Chapter 76

"What strange man?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow and Delaney panicked. She was scared and angry at Antoinette for opening her mouth after she had sternly warned her to keep it shut.

"I saw her a two weeks ago, after you proposed to her. She went to meet a man at your old warehouse near the mall. She gave the man money to keep her secret, and she also sleeps with him" Antoinette revealed, giving everyone present a big shock.

Logan turned to Delaney and glared at her.

First of all, what secret was she hiding from him?

Secondly, he couldn't believe he almost got married to a woman who sleeps around.

"Delaney, do you mind explaining yourself?" Logan asked, trying to remain calm in the situation. Nobody said anything, they were waiting for Delaney to explain herself.

"Logan, how could you even believe this servant? She's just delusional because she's worried about her friend" Delaney sounded scared, it was visible in her voice. She blinked at Anastasia in a bid to ask for backup but Anastasia didn't want to get involved in Logan's wrath.

"It's a lie! I saw you. She even warned me not to speak or she'll kill me and my mother" Antoinette cried, angry that Delaney had the nerves to poison her best friend.

"Then show us proof" Delaney smirked, knowing that action speaks louder than words.

"Antoinette, do you have any proof?" Logan turned to her and she shook her head, sniffing back her tears.

"I don't have proof, but believe me, I saw her" Antoinette whimpered.

"I'm sorry Antoinette, if you don't have proof then I can't believe you" Logan stated. Delaney gave Antoinette a dirty smirk.

"So you're just going to let the culprit get away? She poisoned Adena and needs to face the consequences!! I can't believe you!" Antoinette cried and ran out of the lobby in tears.

"Antoinette! Wait!" Liliana went after her.

Logan looked at Delaney and scoffed. He doesn't know whether she was guilty as charged or not, but he was surely going to investigate and find out who poisoned Adena.

Hours have gone by and there was still no news concerning Adena or her baby. Everyone waited patiently for the doctors to say something. Logan was getting impatient, he paced from one end of the lobby to the other, wondering if Adena was okay.

He didn't want to lose his baby, but he would be glad if Adena survived instead.

"Liliana, please you should take Antoinette home with you, Damon, you and Camilla can go and stay with Zoey. I'll stay here and wait" Logan directed.

"I'm not going anywhere until I see Adena" Antoinette insisted, folding her arms across her chest.

"Antoinette, it's late okay? Go home, this is a hospital and we are sort of crowding it. All of you can go, please" he said, sternly. Antoinette wanted to talk again but Liliana hushed her.

They all obeyed and went back home, including Delaney and Anastasia.

Few minutes after everyone left, Logan got a call from Damon.

📞 "Yes?"

📞 "Delaney did not leave for the mansion"

📞 "Which direction?"

📞 "Towards the mall"

📞 "Okay, I'll take it from here"

He hung up and grinned. Prior to asking everyone to leave, Logan had a conversation with Damon. He asked everyone to leave because he wanted to monitor Delaney's movement.

If she was really guilty, she would try to find a way to cover up things and that's exactly what she's trying to do.

Logan asked the doctor to call and inform him of any developments while he left to find Delaney.

Logan drove to his old, abandoned warehouse in a bid to find Delaney and know exactly what she was hiding.

He alighted from the car and walked stealthily over to the back of the warehouse. He heard some whispering and decided to check it out.

To his surprise, he saw Delaney talking to a man in a hoodie, could he be the strange man Antoinette was talking about?

Since it was dark, and he was wearing a black suit, he wasn't spotted and easily eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Please, it's not safe here, let's go to your house" Delaney pleaded, tensed.

"Say what you want to say here, my house is out of bounds for now" the man replied.

"Oh God! Can you believe my secret almost got exposed? The little b*tch that eavesdropped on our conversation last time, told Logan about it and he almost believed her!" Delaney sighed and face palmed herself.

"So? What do you want me to do?" The man asked.

"Look, I don't want want to get into trouble with Logan. I don't want him to suspect me so you have to leave this city. Go to New Jersey or San Francisco or anything! Just go. I don't mind emptying my entire bank account for that to happen!" Delaney ranted, going crazy over the whole thing.

"Really? Then I'll be waiting for the money" the man answered and Logan smirked, shaking his head.

So Antoinette was right? Delaney was hiding something from him.

He decided not to confront her there, he wanted to make her reveal the truth in front of everyone, back at the mansion.

As soon as Logan entered the car, he got a call from the doctor asking him to come over to the hospital quickly.

He was tensed and feared the worst. What if something bad had happened to Adena. He drove crazily on the road, swerving at every corner like a mad man, ignoring the traffic lights and the cops that were on his trail.

He finally got to the hospital and rushed into the doctor's office. The pretty brunette doctor welcomed him with a smile.

"What happened? You scared me with your tone over the phone" he said, panting.

"Relax Mr Stoll, have a seat"

"Don't tell me to have a seat goddamit! Just tell me what happened to Adena?" Logan asked, getting annoyed. He was not understanding anything.

"Calm down. Well, she almost went into the coma. We actually thought she wouldn't survive but we managed to extract the poison before it damaged any vital organs" the doctor explained, giving Logan some relief.

"So she's fine?"

"Yes"

"And the baby? How's the baby?" He asked.

"It's a miracle, but it seems her child is as strong as her, the baby survived. Although, she'll be bed ridden for a few days" the doctor answered and Logan's face lit up in excitement.

He beamed and flashed one of his biggest smiles at the doctor. He didn't know how Adena became so important to her.

"Can I see her?" He requested.

"Sure, but be gentle, she's still recovering" the doctor answered and directed him to Adena's ward.

Logan felt bad to see Adena with an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. She was awake, she turned to see him and smiled weakly.

"How are you?" He asked softly, sitting at the foot of her bed. He wanted to take her hand but there was a drip needle inserted in it.

"Better" she answered through the oxygen mask. Her voice came out muffled.

"I'm so happy you and the baby survived. I promise I won't let the culprit escape" Logan said through gritted teeth.

"You sound like you already know who it is" Adena said.

"Let's just wait and see" he said and placed his palm on her stomach.

"I'm so happy our baby is alright. I promise to do my best to keep you two safe from now on. I'll never let anything happen to you" he said, with a lot of emotion and Adena felt her heart flutter.

Why was she attracted to her master?

"I'll ask the doctor if I can take you home tomorrow morning. There's something happening at the mansion tomorrow morning" Logan smirked, taking back his hand and using it to palm down his hair.

"What's happening?" She questioned.

"You'll find out, everyone will find out" Logan answered and smiled at her.

He stayed with her till morning, talking about random stuff, Adena was surprised at herself for actually enjoying his company.

.

Logan convinced the doctor to discharge Adena the following morning. He paid the bills and took her home in a wheelchair.

Antoinette was the first to come out and hug the hell out of Adena.

"I'm so happy you survived! I was so worried about you, please don't scare me like that again! How's the baby?" She asked.

"The baby is fine" Adena answered and Antoinette heaved a sigh of relief.

She glared at Logan, still angry that he didn't believe her.

"Please be gentle with her, she's fragile right now. Go and call everyone to the living room" he ordered and she left in annoyance.

"What's going on?" Adena looked up at him. He squatted beside her and sighed.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough" he replied and got up again.

Everyone came downstairs in a matter of minutes and they all welcomed Adena. Logan also invited Damon, he was also part of the family.

"So why did you want to see us?" Damon asked and Logan turned to Delaney who looked away, anxious.

"Because I want Delaney here to tell us who she went to meet by 8:15pm yesterday behind my old warehouse" he went straight to the point and Delaney gasped.



"What are you talking about?" Delaney blinked at Logan who smirked at her. With his hands behind him, he walked over to her, and stood directly over her, peering into her soul, through her eyes. She felt her heart sink into stomach as she struggled to keep eye contact with him.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about" Logan said in a husky voice. Everyone was surprised and couldn't wait to find out what was happening.

"Logan, what is this all this embarrassment for? Why are you doing this? First you call of our wedding, now you're belittling me in front of everyone!" Delaney screamed, trying to act like she didn't know what Logan was talking about.

Logan chuckled and passed his fingers through his hair.

"So.. you want to stand here and lie to my face? I hope you haven't forgotten who I am and what I can do to you" he paused and lowered his head to her face, making sure she felt his breath on her.

"I won't hesitate to have my men strip you and torture you until you talk. So what's it gonna be? The easy way? Or the hard way?" He smirked and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Delaney knew that Logan never made empty threats, she was terrified. Her heart sank into her stomach and she racked her brain for excuses but found none.

"For f*ck's sake!! Stop wasting my time Delaney!!" Logan thundered and she whimpered.

"Who was that man? And what were you two talking about? Tell me!!" He continued to rage and Delaney burst out crying.

"You think your tears will move me huh?" He scoffed and called in Buster.

"Take her out, strip her and whip her until she talks. I'm not here for jokes" he said and Liliana gasped. Infact, nobody was happy with Logan's decision but they didn't dare to talk.

"No, no! Please, I will tell you everything.. please" Delaney said, sniffing back her tears and falling at Logan's feet. She had accepted defeat.

It's either she dies in Buster's arms or in Logan's arms. Either way, she was still going to die so there was no point in keeping it any longer.

"I'm sorry Logan. I'm sorry. I did it because I love you. You know I have always loved you. I never wanted to see you die.." she wiped her tears and looked up at him. He wasn't smiling at all.

"I'll tell you everything"..

⏮️ Flashback ⏮️

"What do you want? I've told you to stop stalking me but you keep following me.. why won't you let me be?" Delaney asked, furious and annoyed.

She was tied to a chair, in a dark room, with the scar faced man grinning at her, holding a pistol. His gun didn't scare her.

"Look sweetheart, if you cooperate with me, I'll let you leave with your head" the scar faced man said in a husky tone, she rolled her eyes at him.

Who was he?

He is a top business man, one of the richest. Xander. He was also a rival of Logan's dad and didn't like it that Logan was rising quickly and would soon overtake him.

"I'd rather die than betray Logan" she spat in his face and he chuckled before giving her a hard slap across the face.

Delaney was bleeding from her nose and lip due to the slap, but she didn't even care.

"You really love him that much huh?" Xander asked.

"What if I tell you right now that I have eyes watching Logan.. and if you don't give me what I want, I will order them to kill him" he smirked and she gasped.

"You can't do that! Logan has security everywhere" she said.

"Oh really? What if I tell you again, that one of the guards working for him, is actually working for me?" He continued and her eyes almost popped out from their sockets.

"All I need to do is send the command, and Logan is a dead man. Think about it sweetie, if you don't want your man dead, give me what I want" he said and grinned.

"You have 24 hours" he said and left the room.

Delaney was left confused. Could it be that Xander actually planted one of his men to work for Logan? If this is the truth then Logan is definitely in danger.

Delaney had gone to see her friend Anastasia in their hometown when Xander nabbed her and brought her here. Nobody knew her whereabouts. She made a mistake by not informing Anastasia that she was coming. Now Logan was thinking that she is with Anastasia.

The next morning, Xander came back into the room to check on her. He sat across her as usual and smirked at her.

"Made up your mind yet?" He arched a brow at her.

Delaney sighed, she wasn't left with much option. If she doesn't give Xander what he wants, he will end up killing Logan. She loved Logan too much to let him die just like that. She thought it would be better to give him the information he needed.

"Will you tell me what I need to know, or should I make the call?" He asked, shoving out his phone from his pocket. He began to dial the number, it rang and a man answered it.

"Boss? I'm outside Logan's room, should I go ahead with the plan?"

Xander placed the call on loudspeaker for Delaney to hear.

He kidnapped her because she was his betrothed and she basically knew everything about him. Plus, she was an easier target than Damon.

"No, please don't let him kill Logan. I will tell you everything" Delaney gave in, scared.

"Good girl" Xander hung up the call.

"I'm listening"

Delaney told him everything, from the secret passwords to his shareholders information. All Logan's connections and sources. She was devastated that she betrayed him, but she thought she was saving his life.

Xander recorded everything, apart from himself. He recorded Delaney giving out information about Logan, threatening to expose her to Logan if she tried to tell him what happened there.

Yes, he became her blackmailer.

After a few years, Xander went bankrupt, and he blackmailed Delaney into giving him money and s3x with the video he has.

Out of fear of being rejected by Logan, Delaney had to do Xander's bidding all these years. She lost everything all because of him.

▶️ Back to reality ▶️

"Delaney!!" Logan screamed, biting his lip spitefully. He couldn't believe what he just heard. So she was the reason why he lost everything, the reason why he had to start from scratch to build himself.

"I told you all, but you wouldn't believe me" Antoinette said, folding her arms.

Adena already had tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt bad for Delaney. Though she did a very bad thing, she was still a victim.

"And.. did you poison Adena?" Logan asked and Delaney sniffed. She nodded, much to the surprise of everyone, except Antoinette.

"What!?" Liliana yelled.

"God! You're despicable!" Damon added, disgusted.

"I'm sorry, I did it out jealousy. After sacrificing myself all these years for Logan, he abandoned me for her.. I didn't think straight. I thought poisoning her was the best option" Delaney explained, sobbing.

"Is it my fault?" Adena spoke and everyone turned to her.

"Is it my fault that Logan bought me from the boarding school? Is it my fault that he abused me? That he slept with me without protection, against my will? Is it my fault that I got pregnant? Against my will??" Adena wept uncontrollably.

Antoinette leaned on her to console her.

"Why did you poison me? Why did you want to kill me? I was on my own when Logan decided to buy me! Why!?" She screamed and Antoinette rubbed her back in a bid to calm her.

Logan felt terrible, in a way, this was his fault.

"Just take me to my room." Adena said, wiping her tears. She was very heartbroken and angry.

All her life, she has always faced rejection and hatred, but why?

She never hurt anyone.. she never thought bad for anyone!

Logan ordered Buster to carry Adena up to her room since she couldn't walk on her own yet.

"Delaney, I am disappointed in you. I really don't know what came over you but I won't spare you for trying to poison Adena" he said and she wept.

"I'm sorry Logan.. it's because I love you. I love you so much and I can't afford to lose you. I did everything I did because of my love for you" she cried bitterly.

"Damon, lock her in her room until I figure out what to do with her. After that, I want you to track down Xander" Logan ordered and Damon nodded. He dragged Delaney to her room and locked her up and then left to do some research on Xander.

Logan didn't have the mind to approach Adena that night. She was deeply hurt and probably angry with him. He decided to let her be in his room and went to sleep in another room which was close to Delaney's room.

He barely slept though, he kept on thinking of everything that happened. He couldn't think of a punishment for Delaney.. because somehow, he was guilty too.

He heard a loud clattering coming from Delaney's room and he dashed out of his room to check on her. He unlocked the door and pushed it open only to meet a very gruesome sight.

She was lying there with a dagger deep inside her chest, and in a pool of her own blood.

"Delaney..! What have you done!!?"

"She's lost a lot of blood, I'm not sure she will survive. But let's keep hoping" the doctor said and shook his head. Logan nodded and huffed.

He had to rush her to the hospital when he saw that she was still breathing. He went with Damon and Buster. Anastasia was petrified at the news and cried bitterly. Logan had to force her to stay at home after she had insisted on coming to the hospital with them.

Few minutes later, the doctor came out and informed Logan that Delaney wanted to see him. He followed her immediately to Delaney's ward.

She wasn't in a good condition at all. With an oxygen mask over her nose and the monitor reading her heartbeat, it wasn't stable at all. The doctor left to give them some privacy.

"Delaney" he called, standing over her bed. She smiled weakly and reached out for his hand, with her shivering hand. Logan took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"Thank you" she whispered, taking a deep breath.

"No, save your breath" he uttered and she blinked weakly at him.

"I have only little time, and I want to spend it with you" she said, her voice came out breezy and muffled.

"What are you saying? You're going to be fine" he said and she smiled.

"Logan, why didn't you love me back?" She asked and he felt a strange feeling overwhelm him. He didn't like the feeling, it made him feel so terrible.

"I loved you right from when I was a child. I spent days thinking about our life together, and nights dreaming about you.. but you never loved me back, why?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. Logan sighed and withdrew his hand from hers.

"I'm sorry" was all he could say.

"Don't be. I've learnt my lesson, the hard way" she chuckled.

"You can't ever force someone to love you. I shouldn't have tried to push you into marrying me. I shouldn't have kept forcing myself on you even when I knew you had no feelings for me" she sniffed back her tears.

Logan sighed deeply and scratched his head. He didn't ask to be betrothed, he had never had feelings for her, he was business minded. He never felt feelings, until he met Adena.

"I'm really sorry, but please stop talking. You need to reserve your strength" he said, and she shook her head.

"No Logan. I now realize that I was never meant to be with you. I really do hope you find true love, I hope you are happy and I hope you don't have problems anymore" she said and took another deep breath.

"In my next life, I'm going to let a man love me for a change. I won't be so hopeless in love" she added and shifted her eyes to the ceiling. Logan watched her monitor intensely, something changed, her heartbeat rate seemed to be slowing down.

"I love you Logan. I hope you'll be able to forgive me for all I did. I'm sorry, I did it be because I love you. I'm sorry" she said and shut her eyes.

"Delaney, please stay with me. Please don't die. I promise I won't punish you, please open your eyes" Logan said, scared.

"I'm still here" she giggled, her eyes flickering open.

Logan heaved a sigh of relief.

"I wish you cared about me this much, when you were supposed to" she paused and took his hand again.

"Tell Anastasia, I love her" she said, the last word fading into a whisper. She squeezed on Logan's palm and released her grip. Her eyes shut.. and the monitor beeped.

"Delaney.. Delaney!" Logan called but there was no response.. she was gone. Gone forever.

Logan lowered his head and remained quiet for a while, he couldn't help that his heart was beating a little too fast.

Her death reminded him of his family's death.. unbearable.
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Watching someone who has been with him since childhood, just slip away like that, was a terrible feeling.

He covered her face with the blanket and left the ward. He called the attention of the doctor and nurses while he went to the lobby to meet Damon and Buster.

"How is she?" Damon asked. Logan sighed and shook his head at him. Damon understood and sat on the bench.

He rubbed his head and mourned her.

.

"What are you saying? Where is my friend?" Anastasia asked after Logan came home and broke the news to everyone.

Adena was in her wheelchair, next to Antoinette and Liliana. They too were shocked and saddened by the terrible news.

"I'm sorry" Logan sighed.

"You can't be serious. Nooo!!" Anastasia threw herself on the floor and wept bitterly.

"It can't be true.. it can't be!!" She continued to weep and Damon went to comfort her. He helped her up and took her to her room. She wasn't easy to console.

It was like a dream.. her best friend turned sister, is gone just like that.. she's dead!!

Anastasia couldn't take the pain, she felt like dying too. Although she and Delaney weren't in good terms before this incident, she still loved her, more than anything.

"Calm down and get some rest. You will be fine" Damon said and Anastasia nodded, sniffing back her tears.

"Damon, will you stay here with me? Just for tonight. I'm lonely and scared right now, please stay with me tonight" she said, holding his wrist.

"I can't. I left Camilla and Zoey at home alone. I have to go back to them" Damon answered and Anastasia let go of his wrist.

"I only asked for one night" she whimpered.

Damon couldn't do it. Camilla would be heartbroken if he did, he can't sleep on another woman's bed. It would be cheating, even though he had nothing in mind.

"I'll stay for a while, but I'm not spending the night" he made a decision and she smiled weakly.

"Fair enough, I guess" she said and he sat next to her.

Anastasia learned from Delaney's story too. She can't have what does not belong to her. Damon will never be hers, so she might as well move on. She just wanted to be with him one last time, before she let him go.

.

Logan gently pushed the door open, and stepped into the room. He met Adena coming out from the shower, with a towel around her chest. She froze on seeing him, his gaze met hers and they both felt an instant connection.

"What do you want?" Adena asked, diverting her gaze from him.

"Um.. I want to talk to you, please" he answered.

"About what?" She asked.

Adena was still very angry with him. He did lots of bad things to many people. He hurt many people, he's the reason Delaney killed herself.

"Listen Adena, I know I don't deserve you or your forgiveness, I know I've treated you very badly. But I still want to ask for your forgiveness" he explained, walking closer to her.

"Don't come any closer.. and save your apologies" she stated, frowning.

"Logan, I know you had a terrible past, which explains why you're so hardened. But honestly, it doesn't give you the right to treat other people like some pests!! I honestly don't know why fate decided to bring me to someone like you. You've done nothing but terrorize me" she glared at him and he sighed.

"I'm sorry Adena. I'm willing to change" he said.

"What's done is done Logan. You can't change what you did. You can't change the pain you inflicted on me, or the countless times you hit and r@ped me. You can't bring back the people you've killed. You're a monster"

Those words hit him like a missile and he winced. His heart was heavy and for the first time, he felt like crying.

"I've forgiven you.. but" she paused and glared at him.

"As soon as I give birth to your child, you will set me free and I can go off on my own. I want to leave, forever" she said and shocked him again.

"And abandon your child?"

"You want the child don't you? You can keep it. Liliana is here, Antoinette is also here. I want my freedom. Promise me you'll let me go as soon as I give birth to your child?" She said, deathly serious.

Logan had no option but to agree to her decision. If it was the only way for her to be happy.

Logan went to the bar to drink. He drank carelessly, not minding how many bottles he took. He just wanted to get rid of terrible feeling inside him, he wanted to forget the words Adena said to him but he couldn't.

How could he?

When the first person he felt so connected to hates him so much?

How could he forget her piercing words?

The same woman who has mended his broken heart, the woman who has become the light in his darkness.

Liliana came out and snatched the bottle from him.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you want to kill yourself?!" She yelled at him and he chuckled. He burst out laughing because he was extremely drunk.

"Ma!" He called out, supporting himself on her shoulder.

"Ma, I love her.

I love her!!"