Chapter 5

Cade POV:

The ripples on the fountain' s surface slowly subsided, leaving behind only the glassy reflection of the ballroom lights. My heart thundered in my chest, a frantic drumbeat against my ribs. What had I done? A fresh wave of panic, cold and sharp, pierced through my drunken haze.

I turned to Mrs. Albright, her face ashen, her eyes wide with shock. "Get her out!" I barked, my voice raw. "Now! And not a word of this leaves this room! Understand? Not a word!" My eyes were fixed on hers, a silent, desperate threat. My future, my entire inheritance, hung in the balance.

Mrs. Albright nodded, her lips trembling. She dispatched two servants to retrieve Blaire's unconscious body from the water. I watched as they carefully lifted her, her sodden dress clinging to her slender frame, her face alarmingly pale. Her head lolled to the side, a dark bruise blooming on her temple where she must have hit the stone. A flicker of something – fear? regret? – twisted in my gut.

Alessandra, sensing my disorientation, glided to my side. She slipped her arm through mine, her touch a cold comfort. "Darling, are you alright?" she cooed, her voice soft, yet possessive. "She was simply hysterical, wasn't she? Trying to ruin our night. You did what you had to do." Her eyes, however, held a sharp, calculating gleam. She knew. She always knew.

I looked at her, then back at where Blaire had been. Alessandra' s words, though a lie, were a convenient balm. "Yes," I said, my voice hoarse. "She was hysterical." I forced a smile, a brittle, strained thing, for the few lingering guests who were still whispering, their eyes darting between me and the now-empty fountain.

The rest of the night was a blur. Congratulations, forced smiles, toasts that tasted like ash. My mind kept replaying Blaire' s pale face, the way she went limp in the water. Was she truly unconscious? Or worse? The thought gnawed at me, a relentless worm in my mind.

Even as I accepted accolades, reassured my father, and danced with Alessandra, a cold dread coiled in my stomach. Blaire. Her quiet determination, her unwavering loyalty, her ridiculous, selfless love. Had I truly thrown it all away for this? For Alessandra' s cold ambition, for the Dyer fortune that felt increasingly like a gilded prison?

Alessandra, oblivious to my turmoil, or perhaps choosing to ignore it, occasionally shot a triumphant glance towards the now-closed doors, the path where Blaire had been carried out. A subtle, cruel smile played on her lips, a silent declaration of victory. Her victory over me, over Blaire, over everything good I might have once possessed.

As the last guest departed, and the servants began to clear the ballroom, I felt a surge of desperate urgency. I needed to know. I needed to confirm. I marched towards the family wing, Alessandra trailing behind me, her questions ignored.

I found Blaire in the same suite, changed into dry, comfortable clothes, but still unconscious. A doctor was tending to her, his face grave. "Concussion, Mr. Dyer," he reported, his voice low. "And a deep cut on her forehead. She's stable, but... she's lost a lot of blood. And..." He hesitated, his gaze falling to her stomach, covered by the blanket.

My blood ran cold. Lost blood? No. Not... that. Not our baby. "What is it, doctor?" I snarled, a sudden, primal fear gripping me.

He shook his head, his lips pressed into a thin line. "It's too early to say for certain, but the internal bleeding... it's not good. She's lucky to be alive, Mr. Dyer. Whoever did this to her..."

My mind reeled. Whoever did this? It was me. I threw her in the fountain. But the earlier injuries... the ones Alessandra inflicted... No. No, this couldn't be happening.

Just then, her eyes fluttered open. She looked at me, her gaze hazy at first, then sharpening, hardening into a chilling accusation. Her lips parted, a whisper escaping. "You... monster."

A wave of fury, cold and self-righteous, washed over me, momentarily eclipsing the fear. "Monster?" I hissed, leaning over her, my voice tight with indignation. "You' re the one who crashed my engagement party, Blaire! You humiliated me in front of my family! What did you expect?"

Her eyes, though still unfocused, burned with an intensity that made me recoil. "I expected... nothing less from you, Cade. You always were good at sacrificing others for your own gain. But this? This is beyond even your cruelty." She coughed, a small, weak sound, and a fleck of blood appeared on her lips. "You killed our baby, Cade."

The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. Our baby? No. It couldn't be. "What are you talking about?" I stammered, my voice trembling. "There's no baby! You're making this up!"

Alessandra, who had been listening from the doorway, her face pale, now stepped forward. "She's lying, Cade!" she shrieked, her voice shrill. "She's always been manipulative! This is just another one of her tricks!"

"Silence, Alessandra!" I roared, my focus entirely on Blaire. "Is this true, Blaire?" My voice was barely a whisper now, laced with a desperate hope it wasn't.

Blaire simply looked at me, her eyes filled with a grief so profound, it stole my breath. "I was going to tell you tonight, after your party," she whispered, a tear escaping the corner of her eye. "A surprise. But you... you couldn't even wait for that, could you?"

A choked sound escaped my throat. My baby. Our baby. Gone. Because of my ambition, because of my callous indifference. The realization crashed over me, a tidal wave of gut-wrenching pain and regret.

Alessandra, seeing my distress, wrapped her arms around me. "Don't listen to her, Cade. She's trying to manipulate you! She's lying!"

I pushed her away, my eyes blazing with a sudden, uncontrollable rage. "Get out, Alessandra!" I roared. "Get out of my sight!"

I turned back to Blaire, my chest heaving. "Blaire, please... I didn't know. I swear... I didn't know." I reached for her hand, but she flinched away, shutting her eyes.

"You knew exactly what you were doing, Cade," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You chose your ambition over everything. Over me. Over our child. And you will live with that choice for the rest of your miserable life." Her eyes snapped open, blazing with a cold, terrifying fury. "You will pay for this, Cade. I promise you, you will pay."

Her words, sharp as daggers, pierced through my denial. I felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of fear. This wasn't the Blaire I knew, the gentle, forgiving artist. This was someone new, someone I didn't recognize, someone who scared me to my core.

"Take her away," I commanded the doctor, my voice trembling. "Keep her here. Under guard. No visitors. No phone calls. She's... unstable." I couldn't face her. The guilt, the shame, the terrifying steel in her eyes. I had to contain her. I had to control her. I had to make her pay for making me feel this agonizing pain.