Chapter 345


    Chapter 345 The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth


    E


    Logan’s blue eyes finally met mine, filled with an emotion that I couldn’t fully read. Remorse, maybe.


    And pain.


    “E, it’s not-”


    “Save it,” I cut him off, a sudden surge of anger bursting through my veins. “Just save your breath,


    Logan.”


    He reached out, his fingertips almost grazing my arm, the air around us pulsating with a mix of tension


    and unsaid truths. “E, it’s not like that. I never-”


    I shoved him away, my voice steeped in a concoction of anger, disbelief, and a hint of hurt. “Lucky for


    you, I’m a woman of my word, otherwise I’d be tearing up our contract right here, right now. Not just


    because of what your brother just said, but because of your whole damn family.”


    Logan’s features hardened, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “Well, maybe you should. Leave, tear


    up the damn contract. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”


    For the second time in the span of a week, Logan had offered me a way out, an easy way out, too. All I


    had to do was say the word.


    But did I want to?


    “You can’t leave him,” Ema said, her voice filled with longing. “He needs you. You need each other.”


    I chewed my lip for a moment before realizing that my wolf was right: we needed each other. I would


    never admit it, but it was true. Right now, in this hell of a city, in this den of vipers, we needed each


    other. There was no way out.


    “No,” I said, turning to look away for a moment. “I won’t leave. Let’s finish this thing.”


    His sigh of relief cut through the charged air, and a faint glimmer of amusement sparked within me.


    “You seem relieved. And to think, you were once so confident that I’d never want to leave, even when


    our contract ended.”


    A smirk tugged at his lips, the faintest hint of his old self piercing through the guarded facade. “Well,


    you just refused yet another clear shot at freedom, didn’t you? So, who’s really in the right here?”


    I scoffed, shaking my head. The weight of Harry’s words still pressed down on my shoulders, filling me


    with a sense of unease.


    “Harry… he wasn’t entirely lying,” Logan confessed after a few moments of silence. “I did lose it, I did


    beat that guy up. But I never had him shot. I never found out who did it, and I’ve never been the same


    since.”


    “But… how can I believe you?” I murmured, still wary of the situation.


    “Let me exin everything, then.” His voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Let me tell you


    everything. From the beginning.”


    There was another silence. I eyed him, contemting the proposition. We had been working with each


    other long enough that I had gained some trust in him, but I still needed something, anything, to ease


    my worries. Biting my lip in indecision, my gazended on an old, worn-out children’s book on the floor


    beside me. Picking it up, I held it on the palm of my hand.


    “Hold up your hand, Logan. Like this.” I raised my right hand, fingers together with my palm facing


    toward Logan, just like it was done in court.


    His eyes, flickering with a mix of perplexity and intrigue, met mine. “What is this? What are you doing?”


    “Just follow my lead,” I persisted, feeling the edges of the worn-out book under my fingers.


    Reluctantly, his hand lifted, and I silently took his other hand and ced it on top of the book. Our eyes


    met, his gaze slowly filling with recognition as mine remained steadfast.


    “Do you swear, on this book of children’s stories, to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” I


    questioned, my voice steady yet soft, trying to bridge the abyss of unknown tales between us.


    There was a pause. Logan’s eyes flickered with uncertainty, his gaze flickering down to the book


    between us. Then, finally, he swallowed and nodded.


    “I do.”


    “Say it,” I urged.


    Logan nodded. “I solemnly swear… That I, Logan Barrett, will tell the whole truth and nothing but the


    truth.”


    Our gazes met over the book, and I felt myself soften toward him. There was something genuine in his


    face, something filled with pain and remembrance. I quickly pulled away, cing the book down on top


    of the box and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.


    “Begin.”


    Logan took a deep breath and began.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    “She was my world. We were young and stupid, and I was hopelessly in love,” he confessed, a


    bittersweet smile ying on his lips. “Hell, I thought we would get married. I even bought a ring and


    everything.”


    “And then?” I urged.


    Logan sighed, leaning against a desk with his arms folded across his chest. “She started to change,”


    he murmured. “She’d go out with me, let me dote on her and buy her all kinds of stuff. Always asking


    for money, fancy restaurants, new things. I was stupid and I did all of it.”


    He paused, shaking his head. “I should’ve known better,” he continued. “But I was just… so stupid.


    Even when I started getting suspicious, I let a lot slide.”


    “She was cheating on you,” I said. Logan nodded. “Yep. For a long time, actually. I was just too blind to


    see it.”


    There was a long silence as Logan’s words sunk in. I pictured him as a younger man, his eyes bright


    and full of love for this college girl. He doted on her, gave her everything she wanted, and she used


    him.


    “I did start following her,” he said, running a hand through his dark hair. “I should’ve just let her go, but I


    couldn’t. So I started tracking her, paying attention to where she went and with whom. Then, one night,


    she said she was going to a party with her girlfriends. Something innocent. But then, I found her at a


    frat house, and she was with…”


    Logan paused, swallowing, and shook his head again. “I’ll spare you the details. But I flew into a rage.


    Beat the guy into a pulp. Gave him a ck eye and a broken nose. I can still remember how she


    screamed, begging me to stop… When I finally came to, and realized what I had done, I ran off.”


    “Then what?” I asked quietly, picturing Logan with a gun in his hand. I didn’t want to think of it. He said


    that he never shot the guy, but… what if?


    “Then, I ran to an alley somewhere,” he said solemnly. “Punched the walls until my hand was


    shattered. Still have the scars.” He tugged his sleeve up to show his hand better. I hadn’t realized it in


    the past, but his knuckles were lined with jagged scars, and his middle and ring fingers were crooked


    from not healing properly.


    “To punish yourself?” I asked.


    Logan nodded. “A few dayster was when I got the news that he had been shot. Of course, my ex


    tried pinning it on me, but I had nothing to do with it. Since there was no evidence, nothing happened


    after that. But now you know.”


    A hush fell over the room, punctuated only by the sound of my own heavy breathing as Logan’s story


    sunk in. The way he looked now, the way his blue eyes stared unblinkingly down at the floor, told me all


    I needed to know.


    “Do you… Think it was…”


    “Who? Harry?” Logan asked. He shrugged. “Maybe. Probably. Hell, I don’t know. It was so long ago. All


    that matters is this: do you believe me?”


    I paused for a few moments, biting my lip. Inside my mind, Ema spoke up. “He’s telling the truth. You


    know you can trust him.”


    Of course I knew that. In a way, I knew from the start.


    I nodded slowly, finally meeting Logan’s gaze.


    “I do,” I murmured softly. “I trust you, Logan. Let’s go home.”