“So… I went to meet her.”
“What?!” I snap before I can stop myself and the paper crumples in my hands, the edges biting into my palm. “Do you have anyideahow stupid that was?! Leaving and not telling anyone!”
My anger doesn’t phase Cara though, she continues to pace, and then she turns to me, her hands clasped so tightly at her abdomen that the whites of her knuckles peak through.
“I know! But I’m sick of her always popping up so I went to talk to her and she told me…” Cara trails off and my heart slams into my throat.
“What did she tell you?”
I have no secrets about Blair but if she told a lie, would Cara believe it?”
“Killian…” Cara’s face softens then and she takes a step toward me. “Blair claims that she fled to Italy because she was pregnant. With your child.”
What the fuck?!
Out of all the scenarios that flashed through my mind, this wasn’t a single one of them. My heart seizes and my stomach drops heavily.
“That’s why she’s been hanging around, why she’s been trying to talk to you. Sheclaimsthat the child is definitely yours and she’s been trying to break the news but didn’t know how.”
Cara’s words hang in the air between us and I stand there, unable to breathe, barely able to speak. Cara steps forward and her hands wrap around my fists as she stares up at me.
A child. My child?
My yearning for a child has been buried deep foryears. It was a desire I had shared with Blair when we were together before she betrayed me by cheating with Dante in her desperate attempt to hook her claws into someone important.
“Are you sure?” The words clump thickly in my mouth.
“That’s what she said,” Cara says quietly, licking her lower lip again. “I don’t know how true it is though.”
My heart stutters in my chest and as Cara stands there, expecting some kind of answer, I can’t think of anything to say. It sounds so ridiculous and yet there’s something holding me stuck there. Something I can’t explain.
Could I really have a child out there?
I can’t trust Blair though. Not for a second.
“Killian?” Cara breaks through my rambling thoughts and I look at her studying me.
“How ironic is it that Blair actually ended up saving your life with that note,” I say.
“I—…” Cara frowns, confused by my words before her lips curl into a small smile. “Both our lives. I wouldn’t have left the party without you so we would have died together.”
“How fucked up,” I snort. It's the only thing I can think of to say. It’s so absurd and yet… could it be true? Is this why she hasn’t left me alone even after I threatened her?
Cara’s hands slide from my fists to my forearms, squeezing gently.
“What’s going on in that head of yours? What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” I murmur, “it’s Blair. I don’t believe anything that comes from her poisonous mouth but.. a child?” I slowly uncurl my fists, letting the paper fall in favor of turning my hands to grasp Cara’s instead. “I suppose I better call her. She better be prepared to prove it.”
But later.I don’t have the capacity right now.
Cara lets out a gentle sigh and leans into me, her face softening. My left hand slides to her wrist, gripping tightly as I pull her closer to me, my eyes hardening.
“But you better noteverdo something like that again, do you hear me?”
“Killian—”
“No,” I cut her off sharply, “swear to me, right now. That you won’t ever pull something like that again, vanishing without awordand leaving me—!” Words catch in my throat as the memory of that car ablaze fills my mind. I had thought she wasdeadand the pain was indescribable. Cara winces, but she doesn’t pull at my grip. Instead, she nods.