Chapter 2

Two weeks ago, Bianca claimed her apartment was under renovation and asked to stay with us temporarily. Logan agreed without even asking for my opinion. To him, it wasn't a big deal.

And so, scenes like the following became the norm in our home.

Before Logan and I were even out of bed, she would pick the lock to our bedroom and say the water heater was broken and needed fixing.

When we locked the door and tried to be intimate, she would suddenly scream that she had fallen and cut herself and needed help.

No matter what time Logan and I had together, she always managed to interrupt at almost every perfect moment.

Just earlier, he was in the study reviewing a contract. Bianca spotted me in the hallway and casually asked if I wanted to watch a newly released movie with her.

There was a flicker of provocation in her eyes, but I couldn't be sure if I had imagined it. That movie was the same one they had watched when they were papped about two weeks ago.

I turned her down. "I need to revise my graduation thesis…"

Since we were about to part ways anyway, I didn't care whether Bianca was provoking me. They would soon be together, and I would be free.

"Oh—I forgot you're still an undergrad! But when it comes to your thesis, you should ask Logan for help. He actually helped me write mine! I owe him everything for getting through my uni," said Bianca.

"If it weren't for him, I probably would've failed my exams! Before every test, he'd help me predict the exam questions, and he was almost always right. Right, Logan?"

"Predicting exam questions is way easier than doing business. Those simple data combinations don't even compare to investment profits," he replied, looking at me, as if waiting for me to ask for his help.

I was silent. After all these years, they still shared vivid memories of their past. I didn't want to involve him in anything else; all I wanted was to leave immediately in five days.

When I returned to the bedroom and sent the revised thesis to my advisor's email, the midnight bell rang. Logan pushed open the door.

"Finished your thesis?" he asked casually as I closed my laptop.

Then, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. His warm breath brushed against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

A strange, involuntary reaction urged me to turn around and meet his lips with a passionate kiss, but my body froze. I didn't move.

Without hesitation, Logan lifted me and laid me down on the bed. His mouth kissed every inch of my skin. From his lips to my neck, a faint scent of cigar smoke lingered on my collarbone.

The buttons on my chest were undone, and the warmth of his touch traveled through my body. Maybe just this once, I would allow myself to indulge.

Just as things were heating up, a sudden wave of nausea surged through my throat. I pushed him away and rushed to the bathroom. I vomited some bile and nothing else.

Logan's gentle voice came from behind. "Did you eat something bad? Here, have some water."

I turned around and instantly flushed—he wasn't wearing a shirt. Meanwhile, he handed me a cup of warm water, oblivious to my reaction.

"Maybe it was the ice cream…" I said, only because that was the one thing remotely unusual I had eaten.

After making sure I was okay, Logan began to move toward me again, clearly intending to pick up where we left off. Then, like clockwork, Biance screamed, "Oh my gosh! Help! There's a robber!"

He immediately threw on his clothes and rushed out of the room.

"Hide in the closet and don't come out!" he said over his shoulder before disappearing through the door.

I stood frozen and then glanced at the empty bottle on my nightstand. A chill ran down my spine.

I had run out of those pills a month ago and hadn't had the chance to buy more. During that time, we had…

I couldn't finish that thought. The consequences were too much to bear.

The next morning, I got up in a hurry, ready to head to the hospital and confirm the suspicion gnawing at me.

But then, I saw something on the dining table. My application form and… the Mate Bond Dissolution Agreement underneath it! A cold sweat broke out all over my body.

Logan was sitting there, reviewing the details of the Arctic Medical Research Program application. He glanced up at me, asking, "The project's in the Arctic?"

"Yeah… Liliana's going, so I took a copy for her."

My body was tense, slick with nervous sweat. I was terrified he would discover my secret!

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't go," he remarked casually. "You hate the cold. There's no way you'd survive the climate there."

I didn't say anything this time. He seemed to have forgotten that I loved snow. I had even earned a professional ski license, just to chase winter.

Of course, his ignorance didn't matter anymore.

"By the way, it's no big deal if you can't graduate on time. I know the dean of Werewolf University. I can talk to him for you," he said. "As for your medical research project, I'll make sure you get your healer's license.

"You don't need to go freeze yourself in the Arctic just for that."

Now, that struck a chord. I was mad because he didn't believe in my abilities.

Since starting university, I had published over a dozen papers and won several academic awards. To outsiders, none of that seemed to matter because they believed I owed it all to him.

After all, he was the biggest donor at Werewolf University, providing 200 million dollars in funding. People whispered that I was only successful because I rode on his coattails.

Before I could argue back, Bianca appeared. "There's a problem with the trade deal in Moudini. We need to renegotiate the profit distribution."

Logan set down the application form. "Let's go to the study."

As I slipped the form into my backpack, I finally exhaled. My secret… was safe.