"If you think the way you left me and how you've been ignoring all my pleas for forgiveness aren't enough reason for me to want revenge, that's fine. We can then ask a different question than the one you asked: what would I gain bynotdoing this?"
So, he finally got straight to what he wanted all along: to blackmail me. For any other reason, I would have simply hung up the phone after sending him to hell. But the stakes here were greater than my anger toward that man.
How could I ever in my life have fallen in love with that big son of a bitch?
"Spell it out, Peter."
"Fifty thousand dollars. I'd ask for cash, but since you're not in L.A., a check will do. Mail it. I know it's old-fashioned, but it's what I prefer."
"Fifty thousand? You bled me dry! What makes you think I have that kind of money?"
"Don't play dumb, Evy. Your mom told me you're with this guy because of a 'deal.' What other kind of deal could it be? Not that I doubt you're sleeping with him, too."
His words filled me with disgust. How had I been so blind? When we met, Peter was charming, respectful, and attentive. It was only after I moved in that his true colors began to show—a little more each day. And I had ignored the signs, convinced I was overreacting.
"Fifty thousand, Evy," he repeated. "Just a check. In return, I disappear. If anyone asks, I'll even tell them I've met my sweet stepdaughters."
"You'll leave me alone? And stay away from my parents?"
"I'll drop your mother off today and never darken her doorstep again."
I hated giving in. But I couldn't let him blow up Logan's life, or the girls'. Soon, my agreement would end, and the truth would come out on our own terms, once Logan had his position and hopefully Eleanor was back. But a scandal now would ruin everything.
"Fine," I finally said, the word tasting like ash. "I'll write the check. And I hope this is the last time I ever hear your voice."
He laughed, a sound that turned my stomach. "I still live at the same address. You know where to send it."
"I don't even have a checkbook."
"Get one from the bank. Figure it out."
With that, he hung up.
I tried to console myself with the thought that maybe his threat was empty—that the media wouldn't care, that the public would forget I was ever introduced as the twins' mother.
As if to prove me wrong, I spotted, a few feet away, a teenage girl with her cell phone in hand, apparently taking pictures of me, or filming me, then turning the camera toward the hot dog cart where Logan and the girls were. I looked away and saw a boy a little further away doing the same.
Maybe people hadn't completely forgotten yet.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
LOGAN
Times Square's New Year's Eve celebration was arguably the most famous in the world. I'd never been, and I'd never found much enjoyment in watching it on TV.
Now, being in New York, it would have been easy to go. If not for the two young daughters who usually went to bed before ten. The event was relatively close to our apartment, so we watched it on the large living room TV.
On any other New Year's, that would have been boring: watching a packed crowd enjoy concerts by artists I barely knew. Ringing in the New Year during a hospital ER shift had always seemed more fun.
Until I discovered I was a father.
Now, I had to confess that program was more than perfect.
Anna sang along to practically every song, and with her sister, danced gracefully, clumsily, and utterly without coordination in the middle of the room. Evelyn and I laughed heartily, constantly telling them how beautiful they were and how amazing their choreography was.
Even without hearing, Aurora tried to imitate the steps of the dancers on screen. In that moment, I desperately wanted to be face-to-face with the grandmother who had told her she couldn't dance because she was deaf. As long as I was around, no one would ever again dare say my daughters were incapable of achieving their dreams.
Since it was New Year's, Evelyn and I decided the girls could stay up to watch the midnight fireworks—which we could probably see from our window. However, shortly before eleven, they had tired of dancing and settled on the couch between us. About fifteen minutes later, they were both asleep.
