Page 83 of Unfolding Kiara

My heart felt heavy with lead as I drove around aimlessly. Kiara was pregnant with my child.Our baby. We had created a small life on the night of prom when we had made love with each other. My eyes welled up and I wiped a tear with my sleeve. I parked the car in the garage and turned off the engine.

Kiara was probably inside her room, crying for the unborn baby she couldn’t save and blaming herself. I knew her too well to know that she was blaming all this on herself.

Fuck.

I would have been a father right now. Would she have told me if she knew that she was pregnant? She would have. She would have flown back to New York to tell me she was pregnant. But she wasn’t. I don’t know how she coped with the pain of losing a baby all alone. I wonder if this was the first time she was telling anyone else.

I needed to be with her. I couldn’t stand her blaming herself for everything.

With my feet padding against the floor, I opened the door and clenched my jaw. She was curled up in a ball, her hair hiding her face and clutching a pillow to her. Closing the door behind me, I laid down beside her on the bed. I finally sighed in relief when the feminine, musky scent of her black vanilla and coconut wafted in my nose. I ran my hand through her silky hair, tucking strands back from her face. I moved the pillow away, which was wet with tears and wiped her cheeks.

Even sad, she looked like an angel sleeping on the bed.

I kissed her forehead and leaned back.

She stirred beside me and gazed at me through her half-lidded eyes, “Ethan?”

I cradled her to my chest and whispered, “It’s okay. I am here, Bella.”

Her fingers clutched my shirt, “Please forgive me, Ethan. I am sorry. I never wanted this to happen.”

Rubbing her back, I said, “Go to sleep, Kiara.”

When she relaxed in my arms, I kept my hand on her stomach and tugged her closer to me.

* * *

Waking up with a petite body pressed against you was one of the best feelings in this world. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and looked at Kiara who was snuggling with my chest. Her cheek was pressed against my heart, lips agape, and her long soft hair was splayed against my arm and the pillows. She smelt like coconut and black vanilla, reminding me of the days when I used to wake up cuddling with her or on the floor because she had accidentally kicked me off the bed.

I gently ran my hand through her hair, remembering last night. She was pregnant with our child. The child we had made with love. But she didn’t tell me she had a miscarriage.

“What are you thinking about?”

I looked down at Kiara, her face was propped up against my chest. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I said, “I was wondering how our life would be if you had delivered the baby.”

A small smile tugged at my lips as I continued, “We would buy a house with a white picket fence and I would propose to you. I would drop our children at school every morning and stay up late to make you Italian hot chocolate while you are busy writing your novels. We would have movie nights while cuddling with our kids.” Tears glistened in her gold-flecked brown eyes. I cupped her cheek, wiping the tear, “And we would make love in the afternoon because that’s the only time we will have no kids running around.”

I let her cry at this fantasy of ours as she sat up, turning her back on me. My throat clogged up as her shoulders shook with the small sobs that she was trying so hard to hide.

I sat up and kissed her shoulders, “Please don’t cry, Bella. I . . . I didn’t want to make you cry.”

She shook her head and looked at me, tears leaking down her eyes, “This is all my fault, Ethan! If I would’ve never left, then there would have been no accident and our baby would not have died. We would still be together, married, and living happily in our own home.”

Her voice made my heart crack as I realized she was blaming herself for everything. I pulled her closer and made her look at me, her eyes were red with tears. “Kiara, listen to me. I forgive you for pushing me away for all these years just so you could be in a better place and be happy with who you are. I don’t regret anything because it’s alright, love. You did what you thought was better for yourself . . . forus. I admire you for having the courage to stand on your own, publish your novel, and teach younger minds. That car accident wasn’t your fault, Kia. Stop blaming yourself for everything.”

She said nothing for a while before blinking her eyes, “How could you say that after all I did and left you?”

I cupped her cheeks and gently wiped the tears with my thumbs and whispered, “It doesn’t matter anymore because you are here right now. I forgave you for everything, and I could go through that all over again if it means having you in my armsright now.”

Her brown doe eyes widened when she gazed at me for a long time, her pupils dilating as she glanced at my lips. I leaned my face closer to hers, breathing in her scent. Soft rosy blush reddened her cheeks and neck and I wondered how low that blush went. Her lips pressed against mine with soft, pliant pressure. I sighed and pulled her over me, holding her from the waist while my hands ran over her hair, which kept falling on my face when I kissed her.

Kiara pulled away first, dimple poking her cheeks as she shyly smiled at me and my eyes danced across her face to see a shy side of her. Gulping nervously, she sat up and mumbled, “I am going to go take a shower.”

Right. She was on her period and didn’t want me to go further.

I smiled at her when she closed the door to the washroom. When I looked down at my trousers, my smile faded away and I let out a groan, running a hand over my face. I had a raging boner just from kissing her.

Damn it, Eiffel.

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