Chapter 355 Broken Noses & Broken Hearts
Logan
It was supposed to be simple-a night out at the racetrack, full of life, energy, and maybe, just maybe, the softening
of Ella’s guarded heart toward me.
The air was warm, filled with the scent of gasoline and grilled meats, as I wandered through the maze of food
vendors. I was in a good mood, an incredibly rare feeling for me. Ella seemed to be enjoying herself, and that made
me think tonight might just be different.
I took my time selecting our food, eyeing stalls that sold fries drenched in cheese, corn dogs with a crisp exterior,
and for a touch of sweetness, funnel cakes powdered with sugar.
“Logan! Is that you, buddy?” a voice broke through my thoughts. I turned to see Mike, the vendor I had known here
for years. He ran one of the more popular food stalls, known for its top-tier corn dogs and fries.
“Hey, Mike,” I greeted, a half-smile forming on my lips.
“Wow, you’re in the viewing area tonight? Skipping the usual gig, huh?” he winked, carefully avoiding specifics, a
man accustomed to the nature of delicate topics.
“Yeah, just felt like doing something different,” I replied. “And I’ve got company.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“Ah, the lovely lady I saw with you. She’s cute. Got a new girlfriend or something?” Mike asked, tossing a corn dog
into the fryer.
“No… Just a friend,” I said, the words coming out more defensively than I intended. “And Mike, don’t mention
anything about my usual activities here, okay? I don’t want her to know.”
Mike winked again, a knowing look in his eyes. “Your secret’s safe with me. In fact, how about a little discount for
the mystery man?”
“Appreciate it, man,” I said, gratefully accepting the tray loaded with greasy food that was sure to make Ella’s
mouth water.
As I made my way back through the crowd, my wolf stirred, a low growl vibrating in the recesses of my mind.
“You know, she’s going to be upset when she finds out the truth about what you really do here,” he cautioned.
“What’s the point?” I mentally retorted. “It’s not like she’ll ever let herself get too close to me anyway.”
“You’re a fool if you believe that for a second, Logan,” he hissed. “She’s smitten with you, whether she’s willing to
admit it or not. Get closer with her. Be honest. That alone would make her more open to the idea of the two of
you.”
My wolf’s words lingered as I thought back to how Ella had looked earlier in the bleachers.
She was radiant in the simplest of ways-her white-blonde was hair pulled up into a messy bun rather than a tight
ponytail, her mascara slightly smudged from rubbing her eyes. She wore casual jeans and a T-shirt, so different
from her usual lawyer attire, and I was hopelessly drawn to her.
For a moment, too, I envisioned us at that restaurant during my brother’s wedding shower. In my old playroom, we
had almost gotten closer than ever before. The intimacy of that moment would be forever etched in my memory.
But then the painful truth of reality broke through my fantasizing. Ella was convicted about her life, and she would
never go for a guy wrapped up in my kind of business.
There was too much of a risk involved. Try as I might to extricate myself from the mafia, there was always the
looming possibility that its claws were in too deep to let me go. Ella knew that, and she would never take that risk.
And yet, it was precisely her fierce independence and moral rigidity that I loved, even if those were the very
barriers keeping us apart.
“So, you’re just going to let her slip away?” my wolf prodded, clearly annoyed.
“Maybe,” I replied, gripping the tray a little tighter. “And maybe it would be the best. For her, at least. To keep her
away from this… life of mine.”
My wolf fell silent, clearly bothered by my decision. I shook my head slightly and continued making my way back to
the bleachers.
But when I returned, balancing the tray carefully in my hands, I saw him. Some stranger was sitting next to Ella-in
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmmy seat-casually talking to her as if he belonged there.
And then I saw it-the guy’s hand creeping up her leg. Ella looked uncomfortable, her face tightened into a strained
grimace as she tried swatting his hand away, only for him to smirk and grip her leg even more tightly.
My vision blurred, narrowed to a tunnel focused on that vile hand.
I dropped the food. Before I knew it, my fists clenched, my muscles tensed, and I lunged at him, grabbing his shirt
and punching him square in the face. There was a sickening crunch, and blood splattered. I had broken his nose.
The pandemonium that ensued was a whirlwind of chaos, Ella screamed, people around us recoiled in horror, and
security guards flooded the scene. As I was being dragged away, I heard Ella’s footsteps following, her face hidden
behind a curtain of her beautiful white-blonde hair that had come loose from its bun during the chaos.
Outside, Ted, one of the security guards who had seen me here many times, said, “Logan, you’re known here.
Come back another day, man. But for tonight, you’re done. Got it?”
“Fine,” I snapped, shaking him off and making my way through the parking lot.
Ella caught up to me. “Logan!” she called after me, her footsteps pounding on the pavement. “Are you alright?”
I nodded, quickly wiping the smatter of blood off my knuckles before she could see. “I’m fine,” I lied, although my
body was still tense and itching to give that guy another beating. “Just had to do what was right, that’s all.”
The will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!