Chapter 37. The Cracked Mirror
Logan opened his eyes and groaned in pain because he accidentally moved his back muscles. He slept on his stomach on his comfortable and soft bed. He just moved into his room around four o'clock. But he still couldn't feel the luxurious comfort of his injured back. The entire surface of the sheet was covered in blood. He glanced at the condition of his back through the mirror near his bed. It looked terrible and disgusting. The whip wound on his back started to water. Fresh red blood began to mix with white blood and form pus. He had to quickly clean the wound before it became infected and left an ugly scar on his back.
Logan reached for the phone on the nightstand, then he pressed one before holding his phone to his ear.
“Betty, come to my room now. I need gauze, peroxide and ointment."
"Mr. Hatcher, did you do it again?”
“Make it quick, Betty. I don't need questions."
After hanging up the phone rudely, Logan groaned in pain again as he tried to sit up. He needed brandy to ease the pain in his back. At least, the brandy worked to numb his nerves for a few minutes.
Logan staggered to the mini-bar in the corner of his room. He poured brandy carelessly and it spilled out of his glass. He took a sip of it roughly and then slammed the glass onto the table. The heat of the brandy began to run down his throat, to his stomach, then to his back.
He let out a sigh of relief, enjoying the warm sensation that spread throughout his body. He almost closed his eyes again and fell asleep before a knock on the door startled him.
"Come in."
Betty came into his room with a first aid kit in her hand. She was his personal doctor for this matter. Betty always cared for his wounds so well that they barely left any marks on his skin apart from red marks which would fade over time.
"Oh my God, what have you done, Mr. Hatcher? Your back… Your back is bleeding.”
“Don’t fucking ask me question, Betty. Just treat my wounds.”
Logan went to his bed, lying on his stomach. He rested his head on the pillow, so he could relax, while Betty treated his back.
“What did you do this time? Why are you whipping yourself this much?”
Betty removed the formality and moved to Logan's bed to treat his grisly wounds. Bright red wounds and pus covered the entire surface of his back. She could feel the pain in Logan's back.
"None of your business, Betty. Just treat my wounds."
Betty pulled a cotton swab out of the first aid kit and soaked the cotton swab in peroxide. Logan hissed in pain as the liquid touched his very fresh wounds.
“Kaella told me that Riley passed out last night. Does that have anything to do with these wounds?”
“I made a mistake, and I made up for it by whipping myself fifty times.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
Betty threw away the blood-stained cotton and replaced it with a new one.
“That’s the only way I can forget all my regrets.”
“Didn’t your psychiatrist say that self-harm isn’t the solution? It’s just a momentary satisfaction. You will keep repeating the same mistakes next time.”
Logan was silent. He pondered Betty's words and admitted bitterly. It was true. The more he hurt himself, the more he underestimated all the bad things he did. It was as if evil things were allowed to be done, and he just had to try hard to atone for his mistakes by whipping himself.
"How is Riley doing?"
"I saw her in the kitchen. Was chatting with Kaella. She was limping because her leg was sprained. But, she seemed fine.”
"Good. I want her to stay like that. Ahh… can you do it gently, Betty!” Logan growled, stifled. An excruciating pain and heat spread throughout his body. Especially on his back, which was full of shredded flesh.
“Stop all this madness, Logan. If you hurt yourself because of Riley, just let her go. She will suffer if you keep her here for too long.”
"I didn't lock her up. We have a deal."
"About the baby? Do you want to repeat the same mistake? Brittany died while she was carrying your baby."
Logan clenched his fists tightly, holding back the pain in his back and in his heart. He'd been over Brittany for a long time, and now Betty was bringing it up again to make matters worse.
“Riley is different from Brittany. I want a baby, Riley wants money. We are mutually beneficial.”
Betty set out more cotton on Logan's bed and threw the blood-stained cotton into the black plastic. That was indeed a time-consuming job because Logan's injuries were numerous.
“Did you torture her until she passed out last night? I'm sure it wasn't due to exhaustion."
"We fought. Riley pissed me off, and I had to smack her on the neck to keep her quiet.”
“Next time you do it again, you will break her neck. Stop it, Logan. I suggest you see Dr. Liberton."
"I'm fine, Betty. I'm not crazy."
“But something has been bothering you ever since you had that shooting incident. You're losing control of your emotions again."
“Just because I was under pressure. Cooper Smillow plotted murder on me and Riley. Last night I killed his men who had been spying on me."
"You’d better not drag Riley into the mess of your life."
"I dragged her into the mess of my life," he muttered blankly.
"Then what are you going to do to fix it?"
"Nothing. Just leave it be, Betty. That's none of your business. I can't let Riley go because Cooper will definitely try to kill Riley again."
"But I'm not sure Riley will be okay under your control."
"At least, I didn't kill her."
“You can accidentally kill her when your emotions are running high.”
Betty spread the gauze to cover Logan's injured back. This time she needed more gauze than usual because she needed to cover every inch of Logan's back. She had never been able to follow Logan's complex line of thought. Logan preferred self-harm as punishment. It was something she had never agreed to since the first time Logan had applied it to him. But Logan was Logan. He was stubborn and very selfish about whatever he wanted. He could not be stopped.
"I'll make sure I don't kill her."
“What you did to her last night could have been fatal to her. Luckily, she just passed out, not died.”
"I know when it comes to killing someone and knock someone out, Betty," Logan snorted. He hissed in pain as Betty—whether on purpose or not, pressed harder against his wound.
“You know, I like Riley. She is a kind and cheerful girl. I don't want you to destroy her."
Logan didn't answer. Instead, he looked lost in thought, staring at his reflection in the mirror as Betty covered his back with a lot of gauze, then tied it on the right side of his body.
“She also had a miscarriage. Have you ever fucked her before?”
“You were always watching me after I got shot. Did you see me fuck her?” Logan asked harshly.
"No. But I’m not sure," Betty said stiffly. She tidied up the first aid kit and picked up all the trash scattered on the floor.
"Are you sure about your idea of having a child?"
"Why not? Are you afraid that I will hurt my son one day?”
"I am worried. You have to control your emotions, Logan. Don't be controlled by your emotions. It won't work well on your offspring or on Riley. They are your family, not your enemies.”
"I know. Don't talk too much nonsense, Betty."
Logan rose from his seat. He checked the bandages on his back, seeing that they were very neat and there was no trace of blood seeping through the gauze. Betty did a great job.
"Come out. I'll get ready for the office."
Betty stood still. She didn't move and just looked at Logan with concern.
"What else, Betty? I'm telling you to get out of my room now."
"Stop all your madness, Logan."
"Or what?" Logan glanced at Betty scornfully. He didn't expect that Betty could think of herself as superior.
“I will reveal all your dark secrets to Riley. She'll know you're crazy, and she'd better stay away from you."
Silence for a few seconds. Logan didn't say anything, but his signal indicated that Betty had to get out of his room now, or he could do crazy things to get her out of his room.
"I'm serious, Logan. I'm not kidding."
Betty walked out with a straight face. She walked slowly towards Logan's bedroom door. Honestly, she was shaking seeing Logan's sharp gaze. Even her back felt like it was stabbed by something sharp. Logan's gaze shook her. However, that was the best she could do for Logan's good. She loved Logan more than her own children..
When Betty closed the door slowly, Logan got angry and slammed everything in his room. He kicked a five thousand dollar lamp decoration like he crushed a ten dollar toy. Logan enjoyed all the chaos that was unfolding in front of him. Things were shattered, the floor was littered with scattered glass shards. Logan pulled off his sheets and flipped the mattress so hard that the springs were sticking out.
He stood panting in front of the mirror, staring at his red, angry reflection. He punched the mirror until it shattered, and his knuckles were bleeding. He felt disgusted when he saw his own reflection in the mirror. It was a reflection of a monster that was so cruel and dark. What Betty said really described his true self. He hated how Betty could judge him so accurately, even threatening him with Riley.
Fuck, no!
Logan stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror. He pulled the corners of his lips into a smirk. He wouldn't lose to Betty's threat. He had an even more brilliant plan before Betty ruined everything.