✔️ Miss Lorelai Hayden [UNDER EDITING]

[29] Shifting Wind (NE)

Numb is all I felt when I got the phone call that changed everything. Francine is dead, she died. It was so sudden, a stroke in her sleep. Though I had just begun to know her, the pain of loss ran through my heart just the same. Then came the stress and worry. I am the Hayden heiress and the company is now in my hands. All of this cycled through in a span of three seconds, long enough for my vision to blur and for Logan to catch me before my head hit the ground. 

Logan took me to the hospital, against my wishes, to be completely sure that I was physically okay. That's when I told him about Francine's death. I sat with Roman in my lap while Logan held me close to him. After a few hours and many tests later, we got the okay to return home. Where we stayed, only opening the door for the delivery man. 

After a day full of panic attacks and overwhelming emotions the previous day, my family and I boarded the jet to Connecticut. The entire flight all I could think about was having to return to school and run the company at the same time, all the while being an amazing mother and wife for Roman and Logan. Money isn't an issue this time, I silently thank the lord, but time has taken its place. I have two years to graduate, as stated in the contract I signed, before I fully integrate into the position of CEO of Hayden Law Firms. You can always have a fluctuating abundance of money, but you can never get more time. How naïve was I to be so concerned about the money the first time around? 

----

The funeral was touching to everyone who knew her. People gathered from across the globe to pay their respects to a strong woman who was bound by her toxic marriage, but still flourished despite it. After we said our goodbyes, we all gathered at grandma's to riminess and celebrate the life that Francine lived.

The entire time I never said a word. I painted a smile on my face when people gave their condolences, but never joined any conversations. Executives from the company found me and attempted to tell me what needs to be done, but Logan sent them away. He could tell how stressed I was and he knew I would be the one to take over the company, but he didn't know the whole story, and I had to be the one to tell him it. 

----

With Mom watching Roman, Logan and I make our way to Francine's house to organize everything, making sure everything is how she wanted it. I know I need to fill Logan in on the conditions of being the heiress, but I need to know he won't run like he has in the past. Though he didn't run from Roman, I need to know he's changed. 

"Ace?" Logan asks from my side as the driver passes down another street.

"Yeah?" It's like I don't know what to say to him, where to even begin.

"Well, Rory. I was wondering if you'd be willing to become the Hayden Heiress," Francine began. [...] "You would have to go back to school and get a Law degree to run the company," Francine started while a headache appeared.

"I know we still need to work out the details, but whatever happens we are in this together, forever."

"I know," I softly smile, "I'll explain everything when we get there, but Logan, it's going to be very difficult. We're going to fight, to want to quit, we're going to completely change our lives for this. I need to know that you won't leave when things seem impossible."

Staring through my eyes and into my heart, Logan tells me just how much he loves me without the use of sound. I can see it in his eyes, the abundance of love and admiration, and I know he'll never leave me behind. We'll jump together, just like always.

"In omnia paratus," he whispers on my lips.

I smile as all my worries are washed away, "Ready for anything."

"Logan?" I nervously ask, lips still attached to mine.

"Yes?" I pause, afraid to tell him what I discovered earlier. "Ace?" his worried expression makes my heart beat even faster.

"I-" 

That's all that is heard before the crushing of metal surrounds us, followed by the silence of fate. I look up at the stars, realizing I was now laying on the street. How beautiful the stars seem from thousands of miles away. 

Breaking my focus, I look to my right to see Logan unconscious near the scrapped metal of two cars, the driver no where to be found. My vision blurs as a turn my head back to the sky and the heavens above. The stars are the last thing I see as they slowly fade into the black of the night sky, consuming my vision until I can no longer fight it; falling into the dark.