Billionaire's Second Chance At Love

Chapter 107

Willow had every intention of driving straight to Carmen's place and seeing things for herself. To say she was desperate and a little terrified to see Ronin and Carmen together would not be an understatement.

Before the whole time-travel thing, Ronin never made it out alive from the fire set by James. When Willow finally woke up from her coma and heard about his demise, she was devastated. She didn't even know if she was supposed to be happy to be alive or distraught about losing her little brother. Everything was suddenly too overwhelming for someone who had just gotten up from years of sleep. It took her another few months to finally find the will to continue with her life.

The only good thing that came out of the whole chaos was Alice. She was already two years old when Willow was back on her feet.

Little Alice was like a beacon of sanity for the entire Logan family, especially for Willow, who didn't even know how to continue the life that had been on hold for such a long time. It was only when she met Dan—the detective hired by Ronin—that she started to feel something again.

After Ronin died in that fire, the Logans were not the only ones who held themselves responsible. Dan, too, shouldered the responsibility, stating that if he had done a good job as a detective, he could have warned or at least brought help to save everyone. Despite managing to bring Carmen and Eric out of the fire, he couldn't help Ronin. And that was the guilt he forever carried in his heart.

Perhaps, in the end, it was their shared grief that brought them together. She fell in love with him, and even though there were hundreds of things they never agreed upon, there was one thing they always remained on the same page about, and that was to love each other till the end.

Just like Carmen loved Ronin even after he was gone.

The Logans tried their best to welcome Carmen back into the family, but she chose to raise her child alone. She started with a small startup business, which later flourished into a high-end fashion line for kids. While Carmen's mom, Diana, visited her from time to time, the reason for her making an alliance with Simon Walsh still remained a mystery. Of course, there were rumors and assumptions, but they were just that—talks. The fact that Simon never tried to bother Carmen again was enough for everyone to let his actions fade into the background.

Willow personally had never met Molly Carter, Carmen's best friend, but Jasper had been like a younger brother she missed dearly after she woke up. It was said that the two of them were dating and sadly died in a car crash a few months before Willow gained consciousness.

With another deep sigh escaping her lips, Willow pulled up the car in front of an old wooden gate. It was the property that belonged to Dan, a piece of land near the forest his grandfather left in his name before he passed away. Willow had been here too many times to count, but in that moment, she felt an odd nervousness pooling in the pit of her stomach.

She didn't know why, but getting caught by Dan back in the past made her anxious. She was absolutely terrified to find out how that incident might have worked out in the present. Perhaps that was the reason that before heading to Carmen's place, she felt like she needed to face the deal over at Dan's. She was worried about him, wanted to see if he was okay. Like Alice had said that day, the last thing they talked about before she went back in time was a heated argument over something silly she couldn't even remember.

Getting out of the car, Willow pulled her hair into a bun and looked around the vast forest land. Tall trees shadowed the dusty path leading to a wooden cabin. The scent of wild and unknown flowers hung heavy in the air. The atmosphere inside the property had a certain chill that the city's breeze didn't. It made her shiver, forcing her to pull her jacket close to herself and rub her hands for some warmth.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Willow approached the wooden cabin. However, she only made it to the first step when the door flew open, and Dan stood there with a rifle in his hands, aiming at her. He wore a checkered flannel shirt over a plain white t-shirt. His jeans looked snug around his thighs, and his boots scraped over the floor with experience.

Willow's instant reaction was to raise her hands in surrender and stumble a few steps backward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to get all aggravated here. I come in peace." She hoped it wasn't because of their previous argument. Could he be that mad to shoot her for it?

Dan squinted at her, the intensity in his hard gaze not wavering. He made no effort to move the rifle away from her face and frowned instead. "What do you want?" he asked with a straight face.

Willow was too stunned to respond right away. However, when she realized he was hell-serious, she swallowed and licked her lips. "You're not really going to shoot me, are you?"

His one shoulder rolled in a shrug. "Depends. Why are you trespassing?"

"Trespassing?" Okay, he really didn't have to make such a huge deal about this. She lowered her hands, hoping to show him some attitude and call him out for how much of a jerk he was being over a small fight. But the instant she dropped her hands, he tightened his finger on the trigger. Her hands went back up in the air. "Okay, okay, okay. Let's do it your way. Just don't shoot, okay? And I'm saying that for your sake. You surely don't want the trouble of digging a grave to hide a body. Too much work for one person, don't you think?"

But Dan didn't seem to think she was funny. He took another step out of the door and signaled her to turn around. 'Go back. This is private property. No one is allowed here without permission.'

'But I have permission, I swear,' she tried to reason with him. 'Here.' She carefully moved one hand into the back pocket and returned with a key of sorts. 'See. I have the key to this cabin. I'm allowed in here.'

He didn't seem to buy it. 'Who did?'

'You, who else?'

That finally triggered a brusque laugh out of him. He lowered his gun and continued to laugh until he couldn't. He shifted weight to the other foot, trying to get a read on her as he slowly calmed down. "Me? Give you permission to this cabin?" he chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't remember doing that. You must be mistaken."

"No. It was you. How could you—" she wanted to argue and remind him that he did, and perhaps convince him to stop being such a jerk. But then she paused, and her face paled. She stared at him for a long minute, saying nothing and just looking as if she was seeing him for the first time.

"You seriously don't remember?" She asked, her voice almost breaking. She could barely speak with her throat closing in so fast. "Because, Dan, if this is some kind of joke, then please—please—please, for the love of God, just cut it out."

Dan wasn't laughing anymore; his thick eyebrows furrowed for a moment. He looked confused, but then he lifted the rifle again, aiming it at her with his finger on the trigger. "How the fuck do you know my name?"

A/N: Oops, sounds like new trouble :P