LOGINOLIVIAI quickly yanked the blanket off my body, my pulse racing.What the hell was Logan doing here?How did he even find me?The room spun for a moment as I tried to make sense of everything. The smell of herbs and smoke hung in the air, the faint warmth of a nearby fire wrapping around me. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.I couldn’t stay here.I couldn’t.I had to go back.I pushed the covers aside and tried to stand, but the moment my bare foot hit the wooden floor, a sharp pain shot up my leg. I hissed under my breath and stumbled, reaching for the nightstand for balance.My gaze fell to my leg… wrapped neatly in a white bandage, right where the broken glass had pierced me.And then I noticed my clothes.Gone was the torn dress. In its place, I was wearing an ash-colored top and joggers. The fabric still smelled faintly of store tags and detergent.Did he… change me?Before I could spiral further, Logan was beside me, his hand gripping my arm gently.“Easy,” he whispered. “You n
RYANMy heart started racing. Just a few minutes ago, she had been there. Right outside the damn door.Now… was gone.I could hear the guards shifting nervously near the entrance, whispering to each other like they were afraid to breathe too loud.“Go out there!” I snapped suddenly, my voice sharp enough to make them flinch. “Check again! She couldn’t have gone far!”They scrambled toward the door, fumbling to unlock it again, and as the cold night air rushed in, I gripped the edge of the bed, feeling the pounding in my chest grow louder.Why was I like this?Why the hell was I hyperventilating over her?I wanted her gone… that’s what I’d said. So why did the thought of her vanishing make my skin crawl?I tried to steady my breathing, tried to force the tremor out of my hands. But every sound from outside… the crunch of boots on gravel, the rustle of the wind, only made it worse.She couldn’t have just disappeared.“She was right there,” I muttered to myself, my voice low and shaky. “
LOGANThe sound of the pan sizzled softly as I stirred the soup, the steam rising and filling the room with the scent of herbs and garlic.It wasn’t much… just something warm for her to eat when she woke up.I glanced toward the bed across the room, where Olivia lay under the thick blanket. Her breathing was now steady and calm. Her lips weren’t as pale as they’d been when I found her… but I still couldn’t get the image out of my head.The way I’d found her.Cold and unconscious, with blood on her leg… thrown out like she was nothing.I clenched my jaw, forcing my attention back to the soup. My hands trembled slightly as I stirred.Since the moment she was banished, I hadn’t stopped looking. Not for one damn day. I’d searched every border, every trail, every abandoned cabin I could find.I knew Mia knew where she was… so I cornered her, and she talked.Not willingly, of course.When she finally broke… she whispered the location… I didn’t even wait for the night to end. I shifted befor
RYANThe moment I got back to the house, I gave my first order.“None of you are to open that door tonight,” I said flatly. “If anyone lets Olivia in… you’re fired. On the spot.”The guards exchanged quick, uneasy glances, but no one dared to speak.“She’ll knock,” I continued, adjusting my sleeve. “She’ll cry. She’ll beg. Don’t listen.”I let that sink in, then turned toward the chef standing at the end of the corridor. “I’m hungry. Serve me dinner.”“Yes, sir,” she said quickly, bowing her head before rushing toward the kitchen.I rolled toward the wide window near the living room, the one that overlooked the front porch. The moonlight spilled across the floor, and I smiled faintly as I stared out into the darkness.She’d be there soon.The chef returned a few minutes later, carefully setting a tray of food on the table beside me. “Here you go, sir.” I didn’t even look at her. “You may leave.”She nodded and disappeared.I picked up the fork and took a slow bite.I froze, staring d
OLIVIAI stood there for almost an hour.An hour of pretending I didn’t notice him, pretending the ache in my legs wasn’t killing me, pretending my back didn’t feel like it was about to snap. He didn’t look at me once. Not once.He just sat there, touching Daisy, whispering something into her ear that made her giggle like a damn schoolgirl. His friends laughed along, drinking, flirting, throwing glances at me like I was some kind of entertainment.My eyes stung. I blinked hard, refusing to let a single tear fall. Not here. Not in front of him.Every muscle in my body screamed, but I stayed still. Then Daisy looked up at me. “Hey, bloated girl,” she said sweetly, tilting her glass. “Be useful and serve me.”For a second, I thought I misheard her. But when I saw the way the others smirked, I knew I didn’t.I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my feet to move. I reached for the bottle on the table, poured slowly and my trembling hand slipped.The drink splashed across her perfect s
OLIVIAI took a deep breath as I walked down the stairs. I hadn’t been given any footwear, not even slippers. For a moment, I stopped halfway down and stared at my own feet. Was he really planning to make me walk barefoot to wherever he was taking me?I swallowed hard and continued moving. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, the same woman from earlier was standing by the front door. She was holding a black box and that same polite smile was plastered on her face.“This is for you.” she said softly, opening the box.Inside, was a pair of tall black heels.I blinked at them. “No,” I muttered, shaking my head slightly. “Those can’t be for me.”But the woman’s smile didn’t waver. She lifted the heels delicately and held them out toward me. “Sir said you should wear these.”For a second, I wanted to snap, to tell her I wasn’t his doll, his toy, or whatever he thought this was. But then I calmed myself. Getting angry wouldn’t change anything; it would only make things worse. So inste







