Page 119 of Ruthless Prince
“Oh. I forgot about that,” I murmured, watching as hedressed.
He finally looked at me as he buttoned his shirt up. “Can I trust you to behave, or should I say you feel sick and postpone the party?” he asked, eyes coasting over my face and bare shoulders. There wasn’t a hint of emotion or passion in his expression. Onlydisdain.
I wasn’t sure what else I expected. Just because I let him fuck me didn’t mean he would suddenly fall in love with me and gaze at me with adoration. What happened earlier meant nothing to him. It was merely a long-awaited conquest. There were no feelings involved. Not unless you counted the deep-seated hatred and anger that had always simmered betweenus.
“I’ll behave,” I said, looking down at thebed.
I didn’t have a choice. When I gave up my virginity, I also gave up my last bargaining chip. If I tried to escape again or did anything to jeopardize this engagement party, Logan wouldn’t be lenient, and my brother would pay the price for mysins.
“Good.” He smiled at me, but it didn’t meet his eyes. “A makeup artist and hairdresser will arrive for you in an hour,” he went on, glancing at his watch. “You can talk to them while they’re here as long as you don’t fuck up and say anything bad.Okay?”
I nodded myunderstanding.
He turned away, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed a number. “Hi, Thomas,” he said. “Can you send someone up with Willow’s dress for tonight? She wants to make sure it’sperfect.”
I heard a faint voice on the other end of the line, but I couldn’t pick up anything they weresaying.
“Uh-huh. Great,” Logan said. He lowered his eyes to the floor, where the scattered remnants of the broken phone still lay. “Can you also ask her to clean the floor while she’s here? Willow accidentally dropped her phone, and it smashed all over the place.” He paused and let out an easy chuckle. “Yeah, I know. She’s clumsy as hell. I’ll have to get her a new one,” he went on. “Anyway, send the maid up right away, please. Tell her to leave the door unlocked when shegoes.”
He hung up and slipped the phone back in his pocket. “Tell the hair and makeup girls that you need to be ready by seven,” he said, amiable demeanor instantly switching to cold and rigid as he turned back to faceme.
“Yes, sir,” I said softly, clasping my hands together in front ofme.
He went to turn away, but then he stopped and looked at me again. “I can trust you to stay in here for a while with the door unlocked, can’t I?” he said with one browraised.
My breath caught in my throat. “Yes, sir. Ofcourse.”
I wasn’t lying. I wouldn’t dare to leave my room after today’s close call, even if the door was wide open and the hall was lined with flashing arrows and a neon sign saying ‘This way tofreedom’.
Logan nodded and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I exhaled and looked down, shoulders slumping. My eyes were immediately drawn to a certain spot on the floor, where the shattered remains of the rose gold phone glinted in thelight.
Frowning, I got off the bed and knelt beside it. Earlier, I thought the whole phone had broken, as did Logan, but now that I was looking closer, I saw that only the cover had come off and smashed into little pieces, making it look a lot worse than it was. Aside from a crack running down one side of the screen, the phone itself might actually beokay.
I gingerly picked it up, my mind conflicted. Even though I knew I couldn’t try to tell anyone about my situation again, given the dire consequences I would face if I were caught, something was telling me to hold onto the phone anyway. Logan wouldn’t be monitoring the activity on it anymore, because he thought he’d destroyed it, and as far as he knew, it was going straight in the trash when the maid arrived. That meant if anyone used it in the future, he probably wouldn’t have aclue.
Right now, I was too terrified to consider another escape attempt, but if I was ever in a position in the future where I knew Jared was safe and untouchable, I would definitely want to try. Having a phone would make things a hell of a loteasier.
I tried to switch the screen on, but nothing happened. “Damn,” I muttered, shoulders droopingagain.
I decided to keep it anyway. An old phone of mine had fallen out of my bag once, and I thought it was screwed when it refused to turn on. Three days later, it suddenly switched on again, as if it just needed that time to fix itself. The same thing might happen with this phone, so it was worth ashot.
I hurried into my little library and slid the phone between two books. Hiding it in plain sight was the best thing to do. If Logan ever suspected I was keeping something from him, he’d probably rifle through all the drawers and cupboards, looking for something stashed between clothes or blankets. He wouldn’t go and stare at the bookshelf, assuming he’d find a hidden item right in front ofhim.
When that was done, I headed to the bathroom and ran the shower at the hottest temperature. I scrubbed myself for ages, trying to remove all traces of Logan from my skin, and then I sat down on the tiled floor and closed my eyes, letting the scalding water cascade over my hair andbody.
It didn’t help. Logan would always be on me now. A part of me. Even with my pristine white and gold surroundings and the sweet-scented soap flowing all over me, I felt dirty. The kind of dirty that didn’t washoff.
I opened my eyes and trailed a finger over my left hip, staring at the dark red marks on my pale skin. Logan left them there when he grabbed me earlier, and I knew they would turn into bruises within the next day. I couldn’t even be angry at him for marking me in such a way. I begged for it, writhing under his rough hands, and then I begged formore.
That was the crux of the problem, and the source of all my shame. Logan might’ve manipulated me today by threatening my brother, but there was no way I could say I was unwilling in the end. I begged him for all of it, loudly andclearly.
In doing so, I gave him exactly what he wanted. I let himwin.
With a heavy sigh, I turned off the shower and dried myself before putting on a thick white bathrobe. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I saw that the floor had been swept clean. A dark purple gown with cascading ruffles and tiny metallic embellishments was hanging on the door in a garmentbag.
I could say what I wanted about Logan, but he had damn goodtaste.
As I admired the dress, someone rapped on the door. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden disturbance, but then I realized it must be the hairdresser or makeupartist.
