Kiara’s POV
The drive back to the palace felt like a blur. My mind was racing, spinning with too many emotions for me to make sense of anything. Eric had passed away just minutes after our conversation, right there in my arms.
His body, so weak and frail, had faded away like a flame snuffed out by the wind. He had asked for my forgiveness, and though I had given it, the weight of everything he’d confessed still sat heavy on my chest.
How could he have carried that secret for so long? How could he have set me up to get pregnant like that? The betrayal I’d felt before was nothing compared to the confusion and hurt I felt now. I had held him as he slipped away, but I wasn’t sure if I truly forgave him.
The moment I stepped through the palace doors, a wave of dread washed over me. The halls were dimly lit, the silence unnerving. As I made my way upstairs, my heart sank even further.
I needed to talk to Wilson, to clear my head. When I pushed open the door to our shared bedroom, I was greeted by a sight that knocked the wind out of me.
Wilson was sprawled across the bed, passed out, the stench of alcohol heavy in the air. Empty bottles lay scattered on the floor, and his clothes were disheveled as if he had been fighting his own demons all night.
I rushed to his side, shaking him gently, but he didn’t stir. His skin was clammy, his breathing deep and uneven.
“What happened to you?” I whispered, my voice thick with concern.
I backed away, my mind racing, and hurried out of the room in search of Pandora. She would know what had happened. She had to.
I found her in the garden, sitting quietly with her back against a tree, her usual sharp expression softened by the moonlight. I could tell she had been waiting for me, her eyes meeting mine as soon as I approached.
“Pandora,” I gasped, still catching my breath. “Wilson… he’s drunk. I don’t understand what happened.”
Pandora stood up slowly, brushing dirt off her dress. “He saw you,” she said plainly, her voice steady but low. “With Eric.”
My heart sank even further. “What? No, it wasn’t like that,” I insisted, my hands trembling. “Eric was dying. He… he needed to talk to me. He told me things I… I had no idea about it.”
Pandora’s gaze softened, but there was still a hint of caution in her eyes. “Wilson thought you were lying to him, that you still had feelings for Eric. He’s been drinking since he saw you at the hospital. He didn’t know what to believe.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to explain, the words tumbling out too fast, desperate for Pandora to understand. “Eric told me the truth, Pandora. He wasn’t capable of having children. He was sterile, and he knew all along. That’s why he changed after his trip to France. He… he set me up. He knew I wanted children so badly, so he arranged for me to meet the man who got me pregnant. He drugged both of us that night.”
Pandora’s eyes widened slightly, but she remained calm, waiting for me to continue.
I wiped my face, the tears falling faster now. “Eric stole a ring from the man’s pocket after he drugged him. He didn’t even know who the man was, he just checked his pockets and found the ring. Eric said he kept it in his back pocket to sell it later, to pay off debts. Then before he died, he left it with me.”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the ring, holding it between my fingers as if it were some cursed relic. It felt heavier than it should have. I handed it to Pandora.
She examined it closely, turning it over in her hands. Her brow furrowed, and her eyes darkened with something I couldn’t quite place. She rubbed the inside of the band, where a single letter was inscribed.
“W,” she whispered under her breath.
I stared at her, confused. “Do you recognize it?”
Pandora looked up at me, her face a mixture of shock and contemplation. “It’s familiar… too familiar,” she murmured, her voice tight. “This… this ring belonged to someone close but I can’t seem to remember who.”
I took a step closer, my stomach knotting with fear. “Who? Who did it belong to, Pandora?”
Pandora turned the ring over again, her expression unreadable. “Rolan should know about where the ring came from, or at least where we can go,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
I froze, the name sending a chill down my spine. I was about to find out the truth about the paternity of my child and I was genuinely too scared.
It felt safer this way but I knew that I had to do the right thing, not just for myself but for my baby. Her father deserved to know the truth and whether he wanted her or not, I would take care of her and be there for her.
Pandora nodded, her eyes meeting mine, her voice now more resolute. “I think you should talk to Wilson, I’ve never seen him that way before. It was after they drank that Rolan came to tell me what had transpired.”
I took a step back, the weight of the revelation crashing over me like a tidal wave. “But why? Why would he be involved in something like this? He could have just spoken to me instead of going to drown himself in alcohol.”
Pandora sighed, handing the ring back to me. “That’s something you need to figure out. If Eric was telling the truth, then we’re dealing with something far more complex than we ever anticipated.”
I clutched the ring tightly, my mind spinning with a thousand questions. I had gone to Eric for closure, and now I was left with more uncertainty than ever.
Wilson. I had to talk to him, to explain. But even as I thought about going back to his side, the fear of what this revelation meant settled deep within me.
And that ring… it felt like a ticking time bomb in my hand.