His Fiancée Wanted My Eyes, But I Will Steal His Heir

Ariel Reed sat stiffly in the hospital conference room, her eyes locked on the door. The anxiety that had been gnawing at her for the past three agonizing hours refused to let up. Even though she trusted the test results, her mind was a mess of nerves and doubt.

Her tension spiked when Fiona walked in. What the hell was she doing here?!

Ariel's alarm ratcheted up when Brodie, silent until now, rose to guide Fiona to the seat beside him.

"What are you doing here? Your eye just healed, and you're already out and about?" His tone was more worried than accusing.

"I... I was worried." Fiona slipped off her sunglasses, revealing red-rimmed eyes. She glanced at Ariel, her look loaded with things she wasn't saying.

"Worried about what?" Brodie shot Ariel a contemptuous look. "I just want to see how far someone will go with her lies."

Ariel clenched her sweaty palms and said nothing. Ever since she'd claimed she'd taken items from the night Brodie and Fiona spent together to attempt artificial insemination, she'd known she was walking a razor's edge. She had no choice. If Brodie took the paternity test and it saved their daughter, she'd say or do anything.

"I believe you," Fiona said, fingers brushing the black briefcase that clashed with her outfit. "Even if we're only half-siblings, you're still my sister, and Capri is family. No one would just stand by and watch her suffer. Drop the obvious lies. The paternity results will be here soon; you still have time to come clean. I'll talk to Brodie..."

"Come clean about what?" Ariel cut her off, ending Fiona's little performance.

Ariel had loved Brodie since they were kids. On her eighteenth birthday, she’d slept with him while he was drunk and saved him from a fire. Then circumstances had forced her to leave without a word. She never imagined she'd come back to find the story twisted beyond recognition. Fiona had claimed she was the one with Brodie that night, the one who'd saved him. She'd branded Ariel a cheating woman who ran off with another man.

"Say that Capri is Brodie Wagner's child—a truth we both know? Or that it was me with Brodie that night, the one who pulled him from the blaze? That your blindness is because you partied recklessly and started a wildfire, causing ruin and costing a life? Fiona, your blindness is your karma. It has nothing to do with Brodie."

"Would you believe me if I said that?" Ariel asked Brodie, her spine straight but her eyes pleading. "Brodie, if the results show Capri is your daughter, will you believe me just this once?"

"You've always had a way with words," Fiona cut in, stealing Brodie's chance to answer. She unzipped the briefcase. "I wanted to keep these from Brodie, but since you won't stop your antics, I can't stay silent."

She dumped the briefcase's contents onto the table just as a knock came at the door. Brodie's assistant, Ray Lawrence, stepped in.

"Mr. Wagner, the results are in."

Brodie didn't take the envelope Ray offered. Instead, he reached for the photo that had landed near him. His hand tightened around it—the image was unmistakable.

Across from him, Ariel saw it too. Her first instinct was to rise and explain. "It's not what it looks like. That man is my mother's lover. He tried to assault me."

Brodie's face was unreadable, his voice level. "Open it. Tell me the result."

Ray calmly opened the envelope and pulled out the test results. Ariel tracked his every move, holding her breath as her heart threatened to burst.

Ever since Fiona had walked in, a dark foreboding had settled over her.

"The results show that you and Capri Reed are not biologically related."

The world tilted. Ariel froze. She only moved when Fiona's laughter registered.

"Impossible... This can't be true."

With trembling hands, she snatched the report. Her panicked eyes finally landed on the words confirming there was no biological link between Brodie and Capri.

"How could this be... Capri is your child! There has to be a mistake, an error somewhere!" She reached for Brodie's arm. "Paternity tests usually take a week. These rushed results can't be right. Let's redo it, please!"

"Ariel Reed! Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Fiona yanked her away. "The facts are clear, yet you're still in denial."

Ariel stumbled backward and crashed to the floor, murmuring, "There must be a mistake..."

"Still denying it?" Fiona taunted, holding up a scandalous photo. "Capri isn't Brodie's daughter. She's this man's child. You've always been scheming. Now face it—no one's buying your tricks anymore."

"No! I had nothing with him. You were the only one, Brodie. Just believe me. One more time..."

She ignored Fiona completely, focusing only on Brodie, her voice shaking, her eyes pleading.

"Fiona, maybe you should have another eye exam," Brodie said suddenly.

"Brodie..." Fiona started to argue, ready to remind him of her recent checkup, but the tension in his shoulders and the trembling in his hand silenced her. Reluctantly, she nodded and left with Ray.

"Brodie... you believe me, don't you?" Ariel asked, hope bleeding into her voice.

"I gave you a chance."

Brodie's eyes drilled into her, brimming with barely restrained fury. Ariel's heart sank.

"Ariel Reed, did you really think I bought that story about digging through trash for artificial insemination? I gave you a chance, and what did you give me?"

He angrily swept the obscene photographs off the table. "Just these pictures and that report!"

"You've certainly mastered playing innocent and vulnerable to enchant me, only to turn around and act like a common harlot. Now with a child of questionable parentage, you expect me to shoulder the responsibility? Ariel Reed, it’s not five years ago anymore.. I'm not that besotted fool who'd ignore your infidelity just because you claimed you were coerced."

Ariel frowned. "What did you see? What encounter? When?"

She wanted to insist she'd only ever been with him, but his mocking stare drained the fight right out of her.

"I'm not asking for much, Brodie... I don't expect you to love me again or for us to be together. I won't interfere between you and Fiona. I just beg you to save Capri. Just once. As an act of kindness. As charity. Please, I'm begging you. Only you can help her."

Brodie's tone was ice. "Believe me, that child would rather die than be your daughter. It's better to let her go."

With those words, Ariel's last hope evaporated. He believed it...

Even when she'd hit him with that far-fetched claim about scavenging for insemination, Brodie hadn't spoken so harshly.

But now...

Faced with the damning test results and undeniable evidence, he believed she'd been promiscuous—that Capri was illegitimate.

She sat in despair, staring into Brodie's cold eyes. The guilt of possibly passing her suffering onto their child had never weighed so heavily on her. She sat motionless, whispering, "No, she told me she loves her mom, wants to be my daughter..."

"Knock, knock."

"Mr. Wagner, there seems to be an issue with Miss Fiona's follow-up test. Would you come out and take a look?" Ray's voice came from outside the door.

"In the future, do not come within a hundred feet of me. Otherwise, I'll make sure your daughter finds no treatment anywhere."

With that parting shot, Brodie slammed the door behind him.

Ariel sat in a daze. She wasn't sure how long she stayed like that until her phone chimed with a new message. Dr. Dexter Fox had sent her a video of Capri's daily routine, and the familiar sight pulled her back to reality.

She watched the short video several times, tears streaming down her face as she saw her frail child swallowing pills, smiling at the camera and saying, "Today, I took all my medicine like I was supposed to."

Her daughter had been diagnosed with severe thalassemia and needed a bone marrow transplant to live past seven.

Her daughter was fighting for her life...

No one had the right to take that from her.

Ariel wiped her tears and kissed the screen as if her child could feel her love. Then she called her grandfather, Bruce Reed.

"Grandpa, I've made my decision. I want to marry Brodie Wagner."

If fate had blessed her with this child, she wouldn't let fate take her away. Brodie, I'm sorry, but I can't let you live with regret—and I can't bear to live with my own.