“Miss Amelia… and… Your Grace, Duke of Fraser.”

Joshua took off his brown beret and bowed respectfully. Bella stepped aside slightly and lowered her head in greeting.

“You may lift your head now. We wouldn’t want rumors to spread that the Everett family mistreats a future great chemist. Forgive me; I was so delighted to see you that I forgot the introductions. Your Grace, this is Joshua Powell.”

Still linked arm in arm with the duke, Amelia did not simply pass them by. Instead, she stood close to Logan and proudly introduced Joshua to him.

However, although Amelia had made the introduction, Logan’s gaze had been fixed on Bella from the very beginning. Ever since he saw her walking back along the garden path with Joshua, he had not taken his eyes off her.

“I am Joshua Powell, currently enrolled at Elverton University.”

Beneath Logan’s expressionless demeanor lurked something raw and unguarded.

It was the kind of desire that only a man in love would recognize.

Sensing this, Joshua stepped slightly in front of Bella, as if to shield her from Logan’s gaze, as though he were protecting her from danger.

“A pleasure.”

Logan’s blue eyes slowly settled on Joshua.

Their gazes met in mid-air.

They were cold and intense, as though they could see straight through each other.

Not a word was spoken, yet the hostility was unmistakable and as sharp as a blade. Joshua felt as though his throat were being gripped; the pressure was suffocating.

A tense silence lingered.

“Shall we go inside? Your Grace must be busy with work.”

Amelia broke the silence by interjecting at just the right moment.

When Joshua was the first to look away, Logan finally withdrew his gaze and turned indifferently towards the estate.

Only after the duke had entered and Amelia had completely disappeared from view did Joshua release the breath he had been holding.

“Wow… I thought I was going to suffocate. Even from a man’s perspective, he’s intimidating. The fact that you serve someone like that makes me see you differently.”

Joshua forced a light laugh, trying to dispel the stiffness in the air.

Bella, unaware of the current that had passed between the two men, tilted her head slightly.

“He can be a little frightening… but he’s a good person.”

“If that’s how you feel, then I’m relieved.”

“I should probably go now…”

“Sorry, sorry. I kept you too long. We can’t keep His Grace waiting. Go on.”

Joshua did not try to stop her. The sight of the duke had clearly unsettled Bella, and he did not want to burden her further by sharing his hastily formed suspicions. As she had said, the duke was merely a guest at Rosedale who would soon be leaving.

Yet even after Bella followed the young lady and the duke back onto the estate, Joshua stood where he was for a long time.

He paced in small circles, unable to bring himself to leave. As the sun slowly dipped towards the horizon, he reluctantly turned his gaze to the spot where she had disappeared.

He should have asked her about it, even if it might have embarrassed or confused her.

If there truly was nothing between her and the duke, what was the meaning of the intense emotion in the man’s eyes?

***

By the time Bella returned, the Duke was already in the bedroom.

She had assumed he was still with the young lady. His early return took her by surprise. However, he had never specified when he would be back, and ultimately Bella arrived later than him.

She moved briskly, determined to make up for it.

“You seemed quite close.”

As she placed the refreshments on his desk, where he was working as usual, Logan spoke up.

For a moment, Bella wondered who he was referring to. Then she realized that he was referring to Joshua, whom they had met earlier.

“He’s an old friend of mine. He’s a student at a university in the capital and he stopped by on his way to Netherwell on business.”

She hadn’t expected the duke to ask about Joshua. She remembered Joshua speaking quickly as soon as the duke had left.

For just an instant, a bright smile passed across her face.

Logan, never one to miss anything when it came to her, watched her closely.

“Are you sure he’s just a friend?”

Why did that small smile irritate him so much?

Not having caught his quiet murmur, Bella blinked and asked,

“Pardon?”

But Logan did not repeat himself. He knew that voicing what was on his mind would make him sound petty.

“I was told you weren’t particularly close with anyone among the estate staff.”

Although his tone was indifferent, there was something sharp lurking beneath it.

He was an old friend from childhood. He was a man who knew parts of her that he did not. Someone who could make her smile just by being remembered.

That alone was reason enough for Joshua Powell to irritate him.

He did not like the way the man looked at her, as though she already belonged to him. Even more, he disliked the boldness in his gaze.

A faint grinding sound escaped Logan’s lips as he recalled the moment Joshua had dared to shield the maid from his view.

What he had felt then was unmistakable.

It was Jealousy.

And Vincent as well — why did these useless flies keep circling around this maid? At the slightest provocation, he felt an overwhelming urge to possess her.

“I apologize for leaving without permission again. I’ll be more careful not to be late next time.”

Having noticed the slightest change in his expression, Bella offered an apology. Since his return, she had assumed his bad mood was because she had slipped away without saying goodbye.

“I was the one who told you to attend to your errands while I was with Lady Everett. Don’t concern yourself.”

His voice was flat as he lowered his gaze back to the documents.

Bella, careful not to disturb him, resumed her work in silence, suppressing even the faintest sound so as not to distract him.

Yet despite her efforts, Logan could not focus.

He was distracted by the pale curve of her neck beneath her neatly tied hair. The faint tremor of her long lashes. The tightly tied apron string that subtly traced the soft lines of her figure.

Every small movement played out before his eyes in slow, relentless detail.

Even in a worn maid’s uniform, she could not hide the sensuality that clung to her. He could not look away, not even for a moment.

She was nothing special. Just an ordinary maid.

But this no longer convinced him.

In fact, it was precisely her ordinariness that unsettled him. She was a woman who did not dress to impress. She neither flattered nor sought favor. She stood before him exactly as she was.

Everything about her reminded him of the girl he had never been able to forget.

And that was why he wanted her so fiercely.

He had lost that girl forever.

A dry heat burned down his throat. Logan unfastened two buttons on his shirt, but the fire within him refused to fade.

“Is there something you need?”

As if she had sensed his gaze, Bella straightened up and turned towards him. Her soft, full lips moved gently as she spoke.

Logan closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

She was a woman whose scent was as sweet as her voice.

A dark, possessive desire stirred within him — the desire to press his teeth against the delicate curve of her neck and leave a mark while pretending not to understand the impulse driving him.

One thing was certain.

It was not the girl he longed for.

It was Bella.

What had begun as a passing curiosity because she resembled that girl had grown into something far more powerful. What he had once mistaken for lingering guilt over a broken promise — his vow to protect her — was transforming into something far more dangerous.

Possession.

‘I’ve truly lost my mind.’

Overcome by an insatiable thirst, he covered his eyes.

The overwhelming urge that had been threatening to overwhelm his reason could no longer be suppressed.