Violet's POV
The staircase creaked under my feet as I descended, my gown sweeping against the cold marble floor. It was the only thing that felt even remotely familiar—the soft rustle of silk against stone, the quiet echo of my heels. I held the hem of my dress tightly, my movements deliberate. I had to make sure it looked right. I had to make sure I looked right.
Why Logan had come for me, I didn’t know. I couldn't fathom it. My chest tightened with frustration as I tried to push the question away, but it remained, like a thorn lodged deep under my skin. He had no reason to care for me—none.
But he was here. He had come. And when Logan did something, it was never without a reason.
The faint sound of a servant greeting me from the kitchen broke through my thoughts, but it only deepened my confusion.
"Ma'am Violet, blessful morning to you."
I stopped for a moment. It was a strange thing for anyone to say to me—especially someone who worked in the house. A woman dressed in a white apron, her head lowered in respect. But why? Why would she speak to me like that? The lowest of all.
I blinked, forcing a tight smile, my lips twitching in what felt like a mockery of happiness.
"Morning," I muttered, my voice colder than I intended, before turning away and walking briskly to the living room.
There was no time to waste on pleasantries when everything inside me was roiling with confusion. It wasn’t the fact that Logan was here, it was why. I didn’t trust him. I couldn’t. But I knew one thing: he never did anything without a reason.
I reached the living room and my eyes immediately found him. Logan. Sitting on the couch with an air of someone who owned the room. The man who could make or break worlds with a single decision. His gaze locked onto me, and for a moment, it felt like the world had narrowed down to just the two of us, the air heavy, charged with something neither of us was willing to name.
He gestured toward the seat beside him, and I felt a flicker of heat rush to my cheeks.
A gesture of intimacy. Or was it an invitation to weakness? Either way, I wasn’t about to take the bait. My body stiffened, but I forced myself to turn my back on him, striding toward the opposite couch. My heart was a vicious drumbeat in my chest, an unbearable rhythm I wished I could silence.
I sat down, my body rigid, as though the very fabric of the couch could offer me protection. But nothing could protect me from this man. Not the soft cushions beneath me, not the distance I tried to put between us. Not the air between us, thick with unspoken words.
“What deal did you make with Aaron?” I asked, my voice cutting through the thick silence. “What bargain did you strike to get me out of that hellhole? You don’t do things without a reason, Logan. I know you.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze lingered on me, thoughtful, as if he were weighing the words carefully before he spoke.
And then, as though it were the simplest thing in the world, he stood and walked toward me. He didn’t approach with haste. His steps were slow, deliberate, but there was an undeniable tension in his every movement. I could feel it, like static in the air, thickening around us.
When he reached me, he didn’t sit. Instead, his hand brushed against my hair, his fingers sliding through it with a tenderness that made the air grow even warmer.
“I didn’t make a deal with Aaron,” he said, his voice low, almost too soft for someone who was never supposed to show softness. “I came for you because… I love you, Violet.”
The words were so simple, yet they hit me like a physical blow. The sudden admission left me stunned. I swallowed, but the words I had been preparing seemed to stick in my throat.
I hated him. I despised him. But I couldn’t ignore the way my heart twisted in my chest when he spoke. The truth was, Logan had never done anything without a purpose, a reason. And I knew he wouldn’t have come for me unless something had changed. Unless he had changed.
My throat burned, but I forced the anger to the surface, drowning out the vulnerability that threatened to overtake me. I stood up abruptly, my knees weak, but I would not let him see that. I was not some helpless little girl for him to toy with. Not anymore.
“Love me?” I repeated, my voice dripping with disbelief. “You think that’s enough to explain this? You think you can just say that, and everything will be fine? You think I’ll fall at your feet like some naive fool?” My hands balled into fists at my sides, and I stared at him, my chest heaving with the intensity of everything I felt.
I couldn’t stop myself from stepping closer, my words like daggers as they cut through the thick air between us. “You don’t love me, Logan. You never have. You’ve always seen me as something to control, to own, to manipulate. You don’t do anything without a reason, and the only reason you’ve come here today is because there’s something in it for you.”
He stiffened, his jaw clenching at the sting of my words, but his eyes never left mine.
“I don’t need you to believe it, Violet. Not yet,” he said, his voice colder now, but there was still that undercurrent of emotion, something raw and unrefined. “But I came for you because… I needed to. I didn’t come for some deal. I didn’t come for anything but you. And I’m not going anywhere.”
I could feel my pulse racing, my chest constricting. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, the suffocating feeling that clawed at me when I realized he wasn’t lying. No. He wasn’t. He had never been the type to lie, not about something like this.
But I couldn’t let him see how badly his words had hit me. I wouldn’t let him think he could just walk in and take what wasn’t his. Not like this.
I stepped back, my legs trembling under the weight of my emotions, but I forced myself to stand tall.
“If you really think you can make me believe you, Logan… you’re wrong.” The words were quiet, but firm. “I’ll never be yours. Not the way you want. Not the way you think.”
He took a step forward, but I held up my hand, halting him. There was something in his eyes—something flickering. Surprise. Fear.
“Then you’ll be shocked,” I said, my voice low and steady, a dangerous edge to it now. “You’ll be shocked when I tell you what I know about you.”