Chapter 10
After leaving the drawing room, Anne trudged toward Logan’s office. She didn’t need a guide. As his fiancée, she had come and gone so often that the place now felt as familiar as her own home.
Even though she had never once been welcomed.
Anne lingered in front of the closed door for a long time. She couldn’t bring herself to knock, and just then the prince’s aide opened the door from inside. Benjamin McLean, the aide, saw her and politely held the door open.
“Good day, Miss Avery.”
Crash! A loud noise came from inside the room. Anne could easily guess what had just happened. Benjamin, clearly used to it, spoke calmly.
“His Highness is inside. Please go in.”
“Thank you, Sir McLean.”
Anne carefully stepped into the room. Ink bottles and pens were scattered across the floor, traces of the recent commotion. But Logan, who must have thrown them down in anger, showed no sign of it. No, he acted as if she wasn’t even there.
He didn’t offer her a seat, so she couldn’t sit. Anne stood awkwardly, waiting for him to speak first. This kind of cold treatment was nothing new. After a long silence, Logan finally spoke.
“Anne Agnes Avery.”
A cold wind seemed to blow from him, enough to freeze her like a winter icicle.
Sadly, the gentle and kind male lead no longer existed. Anne Agnes had shattered not only his t******e but also his character traits. What remained was nothing more than a common ill-tempered handsome man.
She answered in a small, crumpled voice.
“Yes.”
“I told you not to show yourself before me.”
“But…”
Anne dragged out her words as if pretending not to know. When had he said that? At the last banquet? Or when they had been forced to attend the opera together? Maybe both.
As she hesitated, Logan’s eyes sharpened even more. As if she had come because she wanted to see him. She absolutely wanted to avoid that misunderstanding. Anne muttered sulkily,
“Someone higher than me told me to come…”
Logan shut his eyes tightly. The deeply furrowed lines on his forehead trembled. Just as she felt toward Marilyn, Anne felt endlessly sorry toward Logan as well. She had destroyed his t******e, his personality, and even his love.
Reaching the limit of his patience, Logan spoke rapidly.
“Just get to the point.”
“My birthday is the week after next…”
“I know.”
Anne wasn’t particularly moved. Since the beginning of the year, people around him must have mentioned it at least a hundred times. It would be stranger if he didn’t know. So she stated her business quickly, just as he wanted.
“I think you’ll need to escort me that day.”
“Who is escorting whom.”
Anne pointed back and forth between Logan and herself. Of course, she didn’t think he was asking because he didn’t know. Logan let out a deep sigh, as if the ground might collapse.
“According to whose will.”
“Someone higher than Your Highness…”
“I know. I know already.”
Logan grabbed his head. Just seeing Anne Agnes gave him a headache. No, in truth, the problem was more serious than a headache. With one hand pressed to his forehead, he pointed toward the door.
“I understand, so you can leave now.”
“The color of the clothes for that day…”
“Do you need to discuss that with me directly?”
“No.”
Anne quickly shook her head. Simply informing the head chamberlain would be enough. Logan indicated the door with a tilt of his chin rather than a gesture. Anne hesitated, then headed toward it.
“Then…”
The moment she left the room, Logan pushed his chair back as far as it would go. The pain he had been suppressing surged up at once. Forgetting his dignity, he immediately loosened his waistband. As soon as he released the tightly fastened front, he could breathe a little easier.
Since that day fifteen years ago, he had developed a chronic condition he could not tell anyone about. A strange illness that only appeared when he faced Anne Agnes Avery. Normally he felt fine, but now, as always, his g***n throbbed with discomfort.
As if she had rammed into him all over again.
Logan could do nothing but wait for the pain to subside. Just as it finally began to calm, the door opened slightly. Benjamin McLean peeked his head through the gap.
“Has Miss Avery already left?”
“Yes.”
Benjamin stepped inside and quietly closed the door. The prince, already sensitive by nature, was always in an even worse mood than usual after Anne Agnes had come and gone.
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