him, the fear inside his chest refused to disappear.
His heartbeat grew louder with every passing second.
Finally, when he felt her breathing become uneven, Xavier forced himself to pull away.
It was the hardest thing he had done all night.
He didn't want to let go. Every instinct inside him wanted to pull her closer and refuse to face the answer he was terrified of hearing. But he couldn't keep avoiding it.
When he finally released her, they remained close, both breathing heavily as they looked at each other.
"Don't answer if you don't want to," he whispered.
His voice was unsteady, the fear he had been trying to hide slipping through. "If you don't love me anymore..."
He swallowed, his chest tightening painfully.
"It's okay."
The words sounded like they were hurting him even as he said them.
"People can fall in love again."