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“Come on, honey. Please let me in.”
“No, Dad,” she said again. “I don’t want to talk to you. You betrayed my trust.”
I understood it completely because this was what I’d taught her. “Don’t let anyone betray you and get away with it,” I’d always said. “Be careful who you believe in.”
And I’d been the one to do that to her. I’d been the person I’d warned her about. Some dad I was. Here I was, all excited about having more children when I couldn’t even fix a relationship with the one I already had.
Brilliant.
I stayed outside her door another half an hour before I finally gave up and drove back home. I would have to wait until she calmed down enough, until she decided she wanted to talk to me. Scarlett was waiting for me at home. I had at least one person I could go to and make sure that she was okay.
When I arrived home, Scarlett sat on the couch in the family room, looking distraught.
“She won’t speak to me,” I said.
Scarlett looked up at me. “Yeah, she’ll need some time, I think,” she said. She stood up. “If you don’t mind, Evan, I’m going to head home. We tried.”
“You’re just giving up?” I asked.
Scarlett shook her head. “No, but I think it’s fair to call it for tonight. I’m exhausted. I can’t deal with more than this. It’s already been a long day. So, I’m going to go home, go to bed, and tomorrow will be a new day.”
“Okay,” I finally said. I couldn’t make her stay. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Get some rest. Be safe.”
Scarlett nodded. “Tomorrow is a new day,” she said.
I walked her to the front door. When she left, I turned around and sighed, closing the door. Everything was huge mess now. Lily wouldn’t speak to me, and Scarlett still only saw me as the man that paid her to be pregnant, not as the man who cared for her.
I was about to be the father of three new babies. It was supposed to be a happy time. Instead, I felt more alone than ever. This was not how today should have ended.
Chapter Thirteen
Scarlett
I gave Lily two days to calm down. I would have given her more, but I was starting to panic about our friendship. I needed to sort it out with her. Lily was my best friend, often my only real friend.
When I stopped in front of her apartment, I was nervous. What if she decided to reject me the way she’d rejected Evan? What if she wouldn’t even let me into the apartment? I knew that she was angry, and she had every right to be. But I needed to sort this out with her. I needed my friend.
I walked to her front door, took a deep breath, and knocked. My stomach twisted tighter, and for a moment, I thought I might throw up again. But this was just nerves. Not morning sickness.
Lily opened the door a moment later. When she saw me, she hesitated. I saw her consider if she should shut me out.
“You’re not going to leave this alone, are you?” she asked
I shook my head. “Please, Lil, I just want to talk.”
Lily sighed. “Okay, then.” She stepped to the side and let me into her apartment. This was already more than I had hoped for.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Lily asked.
“You know what,” I said.
“Oh, the fact that you slept with my dad and betrayed me.”
I let out a deep breath. “Come on, Lil, don’t be like this.”
“How do you want me to be? You lied to me. And it wasn’t just any lie. It was a really big thing. Pregnant? And my dad is the father? How could you do this to me?”
“You’re right,” I said. “There is no excuse. I should have spoken to you.”
“You’re damn right you should have,” Lily said. She was hostile. She didn’t even let me speak.
“Just hear me out,” I begged. “I know this seems weird.”
“You think?” Lily asked, and she chuckled sarcastically.
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
“Look, this all started with an ad on Craigslist. Someone needed a surrogate mother, and I needed the money. You know how desperate I was.”
Lily frowned at me, but she didn’t interrupt.
“So, when I got there, it was your dad.”
“What do you mean, it was my dad?” Lily asked.
I sighed. This was going to be huge. “He was the one that wanted to hire a surrogate mother.”
Lily shook her head. “This is impossible,” she said. “Why would he want more children?”
“That’s something I can’t answer,” I said.
Lily kept shaking her head. She was having trouble believing this. I didn’t blame her.
“He wanted to talk to you about it the other night,” I said.
