When Evangeline tried contacting Stephen, he refused to answer any of her calls. After a time her calls conveniently went to voicemail. A week went by and still nothing yet she had no intention of returning to Maryland and speaking to him face to face. No, he was about to force her to go back. Since the communication between them remained non-existent, the next step became contacting Alexie Ellis, a leading divorce attorney who once carried on a practice in Maryland. The two women met some time ago at a Christmas party and were always quite friendly each other whenever they happened to meet. Alexie's busy practice mainly kept them from furthering the friendship.

"I can't get through to him Alex but I can't sit around and wait when so much is at stake. Certainly I would want to file for divorce now if I could but obviously I can't."

"The law is very clear; either live apart for a year or prove that your husband did something contemptible to cause the breakup of the marriage."

"You know what, you never really know a person until you search out who they are and you'll be surprised at the things you may discover."

"Sounds like you have a plan Mrs. Thomas," Alexie offered a small smile then took a quick sip of her tea. "What are you about to "discover"?

"I have Manny looking into my husband's background and he's already giving me hints. I don't want to be in limbo for a year because it won't only be affecting me..."

"I do remember you have a son..."

It gave Evangeline an opportunity to show Alex some cute pics of Trevor taken over the years.

"He is adorable and quite handsome. Todd Manning is his father right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" They both chuckled at the inference. "Stephen hasn't been involved in his life since the day Trevor was born."

"Understandable but Stephen may want to say otherwise and use it against you during the proceedings. The ball is in your court to provide that necessary evidence."

"And it will be provided; I'm certain of that.  ...Alex can I consider filing for divorce in Llanview? Travelling back and forth to Maryland isn't practical."

"I take it that you don't want to return to Maryland."

"With a couple of deputies to pick up my possessions."

"I need to look into that more deeply but if you insist might as well prepare yourself for a jurisdiction battle."

֍֍֍֍

Evangeline whistled upon entering Manny's office. "Nice digs Manny. Someone has certainly moved up in the world."

"Well perks do come along for those who are the best."

"With an ego to match as well," she teased.

Manny Flores always impressed her with his eye for detail and organization. The Benjamin Bratt doppelganger found it easy to move upward in his profession and many of the top attorneys sought him out for employment. He finally settled on Taylor & Brown LLP, a prestigious law firm whose offices were located in the heart of downtown Llanview.

"I come bearing your request." She held up a small package.

"Just set it aside I'll get to it later. This is more important."

Whenever Evangeline required his assistance, he became a willing aide because during the one of lowest point in his life, she got him out of a tough jam and gave him a fresh start.

Evangeline eyes gazed across at Manny who opened up a blue folder that contained a file labelled Stephen Thomas.

"A lot of people have skeletons in their closets Manny but is it enough for me to file for a fault grounds divorce."

Filing a fault grounds divorce meant Evangeline would be able to file for divorce without having to wait so many months.

Manny's dark brown eyes twinkled. "Your husband has been arrested more than once for embezzling from his employer...and has a very long history of committing fraud and bilking others out of their hard earned money," Manny stressed. 

Evangeline raised her eyebrows. This information was very promising. "Did he serve any jail time?"

"One year in Florida and another couple in Arizona."

"He never told me any of this. Why?  It's not like I would have held him against him like I want to now."

"If your past relationships were any clue..."

"Ok Manny I get your point...please continue or I may be forced to ship back that In-N-Out burger you've been craving," she said shaking her head.

"Ouch counselor," he winked at her. "He has changed his name a couple of times..."

"What! Say that again!"

"Your husband has been known by a couple other names," he repeated slowly.

"So Stephen Thomas isn't his real name?" Evangeline asked her heart racing. This was very unsettling.

Manny shrugged his shoulders. "It is but he changed back to his original name around four years ago."

"Hmmm..." She thought about it chewing on her bottom lip for a little while. "Then again he may have wanted to come out of the shadows and live his life out in the open; face up to the things that he did wrong."

"Spoken like a true defense attorney," Manny chuckled, "Even if that were true, he should have been honest with you from the start."

"You see why my personal life is so messed up. I already have an explanation on the ready." She placed her left hand underneath her chin and frowned.

"I won't hold it against you," he smiled back at her.

She should have expected this. Over the years, her personal life has certainly taken hit after hit. There was the one man she believed to be real and the other she thought would hold her heart in safekeeping. Then she assumed Stephen to be completely opposite from all the others she attracted - stable, no exes floating around to cause any sort of drama but what was that old saying, still waters run deep.

"I hold it against me though. If my personal life mirrored my professional life then I wouldn't have been in this pickle. Marriage is easy but divorce is harder especially with a child involved."

"Hey don't do that. Take some time out for yourself. Relationships are like a winding maze. This Stephen guy is another frog..."

"More like a big, fat ugly toad that I kissed." They both shared a needed chuckle.

"You want some truth Evangeline?"

"I'm afraid to say it but yeah."

 "- You're still in love with Todd Manning."

His words struck her like a lightning bolt.

"Manny I need to be far away from Todd but I can't because we share a son. I allowed him too much power over my heart and it gave me nothing but misery."

"I would say you have great power over him as well. From time to time, I would see him around Llanview and it seemed he was doing his best to avoid me. Now when has Todd Manning avoided anyone in this lifetime?"

"True. Perhaps we both need therapy." Evangeline rose from her seat scooping up the folder. "- Thanks again Manny now if only you weren't married to such a beautiful and understanding wife along with a couple of kids, we may have worked something out," she jested.

"And have Manning breathing down and wanting to break my neck...no thank you."

֍֍֍֍

Early Thursday evening and Jack already had plans to sleepover at one his friend's house. His right fingers curled tightly around his bag strap while the other hand held on to his Stowboard as he strolled towards the front door. He barely touched the doorknob when Blair came out of nowhere barraging him with a bunch of questions.

"Mom...stop." He sighed rolling his eyes.

"Don't cop that attitude with me."

"Mom I'm going over to Dave's remember. I'm not going over to dad's honestly. Why does it matter anyway?"

"Because your father and I had a deal."

"But it hasn't mattered before now."

"I have my reasons why you shouldn't be hanging around him so much right now."

Jack recognized the reason why his mother was so on edge. "I enjoy being around Trevor. He's my brother...a Manning."

"And it doesn't bother you the way in which Evangeline handled this situation."

Jack inhaled deeply then exhaled. "I don't care mom and dad doesn't either."

"As for your father, Evangeline has him in a daze as usual. When she's around, Todd becomes numb to anything or anyone else around him. I expected better from you. You know what your sister thinks right. She's on my side."

"She just appeases you," Jack remarked under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Mom you have got to get over this. Let.this.go. You have a singing career not to mention your own jewelry line. There is so much going on in your life and soon I'll be off to college. Stop talking about dad and my brothers or else I'll go and stay with dad."

Blair's jaw went slack in disbelief. "Is that a threat Jack Manning?"

"Mom I'm just tired of the endless back and forth..."

"After everything you've seen your father put me through...why would you want to take his side..."

"What about me! I can't keep taking care of you when I have my own needs. Sometimes I think my mind is going out of control and I can't even talk to you. Have you ever thought about what I'm going through?" He briefly stared at her but her inaction gave him a clear answer. "You know what forget it." He quickly exited, set his skateboard on the ground and glided away.

Blair didn't bother to yell after him instead she just closed the door. Varying thoughts kept rushing through her mind. It wasn't meant to be this way but it was and what were the possible alternatives now.

֍֍֍֍

Early afternoon and the sun's rays were creating mini rainbows through parts of the exposed glass window. Todd stood alone in his office, staring at the nearby high rises, hands firmly planted in the pockets of his dark jeans. Vicky requested; he informed Evangeline and both acquiesced to Trevor spending quality time with his cousins Jessica, Bree and Aunt Vicky - family bonding and all that jazz.

Dylan came through big time and at first, he rejoiced over the salacious details. The enthusiasm quickly faded when he learnt the whole truth. He immediately threw Dylan out of his office. Of course, it wasn't D's fault; he performed exceptionally and would receive a huge payday for his efforts. The rage boiled over to the point when he thought about trashing his office but decided to schedule a last minute sparring session with Pinksy down at the gym.

"I'm here Todd. I can only guess why I've been called to meet you urgently," Evangeline said, bursting through the doors. "If it's about my soon to be ex, I've already discovered that the bastard was deceiving me from the day we met."

"You know?" he asked rather quietly without turning around. He was rocking back and forth taking in deep breaths.

"Yeah I know," she replied plopping down on the sofa. "From embezzling, to prison and to top it all off changing his name and identify throughout the years but lucky me I got him when he decided to see the "light".

"Evangeline..."

She looked lovely dressed casually in skinny, dark blue designer jeans, green blouse and black ankle boots. The simple ponytail only added to her appeal. He was more than a little distracted to say the least.

"No Todd there was no way I would have allowed you to surprise me again. I've had my share of surprises from you. In a way part of your wish is coming through because Trevor and I are moving back to Llanview." Evangeline finally took a breath and noticed. "Hey what's wrong with the right side of your face? Todd did you get into a fight." Her tone a mixture of concern and "here we go again".

"No...no I did a little boxing at the gym and I guess it got a little intense but I needed it. Believe when I say that I needed it," he sighed taking a seat next to her and leaning back.

She obeserved the bruising on his knuckles and thought he may just be telling the truth after all. She leaned in closer and her left hand instinctively went to his face. "What's going on? Why did you want be to come over so urgently?" She asked concern etched on her features.

"I just need you to come with me right now." His blue eyes latched onto hers conveying a silent message.

"Why?"

"I know it's hard for you to do considering... trust me." He stretched out his right hand. Her eyes stared down at his open palm. There was all sort of emotions stirring through her and questions bombarding her mind.

"Trusting you Todd...why can't you tell me right now?"

"I need to show you as well then everything will be revealed. I promise you..."

"You promise me huh now where have I heard that before," she scoffed.

"Come on Evangeline let's not do this now. I'm trying my best not to explode and remain focus."

"It's that horrible?"

"Either you come with me or you don't but I won't say anything else."

"This better me worth my while," she remarked while placing her hand in his.

Fingers interlaced naturally as he assisted her to her feet. They briefly regarded each other as a sense of nostalgia came over them.