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Lily shook her head again. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. It was a lot to work through.
“I still don’t believe you could have agreed to something like this.”
“I hit rock bottom, Lil. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t get a job, bills were piling up, the prospect of so much money won me over.”
Lily blinked. “How much was he willing to pay?”
I cleared my throat and told her.
Her eyes widened. “What the hell? That’s enough money to buy a small country.”
I laughed, and it was a relief to let it out. The tension was so high, it felt good to break it.
“So, you see the appeal.”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know if I would have carried someone’s baby for that money, but I see that you were desperate. I wish you would have come to me.”
I had been too proud to ask Lily for help. She had been so successful, when I had made a point of it to study further, and then that backfired on me.
“It’s just hard when I compare our lives,” I said.
Lily sighed. “I understand,” she said. “You still should have spoken to me. If not about your financial situation, at least about the fact that you were thinking of having someone else’s baby. I’m not even going to go into the fact that it was my dad.”
She was still very upset with Evan. I couldn’t blame her.
“Will you talk to him?” I asked.
Lily shook her head. “Why should I? He hasn’t bothered telling me anything. Not that he wanted more children, not that he was thinking of getting a surrogate mother instead of a wife, not that he had gone through with it with my best friend. He doesn’t deserve me speaking to him.”
It upset me that Lily did not want to speak to Evan. I guessed it was understandable. I knew that it would break his heart, but we had brought this upon ourselves. At least, Lily and I were okay. God knew I would need my friend in the months to come.
Lily and I spent more time together, talking about everything. When I finally left, we were okay again. At least, half of the mess was cleared up. Lily and I were in a good place again. I was glad I had my friend by my side to help go through all this. With Lily and Evan rooting for me, I felt like I had the support I needed to get through the most difficult thing I had ever done.
I made my way to Evan’s house. I needed to speak to him about how it went with Lily. He had been worried that we’d lost her. He would be glad that at least her and I had sorted things out.
“So, she’s not going to speak to me?” he asked after I told him everything.
I shook my head. “She still upset,” I said. “You can’t blame her.”
“No, I can’t,” Evan said. “But that doesn’t stop me from being upset about it, too. She’s my daughter. I can’t stand that she does not want to see me.”
I couldn’t imagine how hard it had to be for him.
Evan put his hand on my knee. “At least, the two of you are friends again,” he said.
It was sweet of him to see the silver lining, even though his side was not taken care of yet. Evan leaned toward me, and I didn’t move away. He pressed his lips against mine, and it was the first time that he kissed me without any sexual pretext. I kissed him back. When I had told Lilly that I loved him, I had been honest. I knew that this was not going to work out, but I couldn’t help feeling how I did, and Evan kissing me, just for the sake of kissing me, meant so much more than he would ever know.
Chapter Fourteen
Scarlett
When Evan broke the kiss, he looked at me, and his eyes were drowning deep.
“I have to confess something,” he said.
I swallowed. What was he going to say? A myriad of thoughts ran through my head. Was there another woman? That couldn’t be.
“I love you,” Evan said.
I blinked at him. “What?”
I had come to terms with the fact that Evan wouldn’t ever love me. I was here for the pregnancy only.
“You heard me,” he said. “I know this was not part of the bargain. But I can’t help how I feel about you. You’re having my children, Scar. I want you to stay a part of my life.”
“What are you saying?”
Evan cupped my cheeks with both his hands. “I’m saying, I love you, Scarlett. I want you to stay in my life after the babies are born. If that’s what you want, of course.”
“I thought this was just a transaction to you,” I said.
Evan nodded. “It started out that way,” he said. “But then it changed. I never expected to fall in love with you, but there it is.”
I didn’t know what to say. I was consumed by a rush of emotions that was so much stronger than I was used to. Maybe it was because I was pregnant, and all my emotions were heightened. Or maybe it was because I felt the same way.
