The Battle Begins
Anastasia had always trusted logic.
It was cold, rational, and absolute—a force that could not be swayed by fleeting whims or fragile human weakness. Logic did not falter. It did not bend under pressure. It was unshakable, just like her.
Emotion, on the other hand, was fickle. It was unreliable. It clouded judgment, led people into ruin, and made even the strongest minds vulnerable. It was what turned the intelligent into fools, what made the powerful weak.
She had seen it happen to others—people who were once untouchable, only to be destroyed by their own emotions.
She had sworn that it would never happen to her.
And yet, for the first time, she felt an internal battle that should have never existed in the first place.
It had been one month.
One month without roses.
One month without Vincent.
One month of silence where there had once been an unrelenting, unshakable presence.
And somewhere, deep within the cold logic that had always ruled her, something unacceptable stirred.
A feeling.
A question.
Where is he?
The Logical Argument
Anastasia didn't need Vincent Blackwood. That was a fact.
She was the heir to the 1st and 3rd richest families in the world. She was a genius among geniuses. There was no one who could stand at her level.
Vincent was exceptional—she knew that. He was beautiful beyond reason, a god-like existence that made the world kneel at his feet. He was the only one with a mind that could rival hers. But even so, he was not necessary.
She had lived her entire life without needing anyone.
She had been untouchable, unshaken, immune to the trivialities that plagued others.
Nothing had changed.
Nothing should change.
The roses had never mattered.
Vincent's presence had never mattered.
This wasn't a loss.
Because there was nothing to lose.
The Emotional Counterattack
Then why did the silence feel so loud?
Why did she catch herself hesitating at the places where the roses used to be?
Why did she think of him more now than when he had been relentlessly chasing her?
No.
No.
That wasn't possible.
She wasn't weak.
She wasn't like the women who had thrown themselves at Vincent, the ones who obsessed over him, who cried over him, who wanted to claim him like some prize.
She was Anastasia Raventhorn Vasiliev.
Her bloodline alone made her untouchable.
She had always been above such things.
And yet—
She felt something.
Something she could not name.
Something she refused to name.
The Logical Defense
Feelings were illusions.
Chemical reactions in the brain. Biological responses. They meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Love? A weakness.
Obsession? A distraction.
It didn't matter what she was feeling—or what she thought she was feeling—because emotions were nothing more than an attempt to derail her from her true path.
She had a future already carved out for her.
She would inherit her family's empire. She would control the world's wealth. She would be legendary.
And what did Vincent Blackwood have to do with that?
Nothing.
She could not afford to entertain meaningless distractions.
She could not afford to let emotion win.
Because emotion made people foolish.
Emotion made people weak.
Emotion's Last Stand
But what if…
What if she had already lost?
The thought was dangerous. Unacceptable. Impossible.
But it lingered.
What if, despite all her efforts, she had already become attached?
What if the roses, the presence, the unshakable devotion had become a part of her world—one she had taken for granted?
What if she had assumed he would always be there?
What if…
What if she actually missed him?
No.
No.
She would not entertain the thought any further.
She would not allow herself to fall into the trap that so many others had.
She would not be one of them.
Because emotions were a lie.
And she would never let them control her.
The Triumph of Logic
Anastasia took a deep breath, her blue eyes cold and unwavering as she looked at her reflection in the grand mirror before her.
She was still herself.
She was still untouchable. Unshakable. Unstoppable.
Nothing had changed.
She refused to let it change.
Vincent's absence did not matter.
The roses did not matter.
If he had given up, then so be it.
If he had walked away, then it was his loss.
Not hers.
Never hers.
She had won.
Because in the end, logic always won.
And emotion?
Emotion was just an illusion