AMELIE
"What should we do with her now, Sir?" Jake asked with a cruel smirk tugging at his lips. I could practically see his wolf itching to tear me to pieces.
I swallowed the invisible rock stuck in my throat, waiting for the answer that would seal my fate.
"I'll have someone from security take you out of here," Logan finally said, his tone now distant and painfully formal. "You are pitiful, Mrs. Gilmore. So pitiful that I don't even want to take any further actions against you for deceiving me in such a laughable manner. Go back to your husband."
Jake smirked again, but all I could think about was how I didn't have a husband to go back to. In fact, there was absolutely nothing I could go back to.
And, as it turned out, absolutely nothing to look forward to.
"Th–Thank you, "I nodded, defeat washing over me in a bitter wave. I had been so certain that the power was real. That I could help him. Had it all been just a fever dream of sorts? A desperate fantasy born from my rock-bottom state? Was that pill the culprit?
As I turned to leave, Logan suddenly slammed his body against the wall, tiny beads of sweat covering his forehead as he began to gasp for air, while his fingers dug into the injured thigh.
Jake rushed over to help, steadying him so he wouldn't fall over. "What the fuck? Is it because of what you've done?!" He turned to me, anger dancing in his eyes like a raging fire.
I stood there stunned, utterly speechless from what I was witnessing. I could see it. I could see the red aura of inflammation expanding, the color getting even more intense than before.
Suddenly, I got scared, too. Had I made it worse?
"What did you do to him?" Jake demanded, his voice growing impossibly angry and loud. Logan broke down, his heavy body colliding with the marble floor.
Terror filled my heart as I saw him convulsing, his injured leg trembling so hard, I was genuinely scared that all its bones were shattering.
But then, everything stopped. All of a sudden, as if this horrible bout of agony had never happened, Logan's body relaxed, and, to my great shock, I could no longer see the red aura in his thigh.
On the contrary, his joints looked as if they were completely replaced by the new ones, and the results of corrosion were nowhere to be found.
"It's gone," he whispered, still struggling to get back to his normal self. "There is... no more pain. At all. It's all gone."
He rose to his feet, dismissing Jake's attempt to help him, and took a few confident steps around the room, leaning heavily onto the previously injured leg.
"There was always a sense of tightness in that place," Logan looked back at me, his expression softening. "It's all gone."
Jake looked at me as well, confusion etched into his features. "I don't get it... What happened?"
I found my voice at last, and when I began talking, words flowed out of my mouth on their own, even though I knew perfectly well what I was saying.
"The silver trap was laced with poison. Its remnants seeped into the bone and joints, rotting them from the inside. I used my powers to reverse the damage. I guess... what he has gone through right now was the process of tissue replacement. He literally... grew new bone tissues as we watched."
Logan stared at me, his eyes widening with realization. There was no longer anything malicious or distrustful behind that gaze––he was looking at me as if I were an entirely different person now.
Our eyes met again—his filled with new questions and possibilities, mine with the dawning realization that my life had just made a complete turnaround.
"Mrs. Gilmore," he said, closing the distance between us. "I believe we have much more to discuss."
I nodded slowly, while Logan added. "You haven't been trained to do this, and yet, here you are, performing miracles before our eyes. How did you do that?"
I stood awkwardly in the silent room, unsure how to explain something I barely understood myself. "It's not that simple..." I wanted to lie and say that my healing powers were a secret passed on to me by my ancestors, but I decided against it in the end.
It was never good to start a new relationship with a lie.
"Care to try and make it easy?" Logan insisted, but his tone was not commanding, but rather curious.
Before I could think about my response, my phone buzzed angrily in my pocket. I looked at the screen and felt my stomach drop. It was Sam.
"Excuse me," I muttered, stepping aside to take the call.
"Where the hell are you?" Sam's voice was nails scraping against the glass. "Do you think you can just make everyone wait for you like that? We are signing the divorce papers today, and you are fucking late!"
"There was something I had to do––"
"There is absolutely fucking nothing you have to do!" Sam scoffed. "Are you trying to drag this out on purpose? Don't even think about it, Amelie, I am not going to let you back out of this now!"
I looked back at Logan, who was pretending not to listen but clearly catching every word.
"I'm not," I said, my voice firm. "I am not backing out."
"Good. The sooner you sign these papers, the sooner I can move on with someone who actually matters in this fucking life. Get your ass here this instant!"
I was already used to his heartless manner of speaking, yet for some reason, I was still hurt. I took a deep breath and straightened my posture, forcing a smile onto my lips.
I can't let it get to me now, I reassured myself. I am no longer weak and useless.
"I'll be there," I said, ending the call before he could pile on even more barbs.
When I turned back, Logan was studying me with a thoughtful expression.
"Your husband?" he asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer.
"Soon to be ex-husband," I explained with a nod. "I have to leave now, Mr. Grant. They're waiting for me to sign divorce papers."
Logan rubbed his chin, his eyes still studying me as if he was looking for something specific that he couldn't point out.
"I can't hold you back any longer, then."
He reached inside the inner pocket of his jacket and took out his wallet, his fingers collecting several crisp green bills. "This is my way of thanking you. If you give me your bank details, I will transfer you the rest."
I looked at his hand grasping the money. I needed it. I knew that I would not get a single cent from Sam's family, and Goddess knows, I barely had anything of my own there, too.
But something was still stopping me. Perhaps it was pride, or perhaps it was the new confidence flowing through me along with the strange energy I now possessed.
"Thank you, but I can't accept your money," I said, gently pushing his hand away. "I'm just glad I could help."
Surprise flickered across Logan's face, quickly followed by what might have been respect.