CHAPTER 156: CHAPTER 156 FATE STOPS PLAYING GAMES

Caroline’s POV

Eleanor and I got into the car after landing at Harbor Bay International. Liam was so tired from the flight that as soon as we got home, we put him to bed.

I had taken almost a week off with Eleanor. During this week, I completely handed my phone to Eleanor and turned it off, cutting off all contact with the outside world. Now that we were back in the city, I had to face reality.

I could already imagine seeing Ella’s post happily announcing her marriage to Draven. Eleanor gave my phone back to me and I started looking through the messages. Suddenly, her expression changed.

"Elle, what’s wrong?" I asked curiously.

Eleanor stared at me. "Carrie, we need to go to Ryan’s house right now. It’s about Alpha Draven."

My heart raced with panic. "What happened? Is Draven in trouble?" I couldn’t deny that I still cared about Draven when hearing his news.

Eleanor said seriously, "It’s a big deal, a really big one. I’ll tell Nate right now and ask them to wait for us at Ryan’s."

Then the two of us rushed to Ryan’s house. All the way there, I was worried that something bad had happened to Draven.

When we arrived at Ryan’s house, I was shocked. Everyone was there, even Clara via video-conference, and it seemed like everyone was crying. My head started spinning. In just a few seconds, I thought of the worst-case scenarios. My knees went weak, and I fainted.

When I came to, I was lying on the couch, and Draven was kneeling beside me, holding my hand with red-rimmed eyes.

"My love, are you okay?" he asked, his voice thick with concern.

"I’m worried. What’s going on? Why is everyone here?" I asked, feeling dazed.

Rory spoke in my mind. "What the hell is happening? I’m so confused."

"Calm down, my love. Everything’s fine. We’ll tell you everything. But first, I want to make sure you’re okay," Draven said while kissing my hand.

"Is it about your parents’ accident?" I asked.

He shook his head no. "About the company?" He denied again.

Just as I was about to ask more questions, Dr. Molina rushed in, heading straight for me.

"Dear, how are you?" he asked kindly. Draven stood up to give him space.

"Fine, I think it was just a drop in blood pressure," I said.

"Lucky I live in the same complex as Ryan and was home," Dr. Molina said. "May I examine you?"

"Of course, doctor."

After the examination, Dr. Molina concluded that it wasn’t anything serious, just a drop in blood pressure due to all the stress I had been going through.

"Caroline, you need peace and quiet, and you know that," he said seriously.

"Yes, but there’s so much going on."

"If you don’t take care of yourself, I’ll call your father to come get you and take you to the country house."

"No way, Dr. Molina. No one’s taking Caroline away from me," Draven rushed to say. "I’ll sort everything out."

"You better, Alpha Draven," the doctor gave him a warning look.

"Doctor, could you stay a bit longer? I have something to tell Caroline, but I’m worried she might feel unwell again," Draven asked, and my anxiety spiked.

"Calm down, friend. Drink this tea," Eleanor put a cup in my hand.

"No problem, I can stay. Would you like me to wait outside?" Dr. Molina asked.

"Not at all, doctor. I think you’ll like what I have to say," Draven smiled.

"Excellent, I love happy endings," Dr. Molina crossed his legs and accepted the coffee Ryan offered him.

"I don’t understand anything anymore. When I arrived, you were all crying. Now it seems like it’s good news. What’s going on?" I asked nervously.

"My love, Alpha Arthur found the woman I’ve been looking for," Draven said, and I caught my breath. I immediately thought it was Liz and felt a pang of jealousy in my heart, but my pride stopped me from asking.

"Breathe, my love. Stay calm."Draven tried to comfort me.

"And where is she?" I asked.

"Very close," Draven said. "But there’s something else. When I fired you, before we knew it was all a setup, Ryan asked my people to investigate you. We even forgot about it. The man only sent the report today. It didn’t matter anymore since we had resolved everything, and I should never have doubted you. But this report contains very important information."

"Did you send the investigator to investigate me?" I shouted angrily.

"Caroline, you can’t get upset," Dr. Molina warned me.

I took a deep breath, gathered what little composure I had, and faced Draven.

"It was just unofficial, Carrie. It was silly, but we were in the dark," Ryan tried to justify. "And it was my idea."

"My love, look at me. Take a deep breath and calm down. Now tell me, how did you meet Liam’s father?" Draven’s eyes welled up with tears.

"Why does that matter, Draven?" I asked, not understanding the change of subject.

"It matters, my love. Tell me. I want to hear it from you," Draven pleaded.

"You hate me for this, don’t you?" I said, seeing in his eyes that he already knew. "But if you want to impose this punishment on me, if you want to hear it from my mouth, fine, I’ll tell you. About three years ago, I went to a masquerade ball that happens annually in Maplewood. I had just ended a long relationship, and Eleanor kept insisting that I should go to this ball and have fun. I ended up drinking. I was with my friends at a private event. At some point, a man approached me near the dance floor and asked me to dance. We danced, talked, and at some point, he led me to a empty room. It was dark and no one was there. He kissed me and, well..." I sighed, and my eyes burned. I couldn’t look at him. "After that, he left to answer his phone and disappeared. We were wearing masks, and I never saw his face. We didn’t protect ourselves. I had stopped taking birth control after breaking up with my boyfriend, and days later I found out I was pregnant. And Liam was the best thing that ever happened in my life."

"You gave yourselves to the moment. It was intense, strong, and powerful," Draven suddenly continued my story. "You couldn’t find him because you didn’t even know his name. When he was about to introduce himself, his phone rang, and since the signal was bad, he stepped out to answer it. He took a while, but when he came back, he couldn’t find you anymore. You had disappeared. And he searched for you for three long years."

"You found Liam’s father," I said in a whisper.

"Yes, my love, we did," Draven smiled at me while crying.

"I don’t understand."

"My love, you’re the woman I’ve been looking for! I’m Liam’s father!" Draven was crying, and I couldn’t understand what he was saying. "Liam is my son!"

What kind of joke is this?Just when I decided to leave this man who I loved and who hurt me, it turns out he’s my fated mate. Is fate really playing a joke on me?

"What kind of joke is this, Draven?" I said out loud, looking around. Everyone was crying. I didn’t understand.

"Friend, the man from that night is Draven," Eleanor said. "Do you understand?"

I was in shock. I felt Dr. Molina putting the blood pressure monitor on my arm again. But I couldn’t speak. I looked at Draven and couldn’t understand how.

"My love, I was at that ball with my parents. My father was going to be honored at that party. Ryan and his parents were there too. I saw you arrive at the party and was enchanted. I watched you all night. When you finally separated from your friends, I went to you and asked you to dance. We danced and connected in a surreal way. When my phone rang, it was Kyle calling to tell me there was an emergency. My parents had left early and were driving back when their car was attacked by rogues. They were found dead on the road. But the signal was bad, so I stepped away and signaled for you to wait. After talking to Kyle, I rushed back to talk to you and get your number, but you had vanished. I looked for you but couldn’t find you. That night I found you and lost you. And that night I lost my parents."

"Draven, it was you?" I sobbed.

"Yes, my love, it was me! I searched for you so much!" Draven was ecstatic. "Look at me. Our son is my spitting image. He has my eyes. We bonded the moment we met. I should have suspected. My boy, Carrie, my boy. You have no idea how happy I am!"

"You’re Liam’s father? Oh my God," I placed my hands on his face.

"Sweetie, take this medicine," Dr. Molina handed me a pill and a glass of water. "Take it. You’re very nervous, and it could harm you."

I took the pill and water and swallowed. My heart was pounding in my chest.

"Draven, I need to tell you something," I said, trying to wipe away my tears.

"That we’re having another baby? I already know, my love, and I’m the happiest man in the world," Draven said, placing his hand on my belly.

"Carrie, we had to tell him because with the news he had for you, we needed a plan to avoid giving you and my new god-child a heart attack," Nate rushed to explain.

"Your new god-child, Nate? Not even if hell freezes over!" Ryan complained. "You’re already Liam’s godfather. This one will be my god-child, and that’s final."

"Shouldn’t the parents be the ones choosing the godparents?" I protested.

"This isn’t a democracy, Caroline!" Ryan made everyone laugh.

"My love, I need to tell you that Ella’s pregnancy was a lie, and we discovered everything. And that Liz means nothing to me. And that I love you so much. And I’m dying to see my son. And..." Draven was euphoric.

The father of my child had been right in front of me all this time. The mysterious man from the masquerade ball and the powerful Alpha who had stolen my heart were one and the same.

Life had come full circle, and despite my fear, I couldn’t help feeling that perhaps this was always meant to be.

"Draven, can we talk privately?" I looked at him.

He nodded immediately. "Of course." His eyes searched mine with concern.