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I saw a shimmer of conflict in her own eyes as she spoke. Something about it told me that she had experienced exactly what I was talking about with her brother before. I knew a lot of people who had. My story was just the first of many.
“That is your brother,” I assured her. “That’s why I had to change my name and go into hiding.”
Her eyes scanned the floor, trying to process the information. She looked shocked—mortified even. After what I’d said about her brother and the fact that I had slept with her father, I allowed her the time to take everything in.
“Even if what you say is true,” she said, her voice low and even, “I still have to tell my father about this. I can’t allow him to be in the dark about things any longer. He has to know who you are and what you’ve done. My brother already has a terrible relationship with him, and I'm sure this will make it a lot worse.”
I wanted to beg her to let me tell him instead, but she had already gone for her phone and headed for the door. Before she entered the hallway, I heard her voice start to shake as she begged for her father to answer the phone, and I knew then it was over for me.
When I was alone for the night, I lay in bed and cried tears of regret. I still cared a lot for Logan, but I knew that after Casey told him the truth, he would want nothing more to do with me. I hated the thought of that, even though I had backed away. I wished and prayed things would turn out differently, but I knew he would be done.
Logan
I turned my phone off for the remainder of my stay. After Lucas and I had reconciled, there was nothing else I wanted to do that evening more than spend time with both him and my dad. We watched a few of our favorite movies together until my dad surrendered to sleep.
My flight took off the next morning and landed in time for me to make the meeting I had scheduled. I didn’t bother updating anything on the iPad for Ariane, because I was still upset at the way things were between us, so her day was free to do whatever she pleased. And I was still so enthralled by Lucas’s breakthrough.
While on site with my client and team of builders, I heard the screeching of tires off in the distance. When I turned to look at the parking lot to see who was responsible, I noticed Casey’s car. Instantly, I dropped my hard hat and took off running in her direction. I thought something was seriously wrong by the way she pulled in, until I heard her calling me a liar.
“What?” I frowned. “Casey, what are you talking about?”
“You and Ariane! You lied to me!” she shouted.
Before anyone else could overhear her, I pulled her back toward her car so we could have the privacy we needed to discuss our personal issues.
“Casey, my personal life is none of your business. I tell you all the time to stay out of my affairs.”
“Yeah!” she scoffed. “And here’s the reason why I'm always so invested.” She tossed a folder at me and waited for me to open it. “Apparently, I have to look out for you because you make all the wrong choices when it comes to women.”
As I read through the folder, my eyes widened with terror. Finding out that Ariane wasn’t exactly who she said she was felt like instant karma for lying to Casey. Even worse, finding out that she’d had a long-term relationship with my son made me feel sick.
I dropped the folder and placed both hands on my head. I wanted to shout into the air but didn’t want to draw any attention from my clients. I was furious, though. And I felt betrayed.
“Yeah, Dad. What are you gonna tell Lucas when he finds out? Better yet, what the hell are you gonna do about Ariane? I'm sorry,” she sarcastically corrected, “Bianca. I knew I recognized her from somewhere. Too bad you’d already screwed her before I could put my finger on it.”
I couldn’t believe Ariane—Bianca—had kept such a huge secret from me. At first, I wondered if she knew. But then, I realized she had to know. I talked about my children all the time, had several pictures of them scattered around my office. Not to mention Lucas and Casey were twins—there was no way she didn’t see the resemblance.
“This is insane,” I said. “I can’t even believe she would do this to me. To our family. To Lucas.”
“Well, she did. And she had every opportunity to tell you and she never did. You have to get rid of her and you have to have a talk with Lucas about this.”
Lucas and I had finally started to settle our differences once and for all. I wasn’t sure how he would react to this. While he had told me he was over his previous relationship and with someone else now, that was beside the point. A talk with my son about my relationship with the woman he’d been so heartbroken over was the last thing I ever thought I would have to do. Truthfully, I didn’t want to tell him anything. But I knew if he found out on his own—or by way of his sister—he would hate me again.
“I’ll take care of it,” I sighed. “Goddamnit.”
Casey stood there shaking her head at me with tears in her eyes. We both knew how much Lucas had cared for Bianca. I’d never gotten to meet her personally, except once, but it had been so many years ago, I couldn’t even place her face when we’d met again. I felt terrible, like I was the most ridiculous father on earth.
“You’d better talk to him about this,” Casey lectured. “Because if you don’t, I surely will.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ariane
Ididn’tsleepatall that night. I tossed and turned, my gut wrenching with nervousness and fatigue because of it all. I was angry with myself, Casey, Logan. Especially Lucas. But in the end, everything was my fault. I knew what I knew before I did what I did, and I had to take responsibility for that. Logan didn’t reach out to me at all after my standoff with Casey, so I wasn’t sure whether she had decided to tell him or not. After all, it was an awful thing to have to tell, and even more awful to have to live with.
When I dragged myself from bed the next morning, I noticed a new notification on the iPad’s calendar. It was from Logan. He wanted to see me in his office the minute I got in. The anxiety in my stomach moved to my chest and shifted my breathing from steady to frantic. I felt winded while I got myself dressed for the office that morning. I wanted to ask him what the plans were for the day, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me. He wanted to face me and lay the smackdown on me up close and personally. I knew it.
The elevator ride up to the top floor felt like it was the longest ride of my life. My palms were drenched with sweat and so was my brow. There’d been no point in putting on any makeup that morning, because I knew my nerves would do nothing but sweat it off. When I stepped off the elevator, I froze in my tracks when I saw Casey standing in her father's doorway. The chiming of the elevator’s bell made her turn around to make sure I was the one stepping onto the top floor. When she saw that it was, that devious smirk lifted the frown that sat on her face.
