Hera didn’t waste time beating around the bush. Knowing Logan’s struggles with self-esteem, she knew he needed a straightforward exnation. "I pretended to believe Lucas because I needed him to trust me," she exined breathlessly, catching her breath between words.
Logan visibly stiffened and came to an abrupt halt, though he avoided looking at Hera’s face, perhaps fearing what he might see. Sensing an opportunity, Hera stepped in front of him, forcing him to acknowledge her presence directly.
"Listen, I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and only you can fix it because it’s your situation. But if you keep running away from it, not only will it remain unresolved, but it could also escte and be detrimental to you." Hera’s gaze was earnest as she looked directly at his face. She felt a strange concern for Logan, even though her own situation was already tooplicated to worry about others.
But she couldn’t just leave someone who clearly needed help but didn’t know how to ask for it, all alone. If not for Athena, she might have ended up like Logan herself, so she feltpelled to extend an olive branch too.
"Believe me when I say I understand how you feel. Though our situations may differ slightly, our futures could end simrly if we let others walk all over us. Even if you don’t know how to fight now, learning to protect yourself is the first step, and eventually, you’ll learn to fight. Who knows? You might surprise yourself and discover a hidden talent." Hera added a teasing remark at the end, hoping to lighten the tension between them.
Then she saw Lucas running towards them. "Look, herees Lucas," Hera said quickly. "Just remember, I was only pretending. He’s close to my nemesis, so I can’t trust him." She made sure to rify with Logan before Lucas reached them.
"Senior! Logan!!!" Lucas called out, panting as he bent forward and leaned on his knees. After taking a few deep breaths, he began chiding Logan. "Logan! How could you treat Senior like this? She was just worried about you! It’s okay if you treat me poorly, but you can’t always treat others the same way!"
"It’s okay, Lucas. Thank you," Hera said, her concerned expression shifting to one of aggrieved resolve as she turned to Logan, who watched with wide eyes. "I’ll be taking Logan with me because our manager is waiting for us at his new lodging," she exined.
"Wait, what?!" Lucas asked, visibly flustered.
"Yes, he needs to stay in the dorms for training, as required by thepany," Hera exined quickly, already beginning to pull Logan along without waiting for Lucas to respond.
"Hurry up, Logan! If the manager gets angry and cancels your contract, you’ll have to pay a breach fee ten times the original amount. And if you can’t pay, your family or guardian will have to cover it! You wouldn’t want Lucas and his family to deal with that, would you?" Hera pretended to scold Logan, but her real intention was to scare Lucas from intervening and letting Logan leave without interference.
But Hera noticed Logan’s hand flinch, realizing she might have said something ufortable. Despite this, she kept walking, and Lucas hurried after them.
"Senior, what does that mean? Logan can’t just stop working? How much would he even have to pay? He’s probably only on an E-list contract, right?" Lucas asked, appearing to search for a way to assist Logan. However, Hera couldn’t ignore the hint of gloating in his eyes, as if he didn’t regard Logan highly.
"Huh? E-list?" Hera halted in her tracks, looking puzzled at Lucas.
"Yes, from what my mom and dad have heard about Logan’s singing, I assume he’s probably only an E-list singer. Despite his transformation into a good-looking guy, that alone isn’t enough to secure a solid contract. There’s no shortage of attractive people in the entertainment industry, after all," Lucas remarked a hint of condescension in his tone.
"What are you talking about, Lucas?" Hera turned to look at Logan, who was staring down at his feet, his jaw clenched. "Logan, you didn’t tell them?" she asked innocently, tilting her head to the side.
"Tell us what?" Lucas asked, clearly confused.
"That Logan has received an A-list contract, and not just any—apparently, it’s a customized one, better than the usual A-list deals. But because of its terms, my manager is strict; breaching it would incur a penalty of 100 million dors. Logan would have to pay it himself, or his parents or guardian would be liable."Hera said matter-of-factly as if she were just recounting the weather report to Lucas, but her words were enough to make him pale and sweat buckets. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t find the words to respond.