Page 39 of The Arrogant's Surrender

"Athanasios,your mother invited me to dinner tonight."

I look back and see Febe, a doctor at my hospital and the daughter of friends of my parents.

We've known each other our whole lives. She's about six years younger than me, and I think both families always assumed we’d end up together someday.

The thought has never crossed my mind. While I’ll admit she’s a competent professional, Febe doesn’t attract me.

"Really? William and L.J. will be there too."

"Oh!" She doesn’t hide her disappointment, and I’m starting to get fed up with these games.

"Is there anything else, Febe?"

A flicker of anger crosses her eyes, but she quickly reverts to her usual submissive demeanor, which I find incredibly irritating. There’s nothing I despise more than people who seem to apologize for merely existing.

Immediately, an image of the blonde who’s been occupying all my thoughts outside of work comes to mind.

I wasn’t giving her empty praise when I called her a survivor. From what I heard during her deposition, Brooklyn and Madison had to grow up fast.

"No, I just wanted to let you know."

"Why would I need to know? You're my mother’s guest, not mine."

She nods, then turns and almost runs away.

Fuck! She’s making our interactions unbearable. Every time I see her in the corridors, her needy glances make me want to take a different route.

I glance at my watch and see I have an hour before my next surgery—a four-year-old boy with a malignant brain tumor. I decide to call the detective working for me to see if he’s found out anything about this "Enya," the woman I’m convinced is no more Moses’s cousin than I am.

"Dr. Pappakouris, how are you?"

"Hello, Terence. Any news?"

"As we suspected, Moses Raines, Wren Floding, or any of the other identities the man used, doesn’t exist. As for this 'Enya,' I found about a dozen women with that name in the state of New York. It’s not a common name, so we might be in luck."

"Do you think it could be her real name?"

"Anything is possible. From what you told me, Miss Foster was completely innocent in this situation, so why would they need to hide the identity of his . . . lover?"

"Lover? What makes you think that?"

"Well, the man was a liar, as we already know. I doubt she was truly a cousin, so that leaves us with associate, friend, or lover. I’d bet on the latter. It might sound twisted, I know, but in his world, it would just be another lie among many."

I see where he’s going with this. "By presenting her as a cousin, he had a valid reason to keep her close. Still, there are pieces missing from this puzzle. Brooklyn mentioned that the day the three of them went to dinner, the woman showed up unannounced."

"That only reinforces my theory: perhaps the lover was jealous because the 'official partner' got pregnant. A scorned woman can do crazy things. There are plenty of crimes like that."

"So you think the home invasion was an attempt to kill Brooklyn? A hit ordered by a jealous lover?"

"It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what happened. The only thing I still don’t understand is how he planned to maintain a long-term relationship with her when he lied about his name. He moved her into his home and, if our theory is correct, took her so seriously that it enraged the lover, driving her to hate Miss Foster. How did he intend to keep that relationship going? At some point, she would have discovered the lies."

"Do you think the bastard genuinely cared for her? Do you think he fell in love?"

"I don’t know if someone who lies that much is capable of love. Maybe he loved the idea of a 'real' life amidst all the lies. But I’d say he cared for her and the children. He died stepping in front of bullets aimed at his partner, according to the police report." He pauses for a moment.

"Either way, I need to find out who this woman is," I say. "Right now, her identity is more important than the father of Brooklyn’s children, given that she’s still out there. If your theory is correct, Enya despises the woman she saw as a rival."

"Yes, you’re right. Even though the chances of her using her real name are slim, I’ll investigate the twelve 'Enyas' I found. It’s a start."

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