Chapter 131

Ella

The moment Logan uttered those words, “I’ll pick you up on the day of the party,” I felt an inexplicable knot tighten around my stomach.

Here I was, supposedly getting everything I wanted out of this arrangement. It was going exactly the way it was supposed to, and yet somehow, I felt as though my heart had been wrenched out of my chest. Why did I feel this way? Why did I suddenly care so much now when I had just been pushing him away?

“But the party’s not for another month!” I blurted out before I could help myself. The words hung in the air, awkward and palpable, leaving a silence in their wake.

Logan shot me a confused look, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something else in my eyes. But then he shrugged, and the motion was so casual it made my stomach tighten even more. “We don’t need to see each other during that time,” he said simply, collecting his notebook and pen.

“Are you serious? We’re supposed to be getting engaged in our parents’ eyes. Don’t you think it will raise red flags if we suddenly drop off the radar? It won’t look like we’re very serious,” I argued, feeling the tension escalate in the room.

His eyes, normally as blue as a midday sky, seemed a colder shade as he answered. “I don’t have the time for anything like that. Neither do you, judging from the boom your career has taken since our last case together.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “Time? That’s your reason?”

Logan’s gaze never wavered. “I was actually considering going on a vacation overseas. Frame it as a business trip. No one would question it.”

“Overseas?” My voice raised an octave. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re seriously planning to go on a vacation for an entire month out of the blue?”

He shot me a look, a sly grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t his usual playful smirk, but rather a cold, emotionless smile. Just like the night we met. “I have the money to do so. Why not? Unless you’re jealous.”

Jealous? The word seemed to echo in the room, reverberating in the walls and floors, crawling up my skin as if taunting me.

Was I jealous? My wolf, still dormant, offered no insight, and I felt strangely alone. The room seemed to close in on me, and it was as if the walls themselves were asking the same question: Are you jealous, Ella?

“Jealous?” I finally managed to scoff, keeping my voice as neutral as possible. “Why would I be jealous of you taking a pointless vacation?”

He leaned in, setting his briefcase on the floor. “You tell me,” he said, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “You seemed rather concerned about not seeing each other for a month.”

His eyes met mine, a challenge lurking in those cold blue depths. For a second, I considered the idea—would I be jealous?

No, my rational mind reasoned. I shouldn’t be. This was a business arrangement, nothing more. This was exactly what I had wanted all along.

“Well, it’s just about appearances,” I replied, pulling up my professional facade like a shield. “We have to be convincing, don’t we? Your plan undermines the whole premise.”

“Appearances can be managed,” he said dismissively, picking up his briefcase again. “Social media exists. Photos exist. As long as the people who matter perceive us as together, it’s neither here nor there.”

I watched him, trying to decipher the man standing in front of me. The Logan I thought I was getting to know had layers, vulnerabilities beneath the suave exterior. But this Logan was a wall, impenetrable and cold.

“But what about us? Won’t it matter to us?” The question slipped out, involuntary, exposing a fragment of the vulnerability I had been feeling since our trip.

His gaze flickered, just for a second, and I wondered what thoughts skimmed through his mind in that moment.

“Why would it?” He finally responded, his voice so devoid of emotion that it left a chilling hollowness in its wake. “Unless… Are you sure you’re not jealous, Ella?”

“Oh, please, Logan. For the last time, I’m not jealous. I actually have a job to focus on, unlike you.” The words came out sharper than I intended.

Logan’s eyes narrowed, his lips forming a taut line. “And you have a job because of me,” he shot back, the frigid chill in his voice taking me aback.

I scoffed. “Excuse me? If we’re going to talk about jobs, let’s not forget how I lost mine. You made sure I got booted out and was essentially blacklisted by every other law firm in the entire city,” I retorted, the tension thickening in the room. My heart pounded in my chest. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Logan. You maneuvered me into this corner, remember?”

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something. His face, a well-maintained mask of control, seemed to betray a flicker of... what? Regret? But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, swallowed up by the icy exterior he was so adept at displaying.

“Sure,” he said, his voice taking on a metallic edge. “Keep telling yourself that. Keep blaming everything on me. Don’t bother taking accountability for anything, you know?”

“Excuse me?” I was completely taken aback. Taking accountability? What was that supposed to mean? “What is your issue?” I found myself hissing.

He shook his head, his expression as rigid as ever. “I don’t have any issues. I just understand the nature of our relationship now, that’s all.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him with a finality that reverberated through the room, echoing in the emptiness he left behind.

I watched the door for a few more seconds in shock, as though expecting Logan to walk back in and say he was just kidding.

But the door remained closed, and I was still alone. I reached for my wolf again, needing her guidance, her ferocity—anything to help me make sense of the swirl of emotions. But she remained silent, dormant, offering no comfort.

Anger boiled up inside me then, hot and visceral.

Without thinking, I turned on my heels and violently shoved the stack of papers off my desk. They took flight, each sheet fluttering through the air. It was a strange juxtaposition of emotions: hot, heavy anger, followed by the light, airy flutters of sheets of paper that made no sound as they hit the floor.

As I stood there, tears trickled down my cheeks, smudging my mascara and my composure.

Why was I so upset? This was what I wanted, right? A clear division between Logan and me, devoid of sentimental emotions. It was just a business arrangement, soon to be over and done with.

But as the papers fluttered down, a pang of regret gnawed at me. Had I just pushed away the one person who, whether I liked it or not, had become a significant part of my life?

I took deep breaths to steady myself, then crouched down to collect the strewn papers. Each sheet felt heavier than it should, anchoring me back to reality. I was in the middle of stacking them neatly on the desk when the door opened. It was Sarah.

“Ella, is everything okay in here? I heard a loud noise.”

I looked at her and forced a smile, feeling the emotional strain tighten my face. “I’m fine, Sarah. Perfectly fine.”