Page 173 of King of Ruin

Logan looked at her as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, while Elise stared back at him with the same disbelief.

She let out a shaky breath as she carefully placed the vase back on the console table beside the door. Only then did she straighten and glare at Logan, still trying to calm her racing heart.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" she shouted, marching toward him. "What the hell, Logan? How did you even get in here?"

Logan looked just as startled as she did.

"What areyoudoing here?" he shot back without missing a beat. "Aren't you supposed to be living with your boyfriend? You told me you weren't living here anymore!"

Elise stared at him as though he had completely lost his mind.

"You are the one who should be answering me!" she snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What the hell areyoudoing inmyapartment?"

Logan opened his mouth to answer but hesitated. Instead, he quietly bent down and placed the grocery bags he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter.

Elise's eyes immediately followed the movement.

The bags were filled with dinner, snacks, drinks—even a loaf of bread and a carton of milk.

Her brows slowly drew together.

She looked from the groceries back to Logan, suspicion gradually replacing the confusion on her face. There was something far too familiar about the way he had walked into the apartment, casually punched in the security code, switched on the lights, and carried groceries inside as though this were his own home.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You've been here before."

It wasn't a question.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking far less confident than he had a moment ago.

"...Maybe."

"Logan."

"Okay, okay." He lifted both hands in surrender. "I come here once or twice a week."

She blinked.

"What?"

"I just... sleep here sometimes," he admitted sheepishly. "Not every day. Just once or twice a week whenever I need a break.”

Elise simply stared at him.

He offered her an innocent smile.

"I just needed somewhere quiet for a night every now and then. My parents drive me insane, and this place is peaceful. I come here, watch a movie, sleep, clean everything up, and leave in the morning."

Her expression didn't soften.

Instead, her eyes widened even more.

"...I never gave you the password."

Logan looked at her for a second before bursting into an incredulous laugh.

"You seriously think your password is difficult to guess?"