Chapter 0348
“Yes!” I shouted, so excited that in my rush to stand, I ended up knocking my cup of champagne on the floor, “Ohl”
“Don’t worry,” Mabel said, moving at once to grab the paper towels. “We’ve got this.”
“I’m so sorry.” I felt like a big fool. “I didn’t mean to ruin it.”
“Nothing’s ruined,” Logan said, standing.
He led me out of the way while Mabel and Dylan made quick work of my mess. I owed them one. after everything, I owed them so much more.
“You said yes, and now everything is perfect,” Logan said. “You are going to be my wife.”
“I’m already your wife,” I remind him.
He smiled. “Yes, but this time, we are going to both remember how it happened.”
Well,
That, I was immensely looking forward to. We could even have a real photographer capture the event, and put photos of us on the walls of… I puzzled a moment
He saw my face twist with confusion, “What is it?” he asked.
“Where are we going to live?” I asked. “When we are out of our apartment, I mean?”
“Wherever we want,” Logan said. He gave me a quick peck on the lips. “You could move into my house. Or, if we want to start fresh, we can move somewhere new. It doesn’t matter to me at all, so long as you are with me.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and let our next kiss linger a little longer.
The next morning. Mabel, Maria, and I sat around the kitchen table, while Mike, Dylan, and Logan hung out in the living room, each on their laptops. Mabel and I had our phones out, slowly going through all of the recordings we made.
The combination of us four gave us hours and hours of interview audio. It was a massive undertaking to wade through now after the fact, and we spent time arguing with each other over what should be published first to the website.
Eavesdropping, I could hear the men in the living room having similar arguments as they scoured through the audio Dylan and Logan had recorded.
There was so much that it was overwhelming, and many of our arguments ended with a standstill. Tempers flared, stress seemed high.
Around mid–morning, someone rang the doorbell.
Everyone froze – except for Logan, who stood.
“Don’t just answer it,” Dylan said.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked him.
Logan winked at me, calming my nerves a little. He went to the door and pulled it open.
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Chapter 0348
Frank and Tammy Christopher were standing outside. Immediately, Tammy threw her arms around Logan and pulled him into a hug.
I stood at once and approached. Tammy, Frank,” I said, smiling. “It’s so good to see you. What are you doing here?”
After hugging Logan, Tammy turned to me, pushed past her son, and gave me a hug as well. Behind her, Frank and Logan shook hands.
“Logan said you all had your hands full with so many reporters,” Tammy said as we broke our hug. “Frank and I were just sitting around doing nothing so we figured… might as well lend a hand!”
“Everyone,” Logan said to the rest of the group. “These are my foster parents, Tammy and Frank Christopher.”
“We’re here to help!” Tammy brightly announced. She turned to Frank, who handed her a paper bag. She opened it and carefully removed a hand–baked apple pie. “Who needs pie?”
Everyone stood.
Tammy and Frank made for excellent diplomats. Also, as experienced former combatants of Senior and his lawyers, they helped judge which stories would hit Senior the hardest, and which might only incur lawsuits the lawyers would use to stall and intimidate.
Protecting those that wanted to help us was the most important thing to me, so even though we were appreciative for everyone’s help, some of the stories were pushed aside for now. This helped streamline everything else
“Don’t dilute the story with anything too complicated,” Tammy said. “You need to present the public with the simple, straightforward facts.”
With their help, we managed to make a plan and set several stories to auto–post to the website over the course of 48 hours. This trickling effect would keep the readers from being overburdened with too many stories at once, while also maintaining their interest by posting just enough to keep them wanting to return to refresh the website and see the next post.
As the day continued, I noticed that Logan seemed distracted more than usual. When he headed out to the kitchen to put his plate in the sink, I followed him
“Do you
want to talk?” I whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the others in the room who were working so hard.
Logan nodded, then gestured toward the back door. I followed him outside, where we stood and looked at the trees for a minute.
“I’m not like my grandfather,” he said.
“You aren’t,” I confirmed.
“But…” Logan lowered his head. “I’ve still done my fair share of less than reputable things.”
I looked at him sideways. “Such as?”
He sighed. “You were right about Tina. I should have been honest with ber from the start that our relationship was a ruse. We told her quickly, but… If I hadn’t been so selfish with what I wanted, and
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Chapter 034
actually listened to you, maybe we could have avoided her Ire entirely.”
“What happened, happened,” I said.
“I haven’t even truly apologized,” Logan said.
That surprised me. “You are thinking of apologizing to Tina?”
“Her heart was never in the right place. She only ever wanted me just to have me. But… I still led her on in the beginning. I can see how she would have felt humiliated, and why she would lash out, even though she went way too far with it.”
I listened closely, waiting for him to continue and tell me what he was thinking.
“We’re finally turning the tide in this war with my grandfather. So much so, that if she continues to throw her lot in with him, she’s be caught in the storm. It could ruin her as much as it does him. She’s a selfish person who has her priorities all messed up, but she doesn’t deserve to be ruined like he does.”
Tina had certainly tried to make my life hell these past few months, but, in hindsight, compared to what Senior had done, it wasn’t the same. Tina had acted as a petty, jealous, scorned woman, not a monster.
“I think we should warn her,” Logan continued. “If she doesn’t get out of the way, that’s on her then. But with a warning, my conscious will be clear.”
He turned to look at me. His pose was confident and strong but there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
“Do you think I’ll disagree?” I asked.
“You are the one she has wronged the most,” Logan said. “If you tell me you want to watch her go down for the things she has done, I will defer to your judgement.”
Yes, I hated Tina. A lot.
But honestly, I was just as happy for her to move on and leave us alone.
We did deceive her in the beginning. A warning would be a fair recompense. “Call her,” I said. “Give her the warning.”
