Chapter 7

**Megan**

Surprise doesn’t cover what I’m feeling right now as I look at Logan. How the hell did he find out where I live? The lights in Masked didn’t do him justice. He’s wearing designer clothing; his jeans are hung low on his hips and moulded around his thighs, his shirt is tucked into his jeans and pulled tight around his muscular torso, and finishing his look off is a navy blazer. The cut on his cheekbone adds to his handsome features.

“Who is it?” Melanie calls, bringing me out of my trance. Max comes running up to the door and pushes past me, yelping and whimpering in excitement at seeing his previous owner. “Max,” Melanie calls. I open the door a little more to show her just who is at the door. “Holy shit balls,” she says under her breath. I know right now I’m looking at her in panic. She gives me a small smile and walks toward me. “Come in,” she says to them. I look at her with a frown.

What the hell is happening right now? Have I walked into a different universe? This makes no sense. Why is he here? Did Yasmin give him my address? Did Elena? I’m so confused right now.

All three of them walk into my home. David stops at the door and pulls me into a hug.

“Breathe,” he whispers in my ear; I nod and hug him back. It’s been just over three years since I last saw David in person. “It’ll be ok,” he adds, and I nod again, unable to articulate a sentence. “How’s Ella?” he whispers.

“She’s asleep,” I say quietly, knowing Logan can’t hear because Melanie moves him to the kitchen. “C’mon,” I say and shut the door behind him before making my way to the kitchen.

Melanie hands Carl one of the beers we keep for some of Courtney’s male friends. She holds one out to Logan. He looks up from petting Max and shakes his head to then continue stroking Max. I smile at Max’s excitement at seeing him. I notice Pepper coming out of the study to have a nosy, and I can see her feeling left out.

“You kept him?” Logan asks, referring to Max.

“Yeah,” I say and then frown, “why wouldn’t I? It’s not his fault you left,” I know very catty of me, but it’s the truth. Why would I take my anger out on an animal?

“That’s our cue to leave,” Melanie states and takes the drink she’d made for herself. She nods at Carl and David to follow her out to the balcony.

“Nice place you got here,” Carl says as he walks out.

“Thanks,” I mutter and take my glass of wine. I down it and then squash down any affectionate feelings I have towards Logan so that I can talk to him without my emotions getting in the way. I need to remember he’s engaged.

“How can you afford a place like this?” he asks.

“How did you know where I live?” I ask, ignoring his question.

“We followed you. You can imagine my surprise to find you are living in a building I own,” Logan states, explaining my next question. Which was how come the doorman let him up without telling me?

“Why?” I ask.

“Because I want to know why you’re whoring yourself out,”

“I’m not whoring myself out,”

“How much do you charge?” he asks, ignoring me. I frown at him. “How else are you going to afford this place? I know what many strippers get up to when they get off work,” he accuses. I just stare at him. “Are you screwing the security guard, too, or is he your pimp?”

“Fuck off,” I snap at him as I pour myself another glass of wine. It turns out I don’t need to remember he’s engaged; I just need him to show me he’s an arsehole. I glance at the balcony to see David looking at us. The balcony doors are slightly ajar, so they can probably hear what he’s saying to me.

“Tell me, what the hell you’re doing in a place like that,” he demands.

“I work there,”

“You could work anywhere. Why are you working there?”

“Because the money is good, I need the money,”

“Why? What could you need the money for? You don’t need it, your grandfather is stinking rich, you got an inheritance from your mother and a trust fund, so tell me why you need to be doing this job,”

“What is the problem? Yasmin works there; you don’t see Carl being a dick to her,”

“She’s different, now tell me, why you’re selling yourself,”

“I’m not,” I say, raising my voice. “I’ve never slept with any of the members,”

“Yeah, because it looked like it, you fucking disgust me,” he says in disdain. “I wish I’d never found you,”

“Why are you having a go at me? You’re the one that left me, you’re the one that ran off to England and got engaged, I was pregnant, and you left. Yet you’re shouting at me,”

“Yeah, and looking at it, you got rid of the baby, so that worked out great for you,” he argues. I sigh and look away from him, and take a sip of my wine. “You murder my child to what strip and sell yourself? To pay for a nice place in New York?” he asks.

“You’re an arsehole; you have no idea what I’ve gone through these past five years,” I growl at him.

“You don’t deny it,” I don’t see the point in denying his accusations. He’s already made his mind up.

“Get out,” I snap.

“What’s wrong? Can’t you handle the truth?” he asks.

“I said get out,” I raise my voice.

“Don’t get too comfy here because I’ll make sure you can’t stay here,” he growls. “My buildings aren’t for whores,”

“Logan,” David says. Logan looks at him, and it’s then I see Ella standing by the hallway crying.

“Mommy,” she cries. I gulp and look at Logan. He looks toward Ella, and I can see the rage on his face cloud over his eyes, ridding his mind of any logic.

“Ella,” I say quietly, and she runs towards me, crying. I take a deep breath and take her in my arms as she cries into my shoulder.

“What the fuck is this?” Logan asks.

“Logan,” David warns. “Stop,”

“Why? She gets rid of my child to give birth to a bastard; she probably doesn’t even know who the father is,” he rages.

I carry Ella out of the kitchen and back to her room while telling her that it’s ok. The anger in me right now is the worst kind of rage I’ve ever felt. My heart is pounding in my ears, and I know I'd be shaking if I weren’t holding Ella right now. How dare he come into my home and talk to me like this?

Melanie follows me into Ella’s room and shuts the door. There is no way Ella heard us; she probably woke up naturally and followed the noise. I place Ella on her bed and wipe her cheeks.

“Who is that man?” she asks while trying to stop herself from crying.

“It’s no one to concern yourself with,”

“He was nasty to you,” she says and looks at me. Her blue eyes are glistening with tears. The blue eyes remind me so much of the man fuming in my kitchen.

“He’s an old friend of mommy’s,” I say. “I’ll get him to leave,”

“He won’t hurt you, will he, mommy?” she asks, and I can see she’s scared.

“No, he won’t, I promise,” I pause and look at Melanie. “Will you stay here with Auntie Mel?” I ask. “Then when he’s gone, we’re going to watch a movie, ok?”

“Ok, mommy,” she wipes her tears. “He upset you,”

“Yes,” I say, not wanting to lie to her, mostly because I can’t. “But Mommy is strong and will be ok because she has you,” I say to her. She nods and gives me another hug.

“I love you, Mommy,” she says, and I smile.

“I love you too,” I pull back from the hug and look at Melanie.

“We’ll pick the movie while we wait for you,” she says to me. I nod and walk out of Ella’s room.

I wrap my robe around me as I walk back out and tie it to the side. David has pulled Logan outside, and I can see them arguing. Carl is leaning against the kitchen counter, looking at his phone. He looks up as I walk up to him; he gives me a small smile before pulling me towards him and hugging me.

“It’s so good to see you,” he says in my ear. I smile a little and hug him back.

“You never told him about Ella,” I state as I pull away.

“No, I figured that was for you to do,” he says and looks towards the balcony. “He’s been looking for you for a year, and I think he’s in shock more than anything at actually finding you,”

“Yeah, well, he has a funny way of showing it,”

“He’s a dick,” he says to me, and I smile in agreement.

The balcony doors open, and Logan and David walk back inside. I fold my arms and glare at Logan. He looks at me, then away and then back to me. He sighs and closes his eye before taking a deep breath and opening them again.

“I’m sorry,” he says reluctantly.

“Save it,” I snap, and he goes to say something else. “It’s my turn to speak. You’ve said enough already,” I move my hand through my hair to calm my nerves. “I’m going to tell you a few things, and after you’re going to leave,” I snap and move to one of the drawers to take out a pad and pen.

“Number one, how dare you come into my home and talk to me like that? You have no right. You left me, do you understand that? That means you have no say in anything I do in my life.

Number two: you have no idea what I’ve gone through these past five years, you know nothing about my life, and you don’t deserve to know.

“Number Three: You can call me whatever you want. You can throw as many baseless accusations as you want but don’t you ever insult my daughter. Do I make myself clear?” I ask him, and he nods. I’d noticed Max had retreated to his bed near the sofa, and he’s watching everything intently. “I’m not a prostitute, an escort or as you lovingly called me, a whore. I’m an exotic dancer, and I work for my daughter. Everything I do is for my daughter. I go to university for her, and I live here for her. It is none of your concern as to how I afford this place,”

“Number four: My daughter is just that, my daughter, her name is Ella-Louise Elizabeth Wright. You will do well to remember her name. Believe it or not, I do know who her father is. It’s you,” I tell him, and I see the surprise on his face that soon turns to regret. I write my number down on the piece of paper and hand it to Carl.

“I’m sorry, I,” he starts to stutter.

“Now get out of my home,” I demand.

“Wait, Megan,”

“Get out,” I say louder. “I have to console my daughter, who is crying in her bedroom right now, so get out before I call the police,” I growl at him.

David grabs Logan before he can say anything. He pulls him to one side, and I watch as he persuades him to leave. That enough damage has been done and that he needs to calm down and process the information given to him.

“My number is on the piece of paper I’ve given Carl, text me, and then I will let you know when I’m ready to talk to you,” I explain once he looks at me.

“I’m sorry,” he says as he walks toward me. I look away from him.

“I don’t want to hear it. Just leave,”

“Ok, I’ll be in touch,” he says and takes the piece of paper from Carl before walking out.

“I think you’ve just handed him his arse,” David says to me. I smile a little as the tears that had been threatening to come from the moment he came into my home bubble up,

“We’ll see you again soon,” Carl says and walks out with David but not before hugging me.

Mark looks at me. His hazel eyes are asking me what he's been asking me from the moment he got to my place. I'm not sure why, but I felt like I needed comforting today, and he's the only person that came to mind.

After dropping Ella off at my dad’s, I came home and felt insecure and alone. Ella usually goes to Bretts once a month. Today she went because I'm supposed to be working. I didn't see the point in cancelling just because things changed. Brett knew something wasn't right as soon as I dropped her off. I ended up explaining everything with Logan. He wasn't happy, and his usual threats of killing him came, especially when Ella told him she was scared he would hurt me.

When I got back from dropping Ella off, I sat with Courtney and Yasmin to watch movies. They were shocked to find out Logan had followed me home and even more shocked by what Melanie had told them. I think they thought I'd sit and take what Logan had said and accused me of, but I couldn't. It wasn't right, and I'm not going to sit and take what he said. I'm not a doormat. Too many people think they can walk all over me, and I've had enough of it.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay the night?" Mark asks as he gets dressed. His dark brown hair was perfectly styled even after our activities.

"Yeah, I'll be ok. I need some time to myself," I state.

Mark doesn't know much about my past. I see the questions in his eyes whenever he looks at my scars or when I have a nightmare. He rarely stays the night because I don't allow him to. He doesn't fully know what I do for a living; he thinks I work at a high-end restaurant. It's not something I advertise mostly to keep my anonymity for when I'm working. I often think about telling him, but he's from a very high-class family, and I'm not sure he'd look at me the same even with his distaste for his family and their values. I know he'll still have some prejudice.

"Are you working next weekend?" He asks.

"No, why?" I ask as I put my silk robe on.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Hamptons with me?" He pauses and pulls me into his arms once I stand up. "You and Ella?" He suggests as he kisses my forehead.

"Urm, I'm not sure," I say and move my hands down his chest. I push him away from me a little. He sighs and moves away from me.

"Why?" He asks. I tighten the robe around my body and walk out of my room. He follows.

"It's not ideal," I state as we walk through the living room towards the kitchen. Courtney and Yasmin are both watching tv.

"When will it be?" He asks once we're in the kitchen. I sigh and lean against the counter as I look at him.

"We've been through this," I say, referencing the last discussion we had about him meeting Ella.

"I just want to meet her," he softly tells me.

"Mark, we're not exclusive; meeting her would do what? I introduce her to you, and she gets to know you to be upset when we call things off? I'm not putting my daughter through that," I argue.

"We could be exclusive. You’re the one that has decided we're not," he walks towards me and caresses my cheek with his hand. "Can't you just think about it?" He asks quietly. I sigh heavily and look up at him. He's a couple of inches taller than me.

"Ok, I will,” I won’t, but he doesn’t know that. With Logan back, I doubt I’ll be able to introduce Mark to Ella. Wouldn’t that be even more confusing? I know Ella is gifted, and she probably would understand, but that doesn’t mean her emotions won’t get mixed up.

I walk Mark to the door and open it. He pulls me close, pressing my body to his as he moulds his lips over mine. His hands move up through my hair as his tongue moves into my mouth. Someone clears their throat. I look to see Logan standing in my hallway. Closing my eyes, I slowly pull away from Mark. This is just great. Logan can pop up at my apartment with no warning whenever he wants. Maybe we should move. Mark frowns at him and then looks at me.

“You know what Courtney is like,” I say to Mark. He nods and strokes my cheek.

“Thank you, I’ll see you soon,” Mark says and kisses me again.

“Yeah, bye,” I say, and I’m not sure I could feel any more awkward than I do now.

Logan texted me this morning. I texted him back but kind of ignored him after that, not on purpose; I just didn’t see the point in texting him back when it wasn’t to do with Ella. We should only talk if it’s to do with Ella; otherwise, things will become messy between us. I watch Mark leave, and he glances back at me before the elevator doors close.

“So he’s why you haven’t answered my texts,” Logan states.

“Why are you here, Logan?” I ask as I fold my arms.

“I asked you if I could come over to meet Ella,” he states, making me frown.

“When?” I ask.

“A couple of hours ago,” I frown again in response. I’d not heard my phone go off.

“She’s not here,”

“What do you mean she’s not here?” he asks, and I can see he’s angry.

“She’s visiting my dad,”

“So you send her off to her Grandad’s every time you want to get laid?” he asks.

“Is your plan always to come here and insult me?” I ask.

“I’m sorry,”

“No, you’re not. You’ve made it abundantly clear what you think of me. Ella’s not here, so leave,” I snap.

“I don’t believe you,”

“Of course you don’t,” I sigh, “just go home. I’ll text you tomorrow when I pick her up from school,”

“Is that after you’re done screwing some random guy or after your job?” he asks, glaring at me.

“Ok, I’m done with this,” I say and walk back into my apartment, shutting the door on him and locking it. He knocks on the door. I ignore him and walk toward the living room. Courtney and Yasmin paused what they were watching and look up at me.

“Your night is becoming eventful,” Yasmin states.

“Tell me about it. Have you seen my phone?” I ask.

They look around, and Courtney pulls it out from the cushions on the couch. Courtney hands me my phone. I look through the messages to see a couple of unread texts from Logan and a missed phone call.

“Between Mark wanting to meet Ella and Logan wanting to meet Ella, which one is more annoying?” Courtney asks.

“Mark isn’t calling me a whore every time he asks, so I’d say, Logan,”

“That’s down to jealousy,” Yasmin states as Logan texts me.

‘Seriously, open the door,’

‘Megan,’

‘Open the door,’

He sends me a few more texts before I decide I’ve had enough of him.

‘Continue Logan, and I’ll call security,’ I text back.

‘I pay their wages,’

‘Then I’ll phone the police and get you done for harassment,’

‘You’ll regret keeping her from me,’

‘She’s not here,’

“Why is he so unreasonable?” Courtney asks.

“He’s jealous and angry at himself, so he’s taking it out on her,” Yasmin explains.

“About right,”

“Men are dicks. That’s why I only use them for that,” Courtney says as she pours herself another glass of wine.

“So very true,” I say and hold my glass out for a drink. “Maybe I should have that ideology,” I say as she pours me a drink.

“It’s easy when you think of them like that. Just think of Logan as a sperm donor,” she says with a smile, and I chuckle a little. If only my heart could listen to me.