“Your father is keeping a secret,” Logan said as he suddenly hugged Emery from behind.
She froze.
He added, “Shhh… they’re watching.”
Emery pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on the flowers in front of her. The garden was quiet and warm from the soft lights lining the paths. She had been admiring a row of blooming orchids when he arrived, slipping his arms around her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
“I don’t know why he’s pretending he doesn’t want this marriage,” Logan said. “It’s an act.”
“My father doesn’t want it because it wouldn’t benefit him,” she replied.
“Wrong,” he said. “He’s relieved. He’s happy.”
“Stop praising yourself,” Emery muttered.
“I’m not,” Logan said, chuckling. “I can hear his heartbeat.”
She snorted. “What are you, some kind of Superman with super hearing?”
Logan shrugged and lowered his head until his nose brushed against her hair. He inhaled slowly, like he’d done it before. The blush crept up her face-fast-but thankfully it was dark.
“He’s relieved I decided to marry you,” Logan said. “But I don’t know why.”
Emery slowly turned around to face him. She tried to create distance, stepping back, but he kept an arm around her waist. His grip wasn’t tight, but it was firm-she couldn’t move.
She met his gaze. “My father isn’t like that. He never cared about me.”
Logan’s expression changed. He frowned, watching her closely.
“I grew up with my grandfather and grandmother,” she said. “They were the ones who took care of me. Not him.”
“That’s not what the information I got says.”
She looked at him. “Information is for people who are too nosy. The real stuff? It’s hidden. Buried.”
Logan didn’t speak. His eyes stayed on hers, searching for something she didn’t feel like sharing.
And Emery didn’t back down.
Emery narrowed her eyes at him. “You shouldn’t act like this when it’s just the two of us,” she muttered. “There’s no audience now.”
Logan didn’t let go. If anything, he pulled her a little closer.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said. “My senses are better than yours.”
She nced around. The garden was quiet. Empty.
“I didn’t see anyone,” she said.
“Doesn’t mean no one’s there,” he replied. “He’s watching from the dark. Your brother.”
Her lips parted slightly. “My brother?”
Logan nodded. “He doesn’t trust me.”
“Well, of course, he doesn’t,” Emery said, rolling her eyes. “You two just met. And you-you look like some mafia boss that can’t be trusted.”
“I’m not in the mafia.”
“Russian mobs, then?”
Logan snorted, but said nothing.
Her eyes narrowed further. “You’re not denying it.”
He tilted his head, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
She pressed on. “Or are you Triad? Or some super secret rich guy society that controls world leaders andunches covert wars for sport?”
“I didn’t know you are full of imaginations. It seems that you’ve been watching too many documentaries.”
“You’ve been avoiding answering.”
He leaned in slightly, and she could feel his breath against her cheek.
“If I told you, I’d have to keep you.”
“You’re already marrying me,” she snapped back. “That’s not a threat.”
His hand slid lower on her waist. “Then maybe I’ll keep you anyway.”
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She shoved his chest. He didn’t move. Of course, he didn’t.
“Stop saying stuff like that,” she said, feeling her face warm again.
“Why? You get flustered too easily.”
“I do not,” she snapped.
“You do,” he said. “You’re doing it now.”
She huffed and turned her head, trying to step back again. He didn’t let her.
“You’re irritating,” she muttered.
“You’re cute,” he replied.
S
She finally looked at him again. Their faces were too close. She swallowed.
“This is going to be a long marriage,” she said.
Logan raised a brow. “I’m counting on it.”
Emery shifted slightly in his hold, not that it gave her much space. She looked up at him.
“Are you really going to assign guards around me?” she asked.
“Yes,” Logan said without hesitation.
Emery let out a sigh. “Then let me make one thing clear now-I’m not working in my father’spany.”
That stopped him. His hand on her waist stilled.
“What do you mean?” he asked. “You’re nning to stay home all throughout the pregnancy? Or staying with me? How about you work as a secretary? My secretary. I’ve seen your resume, you sure are capable.”
“No,” she said. “I’m not nning to stay home.”
His brow lifted, waiting.
“I want to start my ownpany.”
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Logan didn’t speak immediately. She could feel the shift in him.
“What changed your mind?” he finally asked.
She looked away, her eyes on the soft lights scattered across the garden.
“Because I’ve spent my whole life trying to earn his approval,” she said. “Everything I did-all of it- was to prove something. Even that procedure. I told myself it was for me, but it wasn’t. It was for him. To show him I could do it. That I was strong enough. That I didn’t need anyone.”
Logan’s grip on her waist didn’t change. He didn’t interrupt.
Emery lowered her hand slowly and ced it on her stomach. She hesitated, then spoke again.
“But now… I don’t care anymore. Something else matters more than all of that.”
She looked at him again. “My child.”
His expression shifted.
“Our child,” Logan said.
She snorted, even though her chest tightened at the words. “We’re not sure yet.”
“I am,” he replied, eyes locked on hers. “A hundred percent.”
Emery’s heart skipped. She hated that. She didn’t know why it made her want to step away and step closer at the same time.
“You’re too confident,” she muttered.
“And you’re too used to being disappointed,” he said.
Her lips parted, but she didn’t answer.
He lowered his head just a little more until there was no more space left to pretend. His breath was warm against her skin again.
She swallowed.
“I meant what I said,” he added. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Will you stop saying such weird things?” Emery harrumphed before she tried to pull away from him. Her face was already so hot she could feel it exploding. What the heck is going on with her?