Chapter 135

Ella

The air was thick with tension as Logan stood in my doorway, his eyes wide as if he were seeing me for the first time even.

Even though I never wanted to admit it, I had taken extra care with my appearance today, veering away from my usual casual off-work attire.

My long black velvet skirt seemed to capture his attention as it shimmered subtly in the dim light of my apartment. I paired it with a slim off-shoulder long-sleeved top that hung delicately across my frame.

Heeled boots completed the ensemble, and my white-blonde hair cascaded freely down my shoulders. The makeup was minimalistic, just a hint of color on my lips and eyes, with simple gold jewelry as finishing touches.

“Um… You look...nice,” Logan finally muttered, running his hand through his hair. There was the slightest reddish tinge to his cheeks, and his voice was low. It was obvious that he was trying to hide his true feelings as he quickly looked away again, averting his gaze to the painting on my wall.

“Thanks,” I responded, taking a mental note of how his gaze moved away almost immediately. “You clean up well yourself.”

That much was true. He was wearing a white t-shirt under a leather jacket, a classic look. The outfit emphasized his muscular build, and it suited him so well it was almost distracting. His hair was perfectly combed, too, and he had a slight shadow of stubble on his face, which made him look even more handsome in a grown-up and slightly messy sort of way.

“Thank you,” he said, still not meeting my eyes. He hesitated for a moment before gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb and adding, “I double-parked downstairs, so we should probably get going.”

Ah, an escape route. I couldn’t blame him; the atmosphere was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I nodded, grabbed my purse, and followed him out of the apartment, locking the door behind me.

We descended the stairs in silence. The tension was palpable, filling the spaces where casual conversation would usually take up room. It had been two weeks since we had last seen each other, but given the circumstances of our last meeting, it felt as though it had been years.

“It feels like we’re strangers all over again,” I called out mentally to my wolf.

Of course, there was no response. Maybe there wouldn’t be until she either got tired of ignoring me or my relationship with Logan changed—whichever came first. Maybe neither.

He led me to his car, a sleek black model that oozed style and sophistication much like Logan himself. I hadn’t seen this one before; it looked new.

He opened the door for me and I slid into the passenger seat, taking note not only of the new car smell, but also how he hurried to the driver’s side as if to minimize the time we would spend standing too close to each other.

The car roared to life, and we were soon on our way. The silence continued, filling the car with a sense of heaviness. I decided to break it; idle chatter was better than this stifling silence.

“So, what have you been up to lately?” I asked, focusing on the road ahead as if it held the answers to the awkwardness between us.

“Vacationing,” he replied curtly, not even glancing my way.

“Oh.”

One-word responses were never a good sign in any conversation, let alone one charged with this much unspoken tension. I considered pressing him further about his impromptu ‘vacation’, but I eventually decided against it.

We drove in silence the rest of the way. I watched the world pass by through the window, buildings and trees blending into a monotonous blur.

Once again, I tried reaching out to my wolf, hoping beyond hope that my close proximity to Logan would make her stir at least a little bit.

But, of course, there was nothing.

The inside of my mind was just as silent as the car, if not more. At least the car had the sound of the radio playing softly and the engine humming, unlike my mind, which was utterly silent like the forest right before a large predator bursts through the underbrush.

The car finally slowed as we entered the mall’s parking lot, and for a moment, the tension seemed to lift. Maybe it was the promise of retail therapy or simply a change of scenery that momentarily eased the pressure.

But as Logan pulled into a parking space and turned off the ignition, the silence descended upon us once again.

For a few seconds, we just sat there, neither of us making a move to unfasten our seat belts. I felt him glance my way, as if expecting me to say something, to clear the air perhaps. But the words wouldn’t come.

“Ready?” he finally said, breaking the silence.

I nodded. As we climbed out of the car, I began to wonder to myself: was I making another mistake today?

…

Walking through the mall with Logan was just as uncomfortable as I suspected. I guess, in my own messed up sort of way, I had hoped that we would just naturally fall into our old conversation habits. But the multi-layered walls that both of us had put up were thick and heavy, and it would take a wrecking ball to break through the first layer.

Even the stores we wandered through seemed to amplify the gap between us. I knew that it was all in my head, but I almost felt as though we were being watched. It was as if the mannequins themselves, dressed in their flashy and expensive outfits, were judging us. Like they knew that we were walking a fine line between love and hatred, and they were mocking us for it.

“So… How have you been these past few weeks?” I asked, mustering the courage to spark up a conversation as we walked into a clothing store with mannequins wearing long gowns in the window. “How was your vacation?”

Logan shrugged. “It was nice. I’m glad I went, actually.”

“Oh?” My eyebrows jumped a fraction higher than I would have liked. “Where did you go, again?”

He glanced at me with a smirk that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Some tropical place. Mostly spent my days lounging by the beach, having hot women fawn over me. It was a good time.”

The comment hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt my face flush as a whirlwind of conflicting emotions swirled inside me, and I quickly looked away, folding my arms across my chest.

“What?” he asked, a wry chuckle lingering on his lips. “You asked.”

“Nothing changes, does it?” I murmured.

“Huh?” Logan asked.

I scoffed. “You’re just a pig for even saying that Logan,” I shot back, my voice tinged with a bitterness I couldn’t hide.

“So? Why would you care?” He looked at me squarely for the first time since we had arrived at the mall. “It’s not like we’re together, Ella.”

His words pierced through me. “You’re right,” I forced myself to say, biting back the quiver in my voice. “I shouldn’t care. Hope you had a nice time.”

With that, we resumed our shopping.

The awkwardness was becoming almost unbearable, and I was beginning to consider telling Logan that I wanted to go home, when my eyes suddenly fell on a blue dress displayed on a nearby rack.

It was beautiful—elegant and simple, perfect for a fake engagement party, and my favorite shade of sky blue. On impulse, I grabbed it off the rack, holding it up against me.

“I’ll get this one,” I announced, just wanting this shopping trip to be over; now that I knew about Logan’s beachy escapades, I wasn’t interested in continuing my advancements.

Ema could be mad at me all she wanted, but I wasn’t about to waste my time and energy over a man who went to the tropics to pick up women after what happened between us.

Logan looked at me, his eyes lingering on the dress and then shifting back to my face. He cocked his head slightly. “Aren’t you going to try it on?”