55 vouchers
Emery stepped out of her grandmother’s room and didn’t head for her own. Instead, she turned down the hallway that led to the back of the Chateau. The ss doors were already unlocked, and she slipped out quietly into the garden.
The night air was cool, almost crisp. Moonlight lit the path in silver, and the soft rustling of the hedges was the only sound. She walked slowly, hands tucked into her cardigan, until she reached one of the stone
benches near the fountain.
She sat.
Her grandmother’s voice echoed in her head. “That man is dangerous.”
Emery exhaled through her nose and stared at the water.
Lavish gifts. Istion. Control. Was it really abuse wrapped in gold? It didn’t feel like it. Logan never told her who to talk to. He didn’t ask her to stop seeing Nina. He let her speak, argue, question him.
And yet… there was always this edge.
This quiet tension in the room whenever he walked in. Like she was standing next to a switch she didn’t know existed.
He was dangerous. But not to her. At least, not yet.
She rubbed her fingers against her palm. It was hard to ignore the look in his eyes when he’d stood over and watched her in that dress earlier. Calm, unreadable.
Mary wasn’t wrong. Logan wasn’t normal. But Emery wasn’t entirely sure that was a reason to run.
She closed her eyes briefly.
She could still stop the wedding if she wanted to. No one was forcing her. Why did I even agree to this? The question echoed in her mind, and even now, she didn’t have a clear answer.
Back then, the marriage had felt like a logical step–or at least something she could control. But now, looking at it from a distance, it didn’t make much sense<b>. </b>She had money. She could raise the child on her own.
So why had she convinced herself that marrying the stranger Logan Hayes was the right move? Hold on… was she just having wedding jitters?
Then she heard the sound.
A whistle. Sharp. Uninvited. It cut through the quiet like a de.
One of Logan’s “brothers” was leaning against the wall near the corner of the garden. She hadn’t caught his name before, but she remembered the pale blond hair and bored eyes. Milo Stroud.
He grinned when she looked at him
“You calling me?” she asked.
Milo pushed off the wall and strolled toward her slowly, like he had all the time in the world.
44
55 vouchers
“I wasn’t expecting you here. You’re outte,” he said. “Big day tomorrow. Shouldn’t you be in bed, bride–to- be?”
He stepped closer. Emery didn’t move. She could smell alcohol on his breath, but he didn’t seem drunk. His steps were steady. His eyes were clear.
He reached for her hand.
Emery frowned and pulled it back before he could kiss it. “I’m heading to bed now.”
But Milo didn’t back off. He grabbed her arm, not hard at first, but firm.
“Why are you acting so stiff?” he asked. “We’re alone. No one’s watching. We could do whatever we want. Shall we just stop pretending?”
Her face hardened. “Let go of me.”
He didn’t.
“What the hell are you trying to do!?” Emery hissed.
His other hand moved, fast, trying to pull her closer. She resisted, twisting away, but he was stronger. Too strong. His face lowered toward hers.
She pushed him back with both hands. It barely made him stagger.
Then she pped him.
The crack echoed through the garden.
His head turned with the force, but he didn’t react the way she expected. Heughed. A slow, humorless sound.
“Think about it,” she said. “If you touch me… Logan will kill you.” She didn’t know where she got the confidence to say that.
He keptughing. “Logan wouldn’t care,” he said. “You’re just a dying bitch.”
The wordsnded hard.
Emery stared at him. “What did you say?”
He only chuckled again.
“What do you mean by that?” she snapped.
Milo didn’t answer. He released her and turned like he was done.
But before he could take a full step-
A fist mmed into the side of Milo’s face.
His body twisted with the blow and crashed into a low marble nter beside the path. The edge cracked under the force, soil spilling onto the gravel. A row ofnterns hanging from a nearby trellis trembled, one of them swinging so hard it snapped free and crashed to the ground with a sharp ng.
Logan stood there.
His chest rose and fell slowly. His eyes locked on Milo, who groaned and slumped against the wall.
“What the-” Milo groaned.
Before Milo could even recover, Logan stepped forward and drove his boot into Milo’s stomach.
Milo doubled over, gagging.
“Leave,” Logan said, his voice low. “Or I’ll end your life right here.”
Milo coughed, clutching his side. Logan wasn’t done.
He grabbed the front of Milo’s shirt and yanked him upright. Emery had seen Logan angry before, but this was different. His face was nk. His eyes were fixed, sharp, and unblinking. His entire body radiated tension like something barely contained.
Milo didn’t fight. In Logan’s grip, he looked small. Useless.
Footsteps echoed from behind.
Lucille appeared at the end of the pathway, her heels clicking against the stony path. Her brows pulled together.
“Logan,” she said. “What are you doing? What’s going on? There are other people. Why would you—”
Logan didn’t look at her. “Ask him.”
Lucille took in the scene–Milo’s bruised face, the shredded silence in the hallway, Emery standing rigid just a few feet away.
“Let him go,” Lucille said. “This isn’t the time.”
Logan didn’t move. “I’ll kill him.”
Emery took a breath. She didn’t shout. She didn’t flinch.
“Not the night before our wedding,” she said. “It wouldn’t look too good to have blood somewhere near the ceremony,”
Her voice stopped everything. Even the air seemed to still.
:
<b>44 </b>
55 vouchers
Logan turned his head, his eyes finding hers. Emery’s face didn’t show anything. Not fear. Not emotion. Just a
clear demand.
He stared for another beat before finally letting go of Milo’s cor.
Milo crumpled to the floor.
“Take him out of this ce,” Logan said to Lucille. “Now.”
Lucille didn’t question it. She stepped forward, grabbed Milo by the arm, and pulled him upright. Her gaze flicked once toward Emery–t, unreadable.
She said nothing. Just walked away, dragging Milo with her.
Logan didn’t look at Emery. Not yet. He stayed where he was, shoulders high, jaw tight, and eyes burning.
Then slowly, he turned towards her. “Are you hurt?” he asked.
Emery shook her head. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with your rtives, family… whatever you call it. But I don’t really appreciate this…”
“I know.”
She lifted an eyebrow at his clear answer. “You knew? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you,” he said.
Emery narrowed at him. “Your brother is an ass.”
“And he will be punished.”
“Punished?” she asked. “Like some animal?<b>” </b>
“He is acting like <i>one</i>.<i>” </i>
Emery gritted her teeth. Logan didn’t speak right away. His chest still moved unevenly as he stepped closer to
her.
Emery didn’t back away. She stood still, waiting.
He stopped in front of her. His eyes moved to her wrist.
Then, slowly, he took her hand.
His grip was gentle. He looked down at her skin, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping it. There was nothing visible there–no dirt, no blood–but he continued anyway.
“His scent is on you,” Logan said. “I don’t like it.”
Emery frowned. “You make it sound like I rolled in it.”
:
He didn’tugh. He kept wiping her skin as if it would never be clean enough.
<b>44 </b>
65 vouchers
She studied him. His jaw was clenched. His movements were precise, and careful. There was something sharp in the way he hovered just a little too close. Like he wasn’t sure whether to protect her or drag her deeper into whatever darkness he carried.
“What is wrong with him?” she asked. “Milo. What’s his deal?”
Logan finally let go of her hand and folded the handkerchief away.
“They think this marriage will affect the family,” he said. “The business.”
“So?” Emery said. “Marriages have always been political. Especially in ancient families. This isn’t new. It benefits us both.”
Logan nodded once. “They don’t need to know that. But they’ll understand soon. I’ll make sure of it.”
She crossed her arms. “Sounds ominous.”
He didn’t respond to that.
Instead, his eyes moved across her face, lingering longer than she liked. Not inappropriately. Just observant. A kind of silent calction. Or maybe curiosity.
The air between them shifted again.
Emery could feel it. That strange pull. Like she was standing too close to something she couldn’t exin. It wasn’t desire–not exactly. It was deeper than that. A weight in her chest, a whisper in her blood. Like some invisible tether had drawn itself between them.
She had no reason to trust him. And yet, her body never tensed around him. Her voice never shook.
She didn’t understand it.
“You should go back inside,” Logan said.
She didn’t move.
“I will,” she replied. “Eventually.”
He didn’t push it.
Instead, he looked past her for a moment, toward the darkened paths that led deeper into the garden.
“This won’t happen again,” he said. “I give you my word.”
Emery didn’t answer. But her eyes lingered on him.
And for the first time that night, she wasn’t thinking about her grandmother’s warnings.
She was trying to understand why a part of her didn’t want to walk away.