Kiara’s POV
“Eric is sterile… and he’s known for years.”
The reality of it left me reeling. My mind struggled to piece together everything that had happened between us, every argument, every secret.
Eric had lied. But why? Why had he put me through so much pain, knowing all along that he couldn’t be the father of the child?
The betrayal burned deep, but there was something else gnawing at me, something even worse. He was dying.
The doctor had said that he didn’t have long. The men who had attacked him had done their job well, and despite their best efforts to keep him alive, there was no saving him.
My heart felt heavy as I approached his ward, the door looming ahead of me like a portal into a past I wasn’t sure I was ready to confront.
I stopped just outside, my hand hovering over the door handle. A part of me wanted to turn around and walk away, to leave Eric and everything he’d done behind.
But I knew that wasn’t an option. Not now. If I didn’t face him today, I’d never get the closure I needed. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The smell of antiseptic hit me first, followed by the quiet hum of machines keeping him stable. Eric lay on the bed, frail and broken in a way I had never seen him before.
His once sharp features were softened by the swelling from the beatings he’d endured, his skin pale under the harsh hospital lights. The man I’d once known as strong, proud, and impossible to crack now looked so small, so fragile.
His eyes opened the moment I stepped into the room. He saw me, and immediately, tears welled up in his eyes.
“Kiara…” His voice cracked as he struggled to speak. “I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry.”
I stood there, frozen, watching as tears streamed down his face. He looked desperate, broken in ways I couldn’t fully comprehend.
My chest tightened, and I had to fight to keep my emotions in check. This wasn’t how I imagined our confrontation going.
“I don’t understand, Eric,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t have children?”
His face crumpled, and he sobbed harder, turning his face away from me as if he couldn’t bear to meet my gaze. “I was scared, Kiara. I didn’t know what to do. When I found out… when I found out I was sterile, everything changed.”
I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue, my heart pounding in my chest.
“It was that business trip… the one to France,” he said, his voice shaky. “I went to my father’s company. We had a medical checkup, just routine, but… they told me. They told me I couldn’t have kids.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight with emotion. This was the first I had heard of any of this.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” Eric continued, his voice breaking. “I felt like less of a man, like I couldn’t give you what you deserved. You wanted a family, Kiara. I knew you did. And I… I couldn’t give that to you.”
It took all my strength to clench my fists at my sides, the anger simmering beneath my skin. “So you pushed me away? You started acting out, hoping I’d leave you?”
He nodded, tears spilling down his cheeks. “I thought if I made you hate me, if I acted like an asshole, you’d find someone else, someone who could give you a real future. But I couldn’t bring myself to let you go completely. I was too much of a coward.”
The weight of his words crashed down on me, and I struggled to keep my composure. “You could’ve just told me the truth, Eric,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I would have understood. We could have figured it out together.”
“I didn’t want you to settle for me,” he whispered, his voice thick with guilt. “You deserve better.”
I bit my lip, the bitterness rising in my throat. “And what about the child? The child you claimed was yours, even though you knew you couldn’t be the father? Why did you do that?”
His face twisted in pain, and he turned his head to look at me, his eyes filled with sorrow. “Because I loved you, Kiara. In some twisted way, I thought I could be a part of it, even if I wasn’t the biological father. I knew you were struggling, I knew about the night you spent with that man from the bar. But I didn’t care. I wanted to protect you, to protect the child, even if it wasn’t mine.”
I stared at him, stunned. I had expected anger, maybe even hatred, but instead, I found myself grappling with a deep sense of confusion.
He had lied to me, and manipulated me, and yet… he had done it all because he thought it was the only way to keep me in his life.
“You should have told me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
“I know,” he said, his eyes red and swollen from crying. “I’m so sorry. I’ve made so many mistakes, and now… now it’s too late.”
A long silence stretched between us, the weight of everything unsaid settling over the room. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to scream at him for all the pain he had caused me.
But standing there, watching him fight to stay conscious, knowing that he didn’t have much time left, the hate felt hollow.
“I don’t know if I can forgive you,” I told him finally, my voice trembling.
He nodded weakly, his breathing labored. “I understand.”
I took a step closer to his bed, my heart aching with the weight of everything that had been left unsaid for so long. “But I… I’ll try.”
His eyes fluttered closed, a single tear slipping down his cheek. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
I stood there, watching him drift in and out of consciousness, I realized that this was the end. The thin line between love and hate had blurred beyond recognition.
All that was left was the fragile truth that had kept us apart for so long. And as much as it hurt, I couldn’t deny that a part of me still cared.
Perhaps that was the cruelest truth of all.