Kiara’s POV
The look on Wilson’s face stopped me cold. His eyes widened with a recognition I hadn’t expected, and I could feel the air shift between us, heavy with something I couldn’t quite name.
He stared at the ring in my hand as if it held answers neither of us was ready to hear.
I got up from the floor, my legs feeling shaky, and moved toward him. “Wilson,” I began, my voice trembling. “Eric told me… he said he took that ring off the man he set me up with that night.”
Wilson blinked, his brows furrowed in confusion. He looked from the ring to me and back again, his mouth opening slightly, but no words came out.
Finally, he managed, “This ring… Kiara, this is my ring. Ashley has one just like this too.”
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. I felt the blood drain from my face, my pulse thundering in my ears. I swayed on my feet, and for a moment, I thought I might faint. His ring? How could that be possible?
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, though my heart had already begun to connect the dots. “Eric said he took the ring from the man he…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
Wilson’s face was pale, his expression one of disbelief. “But I have no memory of that night, Kiara. I don’t remember… anything.”
My chest tightened, and a cold sweat broke out across my skin. “That’s because Eric drugged us,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “He told me later. He drugged us both so… so we’d sleep together.”
Wilson stepped back, shaking his head as if trying to make sense of what I was saying. Flashes of doubt flickered in his eyes, and I felt panic rise in my chest.
“Think, Wilson,” I urged, stepping closer. “The bar. It was eleven months ago. I was there to clear my head… you must have been there too. Eric said he set it up. That night, I woke up in my room with no memory of what happened. But the ring… you said it’s yours.”
He stood frozen, his eyes distant as if trying to pull memories from the depths of his mind. Then, something shifted in his expression, a flicker of recognition, of something long buried coming to the surface.
“The hotel,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “I woke up in a hotel room the next morning… and I didn’t remember how I got there either.”
My heart pounded in my chest, fear and hope battling for control. Was it possible? Could it really have been Wilson that night? My mind raced with the implications, the questions, the unknowns.
“I can’t believe this,” Wilson muttered, running a hand through his hair. “It’s like a puzzle I never knew was missing pieces.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Wilson… there’s something else.” My voice was so quiet, I wasn’t sure he could hear me. But he looked at me, eyes wide and vulnerable.
“The baby,” I murmured, my throat tightening. “The baby I just had… Wilson, I think we need to get a DNA test. I think…” I swallowed hard, my voice breaking. “I think you might be her father.”
For a moment, the room was deathly silent. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, and feel the weight of the words I had just spoken hanging in the air.
Wilson stared at me, his face unreadable, and for the first time since this conversation started, I was truly terrified. What if he didn’t want this? What if he didn’t want me?
“Kiara…” he started, but his voice trailed off, and he looked away as if searching for the right words.
“I know it’s a lot,” I interjected quickly, my voice trembling with fear. “And I’m scared too. I didn’t even consider it could be you until now, but if what Eric said is true… if you don’t remember either… then we need to know. We need to find out the truth.”
Wilson remained silent, his eyes locked on the ring in his hand. I could see the gears turning in his mind, processing everything, trying to make sense of this twisted, impossible situation.
Finally, he looked up at me, and the expression in his eyes took my breath away. There was no anger, no rejection, just raw, unfiltered emotion.
“If… if the baby’s mine,” he began slowly as if tasting the words for the first time. “If she’s really my daughter… then I want to be part of her life, Kiara. I want to be there for her. For you.”
I felt a sob rise in my throat, and I had to blink rapidly to stop the tears from spilling over. Relief flooded through me, mingled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love.
I had been so afraid of what Wilson might say, of what he might think, but hearing those words from him was more than I could have hoped for.
“We’ll get the test,” Wilson continued, his voice steady now. “We’ll find out for sure.”
I nodded, my hands shaking. “Okay.”
He stepped toward me, closing the distance between us, and gently placed his hands on my shoulders. “Kiara… no matter what happens, I need you to know something.”
I looked up at him, my breath hitching in my throat. “What?”
“I love you,” he confessed softly. “I’ve loved you for so long, and I’ve been too afraid to admit it. But now… after everything… I don’t want to hide it anymore.”
His words were like a balm to my soul, healing wounds I didn’t even realize had been festering. I had spent so long thinking I didn’t deserve love, that maybe fate had other plans for me.
Standing here, with Wilson looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered in the world, I realized that maybe… just maybe… I had found my mate after all.
“I love you too,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I always have.”
At that moment, with our pasts laid bare and our futures uncertain, I knew one thing for sure: whatever the test said, whatever came next, we would face it together.
Mate and fate intertwined, just as it was always meant to be.