When Lies Become Known
Chapter 9

A/N: No excuses for the length between updates except for life.

As Evangeline Williamson clutched the airplane ticket to her chest she wondered if she was making the right decision. She had just made love to a married man, something that went against everything she had been raised to believe and all of her values but even as she knew it was wrong she was powerless to stop it. She had made love to her best friend and she didn’t regret any moment of it. Well she hadn’t at least until the morning when the cruel reality had slapped her in the face once more. She had slept with a married man, a man that was becoming so much more in her life but was kept away from her by her supposed well-meaning sister and an emotionally abusive ex-boyfriend and a jealous harpy. Her heart had shattered in two as she watched Todd sleep with a boyish grin on his face. She knew that she wasn’t strong enough to be around him day and night and not want a repeat of what had happened. She had to walk away, and it was one of the hardest things she ever had to do.

Writing him a Dear John letter, seemed so abnormal but she didn’t know any other way to go. She had spilled out tears and her feelings on that piece of paper hoping it was enough to keep him at bay. As her gate was called she swiped at the remaining tears and walked towards her new destiny in the hopes that it would be exactly what she needed.

Eight Months Later

“You weren’t playing when you said that you wanted to graduate early were you Starr?”

Starr stood in front of her father’s desk scanning him as a mother would her child and she didn’t like what she saw. Her father had lost weight and not for the best he wasn’t happy with anyone even though he tried to not let it affect her or Jack. She wasn’t about to break a promise to Evangeline by telling her father of her whereabouts but at time she wondered if it wouldn’t be for the best if she just told her father where she was.

“No Dad, I told you I wanted to get a start early on law school, but I needed to get through high school first. Well I’m graduating early so you can have a lawyer in the family as many people as you have been pissing off in the latest editions of the newspaper it’s the least I can do.”

Todd smiled softly and said, “Evangeline would be proud if she could see you, I know I am.”

Starr sat down as she heard the wistful tone in her father’s voice as he mentioned the woman who was both missing from their lives, “I want to see her for my graduation present.”

Todd nodded, “Let me know when you want to go and I’ll make it happen.”

Starr felt a smile come to her lips, “You don’t even know where she is but you’re willing to send me?”

Todd rolled his eyes, “I have a team of private investigators at my disposal. Of course I know where she is, I always have known.”

Starr crossed her arms as she stared at her father awaiting the true response to her question, “She called me. Two weeks after she moved to tell me not to look for her whereabouts or she would leave the country. I didn’t want to let her get that far away from me so I backed off.”

Since they were both using the time to being honest she said, “She emailed me, we’ve been keeping in touch everyday.”

Todd leaned forward and cradled his daughter’s cheek, “She’s wonderful isn’t she?”

Starr felt the tears rise in her eyes, “Almost too good to be true. She makes me wonder sometimes what our lives would be like if I hadn’t screwed everything up for everyone.”

Todd shook his head, “You can’t change the past, only the future. Let me know when you want to leave.”

Blair sighed in exhaustion as she looked over at her lover who lay breathless beneath her and said, “What plans do you have for the day?”

A muffled response was her only answer to her inquiry, so she shook his chest awoke in hope of getting an answer but only received a noncommittal grump.

“I want to stay the whole day in bed with you, do you have any objections?” The once sleeping man next to her awoke and lifted off the bed and pulled her mouth to his and they started to kiss passionately as they fell back on the bed planning to keep with the plan of staying in bed all day.

Evangeline Williamson had gone through many changes since her abrupt departure of Llanview months ago. Most had to do with her disposition, she had gone from somewhere always ready to help out their neighbor she turned into someone who only worked when required. The joy that she used to be known for had fallen with her into a deep depression. She knew it was due to the fact that she was missing her best friend, her best friend her one time lover.

Her best friend.

Her one Time lover.

And now the father of her child.

Well, children really considering the doctor had confirmed the presence of two heartbeats in the last ultrasound she had been given that she was carrying twins, a boy and a girl. She had never wanted to believe that she would be a single mother, she had always stressed the importance of having a mother and a father in a family and that she wouldn’t marry unless she was absolutely sure.

She often wondered what Todd was doing these days, whether he got over Blair’s betrayal and was able to forgive her and move on with their marriage or if he was still wishing for her presence like she did every moment since they had been apart.

She had prohibited Starr to even mention her father in the emails because she was worried that the hormones from her pregnancy would have her on the first plane back to Llanview to slap Blair and stand by Todd’s side damning what all of the people would say.

Her mother had constantly tried to convince her to come live with her but she knew that if she was every going to have any hope of getting over Todd Manning she needed to be far away, well she had hopes of getting over him until she realized that she was pregnant, pregnant with their children. She knew she would never be able to get him out of her heart now and she knew as she cradled her slowly growing belly that she never wanted him out of her heart. He would always hold a special place in her heart for the rest of her life.

Starr slammed the door shut to her room as she blasted the music up not wanting to listen to the bitching of her mother; her mother was in rare form which could only mean one thing. She had sex and it was angry sex which meant she took out her frustration on everyone around her. She hated that she knew her mother so intimately but when all your mother did was sleep around you weren’t left with too many choices.

Starr popped open her laptop and onto her email as she waited for her daily email to Evangeline to appear, she scanned the first couple of lines happily but stopped when she saw that Evangeline didn’t think it was a good time for her to come visit.

Starr sat back in her chair hurt at first but then curious, lately she had been noticing that Evangeline was becoming more and more nostalgic about returning home and she wasn’t sure if it had to do with her father or something else but her last name was Manning and she was determined to find out the cause.

Todd opened his desk drawer and pulled out the photo that he had hid away from Blair’s prying eyes and fingered the smile that was resident on the person’s face.

Evangeline.

The woman he didn’t know how to get over, the woman who made him want to be a better man. He knew he didn’t deserve her but he also knew he was a selfish bastard and wouldn’t live without her. He had given her the time alone in hopes that she would miss him as much as he was missing her and it would cause her to come back to Llanview but unfortunately that didn’t occur and with each day he was coming to the realization that he was going to have live without her.

She who had believed in him, in his innocence from the moment she met him made him want to be a better person had done everything in her power, even risking her own career behind saving his life and all for what? For her to get in a coma trying to save his daughter’s life? For her to wake up from that coma and find him married?

Putting her photo back in his drawer he swore to himself, he would divorce Blair if it was the last thing he did. With each month he was building his case to fight for full custody and leave her in the street without a penny to her name.

Thoughts, please. I need to know if you want me to continue and finish this one or put it on permanent hiatus.