Chapter 4 DYNAMICS

CHAPTER 3

It wasn't until midnight that she had the room to herself. Immediately after dinner, she had excused herself and gone to the room she usually stayed in whenever she visited Adriana. The twins had followed her, playing around and bombarding her with questions.

She remembered the look on their faces when they saw the deliveryman waiting by their gate. They had both jumped out of the car and ran to inspect their present. Ethan got a big bicycle while Elizabeth had a car with a full-grown toy.

"I can make her hair." She screamed as she unwrapped her gift. She had given her aunt a big warm and ran to join Ethan who had rode the bicycle away then. Moments like those were ecstatic. She treasured moments like these. The twins were a gift both to her and their mom.

They had come at a time when Adriana desperately needed a miracle. She had been married close to five years before they came along. And those five years had been pretty rough. She had watched her sister go from cheerful to something sour. Gone was the Adriana that was fun to be with.

In her place was an irritating, easily provoked sister. She stopped dressing up and stayed indoor most of the time. She was always moody. Evangeline had flown in almost every weekend and every other day she was free to get her to be cheery.

Whenever she wasn't around, Noah her husband stayed close. Like everyone, he was scared she might end up hurting herself. Doctors had been concerned about their childlessness. Medically, both couple had been certified okay. No one could understand the delay.

When eventually Adriana took in, she regained her vigor. Having her back to her old self was a blessing again. The twins had given their family a new start. And nothing was too much to hand over to those lovely kids. Both kids had been chatty all day. Several times she tried to get them out of her room so she could rest, but they wouldn't leave. They were either running around, chasing each other or throwing pillows. She let them be while getting ready for bed. She changed in the bathroom and came back to see they had climbed into the bed and waiting for her to get in. She understood what that implied. Only she would have to disappoint them this one time.

"Bed time story?" Elizabeth asked, looking bright eyed.

"Not tonight." She replied stifling a yawn.

"You must be really exhausted. Mom said to let you rest." Elizabeth added and Ethan got up to leave.

Evangeline smiled. If she had known the yawn was all it needed to get them out, she had have done it hours ago. The two gave her a warm hug, thanked her again for their gifts and left her room. She smiled at their poise. Adriana was raising them to be great elites.

Finally, alone in the room, Evan realized she wasn't even tired enough to sleep. She turned on the TV after closing the door quietly and mute the volume. Then she went to lay down on the bed. Flipping through then channels, she couldn't find something fun to watch.

She turned it off and took her phone. Audrey had left her a message. She replied and was about dropping it when she saw Logan's picture in her gallery. Angrily, she went to the gallery and deleted every picture.

The last one was a picture they had taken with Mary at the picnic Zoe had organized. The picture brought back memories. She sat up remembering how she had caught Mary smiling down at Logan that day. It wasn't strange to see her light up every time he entered the room. They had been childhood friends just like she had been friends since with Mary since college days. But those two had grown up together. They were almost inseparable. It was Mary who introduced Logan to her and they had clicked instantly. Logan was charming and cool headed. It didn't take him a week to sweep her off her feet. The two had started dating a month after. But somehow, she could sense Mary wasn't too happy about it.

"I can't believe you're seeing Logan." Mary voiced one evening unable to hold it anymore. The tri had gone for their weekend spa treatment as usual. They were now being massaged in the same room by three experts.

"Didn't you introduced them?" Zoe asked, raising her head from the bed to stare down Mary. The lady working on her back paused to let her turn around.

"My words exactly." Evangeline mocked sighing contentedly while her neck was being rubbed.

"I like him. He's cool headed." She added, then looking at her friend she asked, "Is seeing Logan such a bad idea?"

"I don't want you getting hurt. He might be my friend but Logan is a playboy." Mary said seriously.

"Well, I don't know about that. We will ride along and see, won't we now?"

"But---"

Zoe waved off whatever Mary had been about to say, "She can take care of herself Mary. Besides, I see why she likes him. He must be a beast in bed."

When Evan chuckled and used her hand to zip her mouth, Zoe laughed "See? If Logan is a player, then he wouldn't mind getting played too."

It had been a rule with the friends never to get emotionally attached to any guy. The pact had been made when Zoe got played by her boyfriend. All three had had their shares of guys. Most had been cut off by them while some had blown them away resulting in devastating heartbreak. They were all from wealthy homes, had money to lavish around and were doing well for themselves. No man deserve so much to break them. "I just don't want you to get hurt." Mary had said with a note of finality.

"I won't." She had said casually. She hadn't planned on having feelings for Logan. He was sweet and all but she didn't want anything messed up. It was supposed to be that way until things changed.

She didn't know when exactly it happened. All she knew was she was falling for the man in a way that she had never before. Ashamed, she had kept this a secret, making sure not to give herself away. She could only tell Adriana about it. Which was why the day Zoe accused Mary of clinging to Logan too much, she had let her senses be at alert.

It didn't take long to find out Zoe was right. Mary might be his friend, but she was the woman in his life and Mary wasn't giving the man a breathing space. She was always around him, trying to get his opinion on something or get him to do something for her. "Do you like Mary?" She had asked him one evening. Logan Thames had been about to kiss her when she turned away then ask the question weighing his reaction.

"Where did that come from?" He had asked looking worried. Undeterred, she had asked again.

Logan had sat up straight, seeing that she meant it. "I don't, she's just my childhood friend. I have no feelings for her and never will. And I'm sure it's mutual," He declared sincerely. Evangeline wasn't so sure about that.

"You know her boyfriends. I've met some too." Logan said, laughing hard at the idea of being with Mary. "She's one crazy gal." He busted in another bout of laugh that made Evan lose her cool. She started laughing with too.

"Oh, so I'm amusing now?" She threw a pillow at him.

"It's ridiculous," He grabbed her and she had wriggled out of his grasp and ran outside the room. Whatever preposterous idea she had had of both friends having had dissipated then.

At least that was what she had thought at the time. If Logan didn't like her, then all was okay. She had assumed. If Mary did have feelings for him, she didn't say. But somehow, the two had found themselves tangled in a hotel room naked. Her vibrating phone brought her back to the moment.

It was Logan again. She ignored it and read the message out loud instead. "It's not what I think? Yet there are naked pictures of you both everywhere," she said, amused at the old line he was using on her.

Then she told Siri to check the internet. Someone had tried deleting the pictures. That wasn't a surprise. Logan had the resources to pull that off. Thinking of resources, how had the pictures surfaced on the internet anyway? Logan's media team tackled every negative comments and image of him online.

Bad press wasn't good for the company so they handled that well. But somehow this had managed to pass their sniffing nose. It could only mean that it was done by someone who could bypass them. Someone who had access and knew how to get him alone. She found the pictures on a blog and started looking. She had no idea what she was looking for until she saw a picture. Evan stared at it again.

In the picture, Logan's face was turned slightly away from the camera but he was sleeping. Mary on the other hand had on a thoroughly-fucked and exhausted look to indicate what had been going on before the picture was taken. She had been aware of the camera, Evangeline noted with disdain.

This was it then. "So funny." She laughed and stretched tiredly then stood up from the bed. The view from this room had always been lovely. She parted the curtain and pulled a chair towards the window. The flashy lights everywhere made the whole place look spectacular. A soft knock on her door made her turn towards the entrance. "Come in, Ad." Her sister walked in quietly and closed the door.

"They finally slept." She announced, implying the twins had turned in for the night "So, it's just us girls now," pulling a chair towards the window, she sat down and both women stared at the light. "You've always loved Miami."

"I do." Evangeline smiled. This was the city that raised her. They had schooled here and started life right here. Her first kiss, first boyfriend and everything firsts had happened right here in this City.

The Swiss family was a well-known name. Evangeline and Adriana had grown up to know they were princesses here. There's was old wealth. But everything had changed after her parents divorced. Though their dad left, her mother had stayed with the girls. That had somehow tainted the good memories she had of Miami. Places that one's held good memories became filled with sadness and it was pointless staying on. "I just couldn't stand it anymore after dad".

"He did a number on us all. Didn't he?" Adriana put in sadly. Recalling those days were a torture. Her family had been perfect; having an Attorney dad and mom with the other companies to run. Both parents loved them just as the kids had assumed they loved each other. But it had all been a front they put up so the kids wouldn't know. Indoors, their discreet fights and accusations.

"I was crushed when he left." She continued while Evan stared out the window intensely. "But mom must have been so shocked. She was ill weeks after, though she kept claiming it had nothing to do with dad leaving."

The two sisters chuckled. "But you were pretty upset. You cried a lot."

Evangeline smiled sadly, "I was devastated. I started to hate everyone you know." She sighed.

"Miami was no longer what it used to be. I couldn't stay." She said apologetically.

"You shut everyone out." Adriana told her sister sadly. "And left to start Madison."

"Which is raking in millions now by the way." Evangeline told her proudly.

"Cheers to that." She hugged her and whispered, "Not like you needed the millions. Dad left us heaps of that."

Evangeline shrugged, nothing as best as having your own hard earned money. Her sister had taken her share of the family wealth and was doing well. She was also managing the law firm with their mother and so far, they were doing okay.

Noah was seeing to the running of the cotton manufacturing company as well as coffee shops and every other family extension business. The controlling power however remained in the family. Apparently love didn't clear doubts of betrayal it would seem. Even though her sister loved her husband dearly, she didn't let him get the controlling power. She had a feeling the twins would be getting those and her own kids, should she ever get some.

Smiling at her sister, she replied "I love making my own money more."

"And shutting the world out while you do." Her sister retorted darkly, hating that she wouldn't pick her calls or even bother checking on the family whenever she had a business deal to close.

Evan was ruthless when it came to sealing deal. She could have used that power and be a prolific lawyer, instead she had chosen technology over family tradition. If she had wanted to be a lawyer, their father walking out on them had quenched that.

Evangeline sighed, and muttered under her breathe. "I must have gotten that from dad." She smirked. "I didn't hear Noah come in. Is he home?"

"He travelled and should be back this weekend. Business."

"Okay." She pulled her robe tighter and pulled down the blinds. It was getting chilly already.

"So, how are you holding up?" Adriana asked seriously.

Evangeline thought about it awhile. "That I'm disappointed is an understatement. But other than that, I'm okay." It felt strange to be. But she realised it was the honest truth.

"Sure? Mary in bed with Logan? It must have been shocking."

"I think in a way I knew she liked him. I just didn't expect Logan to fall into this crap."

Adriana tensed, "You knew and didn't see why it could be a problem later? You're smarter than that."

"He doesn't have feelings for her." Evan defended, knowing she was right about that. Her sister's wide eyed expression made her add, "But she does..."

"Yes."

"Honestly, it had been a shock at first seeing those pictures, you know. I felt betrayed." she turned back to the view.

"Then tonight I saw the pictures. Really looked at them objectively, like when you are try finding to find the loophole in a business deal." She sighed.

"It was funny seeing me analyse my relationship that way." She shrugged.

Adriana patted her hand, Evan reached over to rub the hand. "Then I found it." She stood up to pick her phone from the bed so she could show her sister the picture. "Look at it very well, the angle of the camera" she pointed out.

"Where do you think it was?"

Adriana studied the picture, "Under the pillow?" She asked.

"Bingo!" Evangeline announced excitedly. When her sister stared at her with confusion, she explained, "It wasn't paparazzi or hotel staff trying to buy spotlight with their pictures, it was someone in the room. It couldn't have been his PA or anyone that could lose their job... It can only be---"

"It's Mary." Adriana finished off.

"Yes."

"But what has she got to get from it all?"

"Everything. She wanted me and Logan done. And she got it."

Adriana was in shock. She kept staring at the picture. "Does Logan know this?"

"I don't care if he does, sis. He was in that room with her. That's all that matters. We're done."

"This changes everything Evan. Don't you think so?" Adriana pointed out.

"I don't think so. Can we stop talking about this now? I'm exhausted already."

"Fine." She stood up and patted her sister, then walked out of the door. Stopping at the door way, Adriana peered at her. "I'm seeing mom tomorrow with the twins. Should I let her know you're coming? Dinner with her would be good."

Her sister and mom were hardly on good terms.

"Sure," Evangeline replied stiffly.