Chapter 5: Bold and Unrestrained

In the shadows, Derek Hayes could hardly believe his ears.

Did she just compare Logan Black to a peony?

Was she out of her mind?

Though Logan's face was indeed extraordinarily handsome, even enough to make other men envious, those who truly knew him understood the depths of his brutality.

Derek stole a glance at Logan, but it was impossible to read the emotions in his deep, dark eyes.

Was Logan angry?

Ethan Walker, standing in front of Emma, could no longer contain his frustration. His patience was at an end. "Fine... fine! If you're determined to be stubborn, don't blame me when you regret it later! Emma Roberts, I've done everything I can for you!"

Emma watched Ethan's retreating figure, her expression dazed.

In her past life, this was the moment that led to Logan's uncontrollable fury. But this time, she had managed to change the course of events. Ethan was gone, and Logan...

The familiar oppressive presence had disappeared as well.

Had she passed this test?

Logan's unpredictable nature made Emma wary, but she calmed herself and walked back into the house.

As soon as she stepped into the living room, Logan's presence enveloped her, seeping into her very pores.

"Come here."

His voice, deep and unreadable, wrapped around her like a net.

Emma stood frozen. Despite living another lifetime, her fear of this man was still deeply ingrained.

But to change her fate, she had to overcome this fear.

She clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain calm, and slowly walked toward Logan.

As she got closer, he pulled her onto his lap, and the next moment, his cold lips pressed down on hers, biting and nibbling every inch.

Emma didn't dare move, forcing herself not to resist or anger him.

But she couldn't help but wonder. She had applied even more outrageous lipstick today, in a color as toxic as poison. Didn't he find it revolting? How could he kiss her so passionately without hesitation?

From the moment she met Logan at eighteen, she had used every extreme method to hide her true appearance, thinking it would repulse him.

If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have put herself through such torment.

Suddenly, Emma snapped back to reality.

She had been daydreaming in Logan's arms!

Shocked, she realized his head was resting heavily on her neck, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive skin as he breathed steadily and deeply.

He was asleep...

How could that be?

Emma didn't dare make a sound. After half an hour passed with no movement from Logan, she tentatively called his name, "Logan...?"

He didn't respond.

He really was asleep!

Not far away, Derek, who had been waiting by the door out of concern, widened his eyes, as if witnessing something incredible.

Emma was equally astonished.

She knew Logan had severe insomnia. His body's resistance to most drugs meant even sleep aids were ineffective. He needed professional hypnotherapy to fall asleep.

Even worse, Logan's mental fortitude was extraordinarily high, making it difficult to hypnotize him. When he was in a bad mood, hypnosis was completely useless.

The Black family had hired countless specialists to no avail.

Emma naturally saw Derek's ghostly expression.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Derek quickly gestured for silence and clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, mouthing: The boss hasn't slept in three days!

Three days without sleep?

Was it because he was furious about her escape?

For the past two years, she had never given up trying to escape. This time, she had come closest to freedom, just one step away from boarding a ship to another country...

The cost had been high.

Though Logan had forced her to stay by his side, he had never touched her until three days ago.

This was why she believed her disguise had been effective.

As Derek let out a sigh of relief, a phone rang loudly in the quiet living room, like a clap of thunder.

Derek was so frightened he nearly threw his phone, hastily turning it off.

But it was too late.

Logan was woken by the noise, his eyes empty and devoid of emotion, staring at Derek as if he were already dead. Derek felt his blood freeze.

Emma was terrified too.

Logan's morning temper was notorious. Being woken up midway was akin to facing the end of the world.

In a panic, Emma instinctively covered Logan's eyes with her hand, then pushed his head back onto her shoulder, gently stroking his soft hair. "It's okay... go back to sleep..."

One second passed...

Two seconds...

Three seconds...

Logan remained still.

After a while, Emma carefully lifted her hand from his eyes and saw that he had fallen back asleep, peacefully.

Derek's blood started flowing again, and he nearly collapsed from relief, looking at Emma with gratitude.

Emma stayed in the same position all night.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she woke up, it was already daylight, and she was lying in the master bedroom's bed with no sign of Logan.

Rubbing her eyes, she ended up smearing eyeliner, false eyelashes, and glittery eyeshadow all over her hands.

What girl doesn't love beauty? But to "stay pure" for Ethan, she never dared to remove her makeup, even when sleeping if Logan was home.

Knowing it was pointless now, she felt a sense of liberation.

She could finally be herself again...

From the age of eighteen, she hadn't shown her true face to anyone, almost forgetting her original appearance.

The first thing to go was the large, frightening tattoos all over her body.

Fortunately, she hadn't listened to Samantha's suggestion for permanent tattoos. These could be removed with a special solution.

After searching for a while, Emma found the solution in a box filled with miscellaneous items. She grabbed the solution, makeup remover, cotton pads, and a box of face masks Logan had casually given her, and headed to the bathroom.

First, she removed the seven or eight piercings and heavy metal earrings from her ears, then the dog collar-like necklace from her neck. Next was the makeup removal, and finally, she poured the solution into the bathtub and soaked her body in it...