Kara stood in the cold hallway of Xavier's penthouse, her hands trembling as she held the worn
envelope. Inside were the final pieces of a truth she had long suspected—but never wanted to
face.
Photos. Medical reports. Witness statements. All pointing to one name.
Valerie.
Xavier's ex.
She swallowed hard and stepped inside his office. He sat behind his desk, his face tight with
exhaustion. Ever since Zia's kidnapping attempt two nights ago, he'd barely slept.
"You need to see this," she said quietly, laying the file in front of him.
He opened it slowly. Read it slower. And when he got to the last page, he went still.
"She drugged me," he said, voice hollow. "The night you got pregnant… I thought I was just
drunk. I don't even remember touching you. But she…"
Kara looked away. "She made sure you wouldn't."
Xavier stood abruptly, pacing to the window. "She destroyed everything. I pushed you away
because I believed I broke my own rule. No feelings. No entanglements. I thought you tricked
me."
"And I thought you never wanted me," Kara whispered. "That I was just a mistake."
He turned. "You were never a mistake. Never."
Tears stung her eyes.
"I lost five years with my daughter because of her," he growled. "Because I didn't remember.
Because I didn't know the truth."
Kara moved to him slowly. "Now you do. So what are you going to do with it?"
His eyes met hers—burning with fury and something deeper. Something softer.
"I'm going to make it right."
That night, Xavier called his mother.
"You wrote that contract," he said coldly. "You knew what Valerie did. Didn't you?"
A pause. Then a sigh. "It was meant to protect you, Xavier. Our legacy couldn't survive a
scandal."
"You let her ruin us."
"She paid me to keep quiet," she said, voice cracking. "And I… I was scared. Of what it would
mean if the world knew you got a cleaner pregnant."
"She was my wife," he snapped. "She gave me my child."
His mother said nothing more.
The next morning, Xavier filed charges against Valerie.
But the damage was already done. The media caught wind. Headlines screamed about Xavier's
secret past, his hidden wife, his illegitimate child.
And through it all, Kara stayed.
Not because she forgave him fully.
But because Zia needed answers.
And because—deep down—she still loved him.
Late that night, Zia curled between them in bed, her small hand resting on Xavier's chest.
"Daddy?" she whispered sleepily.
"Yes, baby?"
"Did you forget me too?"
His heart broke.
"Never again," he said softly.
And he meant it.