chapter twelve: Hello again

A while later, just as I began to calm my racing thoughts, a sudden knock startled me. My heart leapt to my throat. For a moment I hesitated, debating whether to answer, but curiosity got the better of me.

When I opened the door, my breath caught.

Diva stood there. Her perfume reached me before her smile  did, It was sweet, suffocating, and deliberate. Behind her loomed two tall men in black, their broad shoulders blocking the hallway light. They looked familiar, too familiar. I’d seen them among Lord Logan's men before.

Why were they with her?

“Hello again,” Diva purred, her eyes gleaming as she stepped forward, forcing me to retreat into my own room. The men remained at the door, silent and stiff.

“I… wasn’t expecting you,” I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Of course you don't darling” she replied smoothly, glancing around my room as though she owned it. “You’re quite comfortable here, aren’t you? Living under Logan’s roof, breathing his air, eating from his table.”

There was venom beneath the honey of her tone.

“I didn’t ask for this,” I said calmly.

Her smile widened, though her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Oh, but you’re here. And that’s what matters.” She leaned closer, her whisper brushing against my skin like a blade. “But don’t mistake this house or Logan for yours. Don't ever try to relax cause you don't belong here.”

My chest tightened. “What do you mean?”

Diva’s laugh was soft, cruel. “He is not a man anyone can hold. He’s a storm, Aurora. A storm doesn’t belong to anyone, but… of course he belongs to me cause I am the only one who can handle him, nobody knows him like I do” She paused, studying my trembling hands with satisfaction. “Enjoy this little arrangement while it lasts. Because one day, he’ll grow tired… and when he does, you’ll be nothing but a shadow in his story.”

Her words sank into me like poison, but I forced myself to meet her gaze. “Why are you telling me this?”

Her expression softened, but only slightly, a mask of pity stretched too thin. “Because I want you to understand something darling, you’ll never be enough for him.”

With that, she turned sharply, her heels clicking against the marble floor. The two men in black followed her without a sound, leaving me rooted to the spot, shaken and furious.

As the door clicked shut, I collapsed against it, my fists trembling. A storm, she called him. Then why… why was I the one drowning? Something in this house remain strange to me these men, Lord Logan's men

I was devastated, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

Diva’s words echoed in my head long after she left, slicing through me with every breath. You’ll never be enough for him. The sentence played over and over, like a curse I couldn’t shake off.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall, my hands numb against my lap. No matter how much I tried to push her voice away, the truth was, she had planted a seed of doubt deep inside me and it was already taking root. I couldn't stop this marriage from happening and I couldn't beat my rival, is she even a rival? Seems like I am the one taking away what's belongs to someone.

I don't want something that can never belong to me I want man I could call mine. How could I compete with someone like her? She was confident, elegant, a woman who clearly knew Lord Logan in ways I didn’t. And me? I was just… here. A stranger in a house that didn’t feel like mine. But what choice did I have?

I buried my face in my hands, my chest aching with a heaviness I couldn’t name. A part of me wanted to run, to leave this place and never look back. But another part the quieter, crueler part reminded me that no matter how much I resisted, I was already bound to Logan. Bound to this life. I am like a loyal dog who couldn't leave his boss, the only difference is that mine isn't loyalty it is hopelessness.

So I sat there, swallowed by silence, drowning in it, letting despair wrap its cold fingers around me.

I couldn’t fight Diva.

I couldn’t fight Logan.

I couldn’t even fight the future that was already being written for me.

All I could do was endure.

I slept with the weight of despair pressing me down, and when I finally opened my eyes, sunlight was already pouring into the room. My head ached from the heaviness of last night, and I didn’t rise until a sudden movement startled me.

A maid had slipped in quietly, her arms filled with folded clothes. Just like the other days, she didn’t greet me, didn’t even spare me a glance. She simply laid the clothes on the bed and motioned for me to follow. To them I am just a doll they need to cater for, more like Logan's pet dog, I was envious of the way the two guards were looming over Diva yesterday, that's something I don't think I will ever be entitled to.

The clothes were exquisite silk, lace, and shimmering fabric that looked far too fine for me, not like I was talking down myself, it's just that I have never worn such a beautiful dress in my life. I only see them from fashion magazines. Matching shoes and delicate jewelry gleamed beside them. My breath caught, but before I could form a word, the maid took me firmly by the wrist and guided me to the bathroom, more like a drag.

I stood there silently as she bathed me, brushed my hair, and laced me into the gown, her face blank the entire time. Not once did she speak, not once did she ask. She just dressed me like a doll, perfect and polished, and then left as abruptly as she had come.

Moments later, the butler appeared at my door, bowing slightly. “My lady, Lord Logan, requests your presence in the living room.” This is the first time someone was talking to me in the house. My stomach tightened, but I followed.