Song: Me because of you by HRVY
You took this open heart of mine
Fixed me up and made it right
Lost and cold but you love me still
Every space I couldn't fill
You give me all I ever needed
Half a heart and you complete it
Part of me I never knew, oh
I'm only me because of you...
~~
Emma's POV
" So what kind of black magic did Logan use to get you back?" Lydia asked as we walked through the brightly lit hallway that was decorated with decorative art pieces, antique vases and paintings on either side of the walls.
" Huh?" I asked, momentarily confused.
" Mom!" Liv laughed.
" What? We listen to the news and Christina keeps me very much informed of what is happening over there."
" They talk about everything." Liv added . " Like teenage girls."
So Christina knows that Logan and I are back together?
" Well, we are sisters." Lydia pointed out . " With all that happened, I never thought he had a chance at redemption. But here you are , proving all of us wrong."
My eyes flickered to one of the paintings on the wall, looking for a distraction . It was a large painting of a man in military uniform. I wondered if it was Martin or if it was some random guy. I wondered how many more people would ask me this same question when it all comes out in the open that Logan and I are together again.
" Emma?"
" Oh sorry." I turned to Lydia who noticed that I had spaced out. " I guess he worked for it. Tirelessly. I told her . " He fought for us and I knew that he wasn't going to stop fighting. So I gave him another chance. And what can I say? Logan's charms are hard to resist." I added the last part just for laughs.
" I'm glad you made him work to get you back." Lydia said . " These men need to understand that they don't own us and they should value what they have before they lose it."
The emotion behind Lydia's eyes as she talked made me wonder if there was personal reason she spoke that way. My eyes glanced to her fingers and I noticed there was no ring. Was she unmarried? divorced or maybe she had chosen to to remain single.
" I'm divorced." She stated plainly as I lifted my head up realizing that her eyes were following mine.
Feeling a little bit embarrassed , my cheeks flamed. " Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
" It's fine." Lydia gestured with her hand. "It's okay to be inquisitive. He was a good father but not a good husband."
" True. He cheated on Mum; a lot of times." Liv added. I was a little bit surprised at how casually she was saying it.
" I'm so sorry about that." I said to Lydia or to Liv. At this point, I didn't even know who I was addressing.
Lydia shrugged. " Life happens I guess. We can only move forward. The bottom line is, now that you've decided to give Logan a second chance. I'm sure he'll never take your love for him for granted again."
" I can only hope so." I replied, honestly.
" We'll just have to wait and see won't we." She smirked. I realize that we stopped at the top of a staircase. Simultaneously, the aroma of food engulfed and my mouth started to water. The kitchen was definitely close by.
" The cooks are working hard to prepare dinner. I better go check on them to see how they're doing. It was nice talking to you , Emma. Maybe we can continue this conversation some other time."
" Some other time," I repeated , shocked when she leaned in and embraced me tightly. I took in her fruity scent as she released me, taking a small piece of her dress as she scurried down the stairs.
" Sorry for all the questions everyone's been asking you." Liv said after Lydia was gone. " They're all just so excited to meet you."
" No, it's totally fine, I don't mind." I smile.
" Okay. Let me show you around." She said as she took my hand again.
We passed through so many hallways as she showed me the different state rooms in the building. I was marveled by how many different rooms existed in the build and for different purposes. There were more sculptures, paintings , antique furniture and decorative ornaments that surrounded the building. Helene must have felt alone living here all by herself after the death of her husband . I know I would get lonely if I was living in this house alone . It was so nice of Lydia and Liv to move in with her .
" And this is the library." Liv pushed open a door revealing a wide room with shelves and shelves of books.
My type of heaven.
" This also doubled as Grandad's office before he died . He loved reading a lot and also wrote a fee books about his life ."
" Wow," I replied while looking around . The width of the library was surely enough to contain three rooms . It was that big . I could only imagine the thousands of books that would be in here.
" I think I'm going to go through these books later . I might find something I like."
" Sure . Grandmother doesn't come in here anyway. I think it reminds her too much about Grandad. I don't even think she would notice if you took any of the books."
" I'm sure they must mean something to her since they belong to your grandfather. I can't take any of the books."
Liv shrugged . " Let me show you the kitchen."
I follow her back downstairs till we got to the ground floor through and she let me to the kitchen. From the door , I could already see the number of people wearing uniforms and moving about inside the kitchen. Helene obviously had a lot of house staff. I wondered if Jemma was also inside.
My eyes caught Lydia's dress. She had her back turned to me and was telling one of the kitchen staff to fetch something for her . I walked inside the kitchen, really noticing how big it was. The space was even bigger than some restaurant kitchens. With the same victorian style feel, it had it's own fire place, the engraved wooden cupboards were filled with different spices and inside the kitchen there was another room which I assumed was the pantry.
Someone was cooking on the stove where Lydia now stood, adding more spices to whatever was in the pot. Another was chopping onions, another garlics. A male cook was pouring wine over some chicken and the moment the liquid touched the chicken, I watched as the fire flared up. In another part of the kitchen, another person was preparing salads. Was all this for Logan and I ? Because it seemed like all this food was for a wedding event and not a dinner of a few people.
" Emma!" A familiar voice rang in my ear as my head snapped to the side and I saw Jemma.
I was surprised to see her dressed in uniform like the others and coming out of the pantry with a big pot in her hands. She dropped the pot on the island in the middle of the kitchen and hurried to me and we hugged each other .
She turned back . " Mom, come and see Emma. She's here. Mom! Come!"
" Jemma, what on earth are you making a racket for?" An older woman's voice called out from the pantry. She probably couldn't really hear what Jemma was saying because of the noise of the pots and pans in the kitchen.
" Come see Emma. She's here."
The woman came out and stood by the door way, obviously wanting find out why Jemma was disturbing her work.
" Mon this is Emma, Logan's girlfriend."
Her face suddenly broke into smile. " The Emma ?"
" Yeah." Jemma nodded .
" Oh my ." She said , cleaning her hands on her apron as she approached me . " It's so very nice to meet you. She's so beautiful." She turned to Jemma.
" Told you." Jemma replied.
" Thank you." I replied, still not over the way everyone has been complimenting me today. I was suddenly starting to understand why Logan was such an ego maniac. When people compliment your looks one too many times, it kind of gets yo your head a bit.
" No, I should be thanking you. Jemma told me what you did the other day. That was a very kind gesture with the groceries. Thank you."
" It was nothing." I smiled, feeling content in my heart and realizing that the only reason Jemma didn't stay mad at me was because my gesture of buying groceries actually made her mother happy.
" I see you've already met the head cook and her daughter." Lydia said as we all turned to face her , not realizing that she had been watching us this whole time .
" Yeah, Jemma comes in to cook for us back in London."
Lydia frowned , folding her arms against her chest turning her attention to Jemma . " Really? That's new information. I thought you were at culinary school so when do you have the time to go over to their place?"
The look on Jemma's face suggested that clearly Lydia didn't know about her cooking for Logan and I.
She looked down, probably not wanting to feel the burn from Lydia's eyes . " I made an arrangement with my tutors so whenever I don't have a class I go and cook for Logan and Emma. I just wanted to thank him for paying for me to go there in the first place."
" Did you know about this , Gigi?"
" Yes, I did but I only allowed it because I thought everyone was in the know ."
I felt the need to say something, so I did.
" Please don't be mad at her . She had good intentions."
" I'm not." Lydia said, releasing her hands from her chest. " I just don't understand Jemma commuting to London and back every day . It's an hour plus journey from here . The least you could have done is told me ." She turned to Jemma . "I wouldn't have stopped you if I understood your plans and if they were well thought out."
" I'm sorry Miss Clark. I should have known better." Jemma said remorsefully.
Clark . Meaning Lydia probably chose to keep her ex husband's surname.
Lydia sighed. " Are you sure it doesn't affect your schooling?"
" No it doesn't. I worked everything out so it doesn't."
" Okay if you say so. We will talk about this later though. Meanwhile, Can everyone else get back to work ? It's almost dinner time." Lydia turned her attention to the rest of the staff who had apparently stopped what they where doing to listen to our conversation. Startled that she noticed, they all resumed what they were doing quickly.
" Bye. I have to get back to work now." Jemma finally smiled . " And thanks for the save." She whispered.
" You're welcome. I'll see you later." I looked up to her mother. " It was very nice meeting you too Gigi. I can call you Gigi right?"
" Yes , why not? Thank you again for everything."
" Well that was dramatic." Liv said as she led me out the back door and we walked outside, into the courtyard. The air in the kitchen was a little bit stuffy because of all the cooking and people in it so I was very grateful to be outside. I took in the fresh air as we walked through a path way. The courtyard was so big, it felt like a maze. If I was here alone, I would have probably lost my way.
" There's uncle Vance with the landscapers." Liv pointed at a group of people planting flowers inside a patch of the lawn while Vance stood there watching them. " Uncle Vance!"
He spun his whole body around and caught a sight of me and Liv. He waved and we waved back before he turned back round to continue his supervising.
" When Grandad was still alive, we used to have a lot of picnics and out door games here. We'd play Lacrosse, field hockey and horse riding." Her eyes widened like just had a brilliant idea. " I should show you the stable. Do you ride?"
" No, unfortunately not." I shook my head. " I love horses though but I'm scared of riding them."
" Logan is great at riding. Maybe he'll teach you."
" I didn't even know he liked horses."
What isn't he good at ?
" Oh he does. He had his special horse at the stable. Dunlop."
" Wait , Dunlop like the slippers?" I covered my mouth with my hands but I couldn't stop the snicker that escaped my lips.
" Yeah." Liv chuckled. " I don't know why he chose that name but he really loved that horse until it died. He's never really visited the stables again after Dunlop's death.
" That's sad." The expression in my face slowly changed to a sullen one. Now, I felt bad for laughing at the name Logan gave his horse. Knowing Logan, it must have meant something to him. Also knowing how hard he loves, Dunlop's death must have affected him in one way or the other. I made a mental note to ask him about the horse later on today.
" Yeah it is. Do you still want to go see the horses?"
" Liv, Emma, Food is ready!" We heard Lydia call from the back door.
" Maybe some other time." I told Liv.
" Okay." She replied as we began to walk back inside.
Liv stopped mid way. " Hey, Emma. I've been meaning to bring this up but I was waiting for the right time. I would never say bad things about you or Logan or lie about things Logan has done or not. So when Logan called me and said someone came to his home and told him all sorts of things , saying they were me..."
" Hey, it's okay. You don't have to apologize or say anything at all. Logan and I know it wasn't you. We found out soon enough that it was his ex girlfriend pretending to be you and telling lies just to break us up."
She grimaced . " Why would anyone do that?"
" I don't know, I guess there are lots of crazy people in this world."
" Well you'd have to be really crazy to impersonate someone. Psychiatric ward kind of crazy." Liv stated.
" Tell me about it." I chuckled , wondering where Lisa was now. The last time I saw her was at that restaurant I went to with Sierra where I gave her a resounding slap that I still don't regret. She deserved more after all the shenanigans she put up. Now that Logan and I are together again, I just hope she will stay away. And if she doesn't? This time, I'm ready for her.
We went inside and Liv led me into a room which I assumed was the dining room. The hand crafted tables and chairs, huge chandeliers on the ceiling and thousands of dollars art that surrounded us gave it all away. Some of the kitchen staff were still laying out hot serving plates in front of each seat while Gigi supervised. The food displayed on the table already looked incredible and they were still bringing more.
I heard Logan's voice and I turned back to see him walking in with Vance. They were speaking about something so he hadn't realized that I was in the room too. Just seeing how dashing he looked in his shiny black suit he was wearing , made my insides squirm. It was only a couple of hours that we spent apart but I missed him.
His eyes caught mine and he flashed me a smile, excusing himself from Vance to come and meet me.
The moment he was in front of me, I couldn't help but smile. He placed both hands on my cheeks and I was positive that my face started to burn under them.
" Where have you been?" He asked, his voice so low it was almost a raspy.
" Everywhere. Liv has been showing me around the manor."
He nodded . " And what do you think?"
I shook my head . " It's all very beautiful. I don't think I've seen a home as magnificent as this ."
Except the Buckingham palace of course.
" I'm glad you love it ." He placed a kiss on my lips , and I revered the softness of his lips against mine.
" I also learnt some new interesting things ." I pointed out when he released my lips.
He looked intrigued. " Really? Care to share?"
" Maybe later." I smirked, enjoying seeing him inquisitive.
" Lovebirds, can you both take a seat ?" I heard Lydia say from across the table . It's only then that I realized that everyone else had taken their seats on the table except Logan and I . Including Liv, whom I didn't even know had left my side.
Logan pulled a seat out for me and I sat down while he sat beside me.
" Vance, bless the meal please." Helene said. She was sitting at the far end of the table and the seat opposite her at the other end of the table was empty. It was obvious that seat used to belong to Martin when he was alive. I'm pretty sure no one is allowed to seat there.
I watched as everybody closed their eyes and I did the same.
" Thank you God for this beautiful meal before us. I pray that it nourishes our body. Amen." Vance said.
Every other person chorused an, "Amen" and I followed suit. I had no idea that Helene was a religious woman. Although she gave off the conservative demeanor , I didn't see it rooted in religion.
" This part of my family has deep roots in the catholic church so when we have dinners like this, blessing the meal first is normal." Logan leaned in and whispered to me, proving my assertions right.
" Interesting." I replied .
" Emma, are you religious?" Helene asked as George was going round , pouring wine into everyone's glasses. Her question caught me off guard. I didn't realize dinner was going to be a continuation of getting to know me better by asking me intricate questions about my life .
" Not really." I shook my head, wondering if the answer I give would influence her notion about me in any way. " I do believe in God though. I mean there has to be a higher power that controls everything and has all the answers. But I don't go to any religious houses."
Helene raised one of her brows ." Fair enough . How long have you been working for Gray enterprises?"
She knows where I work?
"Um I've been working there for about a few months now."
" And before that you were his nanny." She gestures at Logan.
Right. Out with the weighty stuff innit ?
I shifted uncomfortably on my seat. Everyone always mentions me being Logan's nanny before I became his girlfriend. It's like they want me to sell this grass to grace story. Oh, the poor nanny gets with her boss and becomes his girlfriend. It's sickening sometimes . Logan's concerned eyes flickered to mine but I chose to ignore it.
Regardless of my personal feelings towards that question, I nodded . " Yes I was ."
It was my reality afterwards and I'm not ashamed of it . Everything between Logan and I has been genuine from the very beginning.
" You graduated with a distinction in your college and even your master's degree , yes?" She brought her tea to her lips and took a sip from it .
" Yes ." I nodded .
" So why did you opt to be a nanny then?"
I gulped, starting to feel tense. This scenario was starting to feel like I was in an interrogation room . The worst part was every other person was eating their food silently and waiting for me to answer Helene's questions .
Logan leaned to my side again, his hands sliding on to my lap. " You don't have to answer her questions. I can make her stop."
" No, it's fine. I can answer them." I whispered , feeling a little bit brave knowing that I had Logan's support. I turned to face Helene. " My Dad was sick for a very long time. He had heart issues . When I moved to New York, the job I had waiting for me...well the company wound up . So, I guess I had no other choice than to take the nanny job. I needed the money."
" Oh, I'm so sorry about your father. I hope he's better now ?" Lydia asked .
" He's doing very well now , thank you." I responded to her .
" That must have been a very sad time for you." Helene pointed out .
" Yes it was but I'm glad it's over now."
" Logan did help with the bills, didn't he ?"
Logan immediately shot her a glare. " Grand mother."
" Mother!" Lydia said at the same time .
" What?" Helene asks with her palms facing up. " I just know that Logan here is a kind hearted man and he would never stand by and watch someone suffer when he could help." She turned to me . "Isn't that right Emma?"
I glanced at Logan who looked visibly annoyed now . I didn't know what Helene was playing at but her unspoken assumptions were starting to become clear. I decided to act ignorant to whatever she may be playing at . Lacing my fingers with Logan's which were resting on the table , I smiled and faced her.
" Yes . He's a very kind man and that's why I love him."
" I love you too babe." His angry expression gradually softened as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it.
" Do you get paid a good amount of money at Gray's ? I hear you're one of their best staff there , if not the best." Helene's voice made us turn our attention to her.
Christ. She's not done with the questions ?
Either this woman has either done a lot of background checks about me or American entertainment and business news travels fast and wide .
" A fair amount of money, yes." I responded, not wanting to reveal too much.
"Can it take care of your family?"
" Grand mother I think it's enough with the questions." Logan stared at her pointedly. He spoke through gritted teeth so I knew he was trying to stay calm.
She seemed undeterred as she brought a fork with a piece of tomato on it to her lips. " What? I'm only getting to know your girlfriend better? I don't see anything wrong it with?"
" It's okay," I rubbed my thumb over his hand in circular motions. " Yes, the money I make is enough to take care of my family."
" See? Emma here has no problem answering my questions." Helene told Logan before her eyes rested on me again. " Good. A good child should always take care of their family."
I nodded, hoping that she wasn't going to ask any more questions but to my dismay, she continued.
" What do you think about marriage? Do you want to get married someday? ...to Logan perhaps?" She regarded me closely as she asked that question.
Logan let his fork drop on his plate and ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. " Helene, we literally just had this conversation earlier. Why are you bringing it up again?"
" Let her answer." Helene glared at him. I could see in her gaze that she was more pissed that Logan called her by her name instead of 'grandmother'.
I squeezed his hand, willing him to calm down. " Yes, I do believe in marriage and I would like to get married..." I looked at Logan and saw him staring at me. It seemed like he was waiting for an additional response too. " But Logan and I haven't really talked about marriage seeing that we just got back together. .."
" Exactly what I told you earlier today," Logan narrowed his eyes at her.
She completely ignored him. " What about children? I'm very particular about children because I believe children make a happy home. But as you can see , Lydia here only gave me one grandchild." Helene gestured at Lydia and she in return shot her mother a hard glare, dropping her cutlery and folding her arms tightly against her chest. " and Vance has refused to get married. Christina is the only person who was decent enough to give me grandchildren. Do you want kids some day , Emma ?"
Kids...
" I...uh.." I began but I had no idea what to say.
" What?" She frowned. " You don't want kids?"
" I...I..."
I didn't know what my stance was on having kids anymore. Yes, I love kids. Nothing could ever take my love for kids away but ever since the miscarriage happened, I've felt differently about having my own kids. Every time I think about the fact that I could lose the baby just like I did before, my heart literally starts palpitating and it feels like I'm going to have a panic attack.
There are women who have gone through miscarriages multiple times. What if it's going to be like that for me ? The thought of reliving not only the physical but emotional pain and trauma I had gone through the first time again frightened me. It has fueled my decision not to have kids any time soon.
" Emma ? Baby ? Emma?"
The pressure of Logan's hand on my shoulder, shaking me snapped me out of the trance. I hadn't even realized I was deep in my train of thoughts. So deep that tears were at the corner of my eyes, just waiting to fall. She was all that was in my mind. The memory of the sound of her heart beating flashed through my mind . Skylar Hope.
" Excuse me ." I stood up abruptly, dropping the white napkin on to the table and walking as swiftly as my legs could carry me out of the room.
" I told you not to push it." I heard Logan's growl far away from the hallway I was walking aimlessly in. I was looking for a room, any room that I could just enter to clear my mind and re gather myself. But I found none. So I pinned my back to the wall with my hands flat on the wall and slow took in deep breaths and exhaled to stop myself from hyperventilating just like my therapist advised.
" Emma!" I heard Logan's voice call after me.
The tears rolled freely from my eyes but I didn't let them last, I cleaned my face quickly with the back of my hands.
" Emma, are you okay?"
I opened my eyes to see Logan standing in front of me .
" What's wrong ?" His brown eyes were filled with worry , roaming all over my face. " Look I'm sorry about my grand mother. I will..."
Still overwhelmed with emotion, I wrapped my arms around his neck and crashed my lips against his lips violently cutting him short. His eyes widened as he was taken by by the shock of the impact of our bodies colliding together . The shock wore off in some seconds as his arms wrapped around my waist tightly, his lips starting to move with the same zeal as mine. Our lips attacked each other, dragging, pulling rolling till we pulled apart forcefully each exhaling loudly as we stared at one another.
" What was that all about?" Logan breathed.
" Nothing. I just really love you." I told him because I meant it and it was also an attempt to get him not to ask me more questions about why I blanked out at the table. I still didn't know how to go about telling him about my nightmares.
" I fucking love you, Emma." His eyes searched mine as his hand held my face, his thumb moving around in circles around my cheeks. He leaned in , his lips grazing my already swollen lips before loosing his tongue inside my mouth again. His hands roamed my body, finding my way to my butt as he lifted it, squeezing it sensually. My senses were awoken by him. That and the thought that someone might come searching for in this hall way and find us ravaging ourselves like wild animals sent nerve wracking adrenaline shots through out my body . Still I had to adhere to my needs and right now all I needed was Logan to tame my wild passion.
" We need to go somewhere." I whispered against his lips.
He pulled away, searching my face. " Are you sure ?"
My heart melted at the way he was still worried about me and that only made me want him the more.
" Yeah. I want you right now."
I watched his eyes turn considerably darker as they filled with lust. " Your wish, is my fucking command."
Taking my hand, he led me to another corner of the hallway which had a few doors. He tried open every door , till we find the one that was opened.
" Jack pot ." He said as we entered into the room and I discovered that it most be one of the guest rooms. My back slammed against the wall as Logan pinned me to the pall. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, kissing me roughly and my hand travelled from the nape of his neck and caught a fistful of his hair. I loved this new energy between us. It was rough, sexier and more sensual than how it was before with Logan and I. Our bodies craved each other easily this time and I embraced it wholeheartedly.
There was no time to take off our clothes. If we spent a lengthy amount if time away then someone would definitely start looking for us.
" Do you have a condom?" I gasped against his lips.
" I carry one with me everywhere I go." He rasped .
I couldn't help smiling . " You plan for us to have sex in odd places ?"
The corners of lips lifted into a smirk. " A man can only dream and prepare."
~~
After we had paralyzed ourselves in pleasure, the room was filled with our loud and shaky exhales. It was only for a short amount of time but it was worth every second.
I bent down to pick up my panties, grateful that I spotted the door to a bathroom when I raised my head up. I walked to bathroom and peed then I wore my panties and stood in front of the mirror. My mascara hadn't run down thanks to my crying earlier . I guess water proof mascara is the real deal. The lipstick I used had however spilled over to the outer corner of my lips. Remembering that I left my purse which contained my small pack of feminine wiped back at the table , I sighed .
My eyes roamed the bathroom searching for the next best thing; toilet paper . Luckily I found a roll in the cabinet above me and I used some of it to gently wipe the corner of my lips. I couldn't still feel Logan's lips on them .
I fixed my hair which had already been messed up by me and Logan's escapades , not wanting to give off the fact that we had just had spontaneous sex when I go back to the dining room . When I felt I was well pit together, I took a deep breath and exhaled , willing myself to get through the rest of dinner without breaking down.
I left the bathroom and saw that Logan had equally dressed up and tried as much as possible to look decent too.
I walked past him and reached for the door knob in order to avoid any questions from him but he held my arm, causing me to look into his eyes .
" Emma , I'm sorry." He shook his head . " I should have warned you that my grandmother could be a lot."
" Well you kinda did this morning." I reminded him.
" Yes but..." he exhaled. " Do you want to leave? We can leave right now if you want. She doesn't have a right to go bugging you about your personal life like that."
He thinks it's just her asking questions that is the problem.
I would have gladly sat through answering Helene's swarm of questions if she didn't bring up the one about children.
" It's okay. Grandmothers are always so...inquisitive." I tried to defend Helene. No matter what , she was still his grandmother. " And we don't have to leave now. We can finish dinner at least."
" Are you sure?" He asked skeptically.
" Yeah." I assured him. " I'm fine."
He released his grip from my arm and pulls in for a hug which took me by surprise. I relaxed against his hard torso, wrapping my arm around him. This felt better than I expected it to be.
" I just want to make sure you're okay." His warm breath grazed by shoulder.
" I am." I lied.
We returned back to the dining room and all heads turned to look at us .
" I was beginning to worry about you guys ." Lydia said, searching my face with a look of concern
" Emma , are you okay? I'm so sorry if I overstepped." Helene said as we sat down in our chairs.
" You definitely did." Logan answered for me before I could say a word. " One more unwarranted question from you to Emma and we'll leave right now."
" Logan!" Helene looked taken aback.
" I'm very serious." Logan's stern eyes met hers.
" Okay, Okay." She held her hands up.
Liv mouthed a "sorry" to me from across the table and I nodded.
The tension in the room skyrocketed as every body continued to eat silently.
" I just bought another vineyard." Vance announced , clearly to ease the tension .
" Oh really ? That's nice ." Lydia replied almost immediately to pick up the conversation.
" Congrats, Uncle Vance." Liv added.
" Thank you . I intend to expand the brewery by the end of this year."
" That's wonderful news, Vance." Logan said .
The edginess in the room soon began to dissolve. Well, except mine . After the dinner , Logan announced to everyone that we were leaving since we had a flight to catch tomorrow.
" Aw stay for a bit won't you?" Lydia pleaded .
" We're sure you're running away from mother but we'd be happy to have you longer ." Vance added. Luckily Helene didn't hear him because she had gone out to use the bathroom.
" Stay please ." Liv added .
I looked at Logan's already determined face . " I guess we could stay for a while longer . I was enjoy Vance's stories and London is just a few hours away from here ."
" Are you sure ?"
" Yeah." I nodded .
" Okay."
We all moved to the family room where Vance continued to tell us stories about his days in Navy and all the adventures he had before he quit and started his brewery business. Apparently, he also had other businesses like a fish pond business and he owned a huge farm here in the country side .
While everyone talked and laughed , Helene appeared at the door. " Emma , may I see you for some seconds ?"
I watched Logan stand up, getting into defense mode again. " Why? so you can question her to death?"
Lydia stood up and placed her hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down.
" No." Helene narrowed her eyes at him . " I just want to apologize to her privately for earlier today."
Logan was about to speak again but I took his hand . " Hey, it's okay. I can go with her."
" You don't have to." He muttered to me.
" I know but let me just hear what she has to say okay?"
" Okay." He agreed reluctantly. He looked in Helene's direction.
" Grandmother, her face is a normal looking color right now , please don't let it be bright red by the time she comes back."
" I won't." She held her hand up.
I let go of Logan who was reluctant to leave my hand and walked out of the room with Helene beside me . Unable to fathom what was to come , I sucked in my breath , hoping for the best.
We stopped at the end of the hall way leading up to the staircase. " Come with me ," she beckoned me to follow her . I climbed up the stairs after her . We finally got to the highest floor and she reached for the handle of one of the doors and opened it.
The room was basically empty except small for the furnishings and the head of a moose on the wall. I wondered why she brought me here. She surprised me by raising her cane, bringing down one of the antlers of the moose and to my utter amazement, the bare wall in front of us started moving .
This only happens in movies right? Things like this shouldn't be real... right ?
But it was happening, a secret passage way was revealing itself right in front of me. I stood, stuck to the floor, still unable to get over the fact that this was really happening.
Helene smirked. " Well don't just stand there. Follow me."
I managed to uproot my feet from the floor followed her . So many thoughts were going through my mind as we walked behind her in the dimly lit passage way. It didn't take long before she stopped in front of a wooden door. She opened the locket of the necklace which I didn't even notice she had been wearing and removed a tiny key. She used the key to opened the door and when she pushed it open, my mouth basically flung open.
I was first momentarily blinded by the very bright light in the room. But as my vision cleared, my eyes found shelves in every corner but with glasses covering them. The shelves housed different types of jewelry and diamonds that reflected in the light. I wondered how much these must cost and who owned them? Helene?
" These jewelry and diamonds belonged to Martin, who in turn inherited it from his father, who inherited it from his own father and you know how that goes." Helene explained as if she had read my mind.
" W...why are you showing me all of this?" I asked, still confused as to how an actual secret safe exists .
She turned her whole body to me. " Because I wanted you to see with your own eyes what you already know. My family has money and title. Martin's great grand father was a Baron in his time , hence the manor. The Greene family is very respected and we have a duty to maintain that respect and protect our family name ."
She circled round the glass case , her fingers tapping on it one after the other as she approached me . I wanted to started moving backwards but the door to safe room had closed automatically and I doubt it would open with just one pull at the door knob. There must be some kind of security system that protects this place .
" You see , even my children and grandchildren don't know about any of this . All they know is that they're going to inherit this and that when I'm gone ." She had a distasteful look on her face . " Sometimes, they don't know that their actions affects this family's reputation a great deal and that includes choosing a life partner."
She was standing so close to me now that the courageous stance I was trying to put was almost wearing off . She touched my chin, smiling. " I'm sorry about the questions I was asking you back at dinner . Really I am. But I wanted to know the kind of person you truly were ." She spun around , backing me .
" Most people have wanted to be associated with my family because of our wealth and fortune and it is my duty to protect my family from such people. I admit, that was the kind of person I thought you were especially after learning about your back story and how you and Logan met."
" Excuse me, you thought I was a gold digger ?" I finally spoke . This just confirmed my thoughts . I knew that was what she was thinking when she was asking me those questions about my family earlier.
" I did ." She admitted brazenly as she turned around . " But now I've had a change of heart."
" Why?" I asked , surprisingly myself with how I'm carrying this conversation.
" Because you have a great job that can take care of both yourself and your family. You don't need my grandson's money to survive . You can do that on your own." She smiled .
She probably meant what she had just said as a compliment but I saw it as the opposite. She was insinuating that if I didn't have any money of my own , the only reason I would have been with Logan is because of what he has and what he can do for me . It was insulting to my person and I didn't know how much longer I could stand here , listening to her .
" So, you don't have to worry. Your relationship is with Logan is approved ." She continued . " It would have been a different case entirely if you had nothing."
Like I needed her permission. Now I knew why Christina chose to stay in America with Henry and why she never visits that much . This was the real Helene revealing herself in front of me . The Helene that tried to stop Christina from marrying Henry. The Helene that had tried to stop Christina from adopting Logan and his sister who from probably from a background too low for her and his sister . She was the very definition of a classist. A woman who felt no one was good enough for her family except they were of the same social standards as her . Except she approved of them.
Sucking in my breath, I tried to suppress my anger and chose to bite my tongue .
" Can I go now ?"
" Oh sure , you can. Nice conversation by the way and I hope I'm forgiven for earlier at the dinner today. It's just that ... as I said before, children are very important to me ." She saw my eyes flicker before she added . " But I'm sure you and Logan would figure that out."
" Please open the door ." I feigned a smile .
" Oh yes the door." She brought out the key from her locket again and opened the door . I walked out swiftly wanting to find Logan immediately and tell him that we should leave now . I've really had it.
" Emma," she called behind me . " Can we not tell anyone about what you've seen up here ? because if you did... well I'd have to sue you."
Now she was threatening me ?
" I won't." I said finding my way through the passage way. Once I was inside the room , I went to get Logan immediately.
I was positive that I was breathing hard when I walked into the family room . Everyone was laughing loudly but I didn't have the patience to find out why .
I touched Logan and turned to me , noticing the lour look on my face .
" What's wrong ?" He stood up immediately.
" Nothing ." I forced a smile that any sane person could probably see through. " We should head back to London now . I'm so tired and it's already dark outside."
" Then you should stay the night since it's already getting late . There are so many guest rooms ." Lydia proposed .
" No." I answered almost too quickly and regrettably. I offered her a smile . " Logan and I have a very busy day tomorrow. As we said earlier we're flying back to New York and we have to pack."
" Emma is right. We won't be able to stay." Logan agreed with me . In this moment, I was grateful for how observant he was.
" Okay then, let's see you off." Vance said as we all walked out of the room . We stopped in the foyer to say out final goodbyes.
" Leaving so soon?" Helene appeared out of no where with a look of concern of her face .
" Yes. Emma and I are both tired and we would like to get back to London early enough."
" Oh," she frowned. " How sad . Come here my little munchkins."
She wrapped her arms around both of us tightly and my body stiffened at her touch , obviously repelling her .
" I'll miss you both so much." She said as she released us.
She took Logan's hand . " Logan , come and visit soon , okay?"
Freeing his hand , she held mine and I almost flung her hand away. She smiled , leaning in to kiss me on my cheek. " I'll be watching you." She whispered before releasing my hand. My eyes didn't leave hers as she took a step back to let us pass.
" Emma? You're leaving?" I heard Jemma's voice. I turned back to see her standing with her mother beside her at the far end of the foyer.
" Yeah."
" Bye." She waved and Gigi waved too.
" Get back to your work stations, will you?" Helene ordered them.
" Mother!" Lydia chided.
Liv hugged me next, " I know she said something to you. I'm sorry." She whispered in my ears.
" It's fine." I mouthed.
Vance hugged me, " See you sometime, beautiful."
He gave Logan a side hug. " Visit soon , Logan."
" I'll try."
" Thank you for making my nephew the happiest man alive." Lydia said last and her hug was the tightest. I almost cried at her words but I held myself together.
" And Logan, be good to her." She warned, pointing her index finger at him.
" Always." He looked at me and I almost forgot that just a few minutes ago I was boiling with anger.
" We should really get going now." Logan said.
George nodded at us, as he opened the door for us to leave. As we drove back to London, I really hoped I wouldn't have any reason to meet with Helene again.
~~
Hey guys !
I hope this chapter proved that I'm here to stay.🥺
Logan and Emma's London trip is coming to and end.
Please VOTE on the chapters and leave your COMMENTS. It would really mean a lot to me .
I love you all and I hope you still love me 🥺❤️
Xoxo Kiara❤️❤️