The Billionaire's Forgotten Wife
Chapter 60: Questions and Doubts

Chapter 60: Questions and Doubts

After dropping Arielle off, Zeke didn’t head home.

He just drove. No plan. No destination. Just him behind the wheel, trying to outrun the mess in his head.

Eventually, he pulled into a quiet park. Killed the engine. Sat there in silence.

"Shit," he muttered, lowering his forehead to the steering wheel, bracing it with both hands. His elbows dug into the leather like he needed something solid to hold on to.

His head was pounding, not just from stress, but from everything that had happened earlier.

Cassidy. That little girl. Xavier.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The way the kid had hugged Cassidy. The way she smiled up at her, like she was her whole world. Then the way she ran to Xavier like she’d done it a thousand times before.

Zeke let out a rough breath.

There was something about her. Claire. That little girl. Something... familiar.

And then came the thought, the one he didn’t want to say out loud.

Fuck.

At first, he hadn’t realized it. He just thought the kid looked familiar. But now, piecing it together, it finally hit him.

Her face.

The way her eyes narrowed when she smiled, the curve of her lips, the delicate shape of her chin...

Cassidy.

It was there. Subtle. But now that he saw it, he couldn’t unsee it.

That’s what had been nagging at him since the mall. That’s what his gut had been screaming about.

His temples throbbed. A deep, pulsing pressure behind his eyes.

Zeke groaned and pulled back from the wheel. He leaned over and flipped open the glove compartment, reaching for a small bottle. He popped the cap, tapped a pill into his palm, and tossed it into his mouth, swallowing it dry.

Then he leaned back, eyes shut, trying to breathe through the chaos in his head. His pulse was racing. His thoughts wouldn’t stop.

Too much. Too fucking much.

His jaw clenched, hands gripping the wheel hard.

That little girl... Claire.

His mind spiraled.

Is Claire... Cassidy’s kid?

That would explain the way Cassidy had looked at her, protective, soft. Like a mom.

But if that was true... then came the next question. The one that hit even harder.

Who’s the father?

His face twisted.

Xavier?

That guy Claire had run to like she’d known him her whole life?

He’d looked way too comfortable with both of them. Like he belonged.

Zeke exhaled through his nose, something bitter curdling in his chest.

But Claire’s age... He didn’t know for sure, but just from looking at her, she had to be three, maybe four. And the way she spoke at that preschool, sharp, expressive, confident. Too mature for a toddler.

Was that why Cassidy had disappeared? Because she was pregnant?

With his kid?

Or with Xavier’s?

His stomach twisted, nausea crawling up his throat.

The timelines didn’t make sense. But then again, nothing made sense right now. Not her silence. Not the way she looked at him. Not the fact that he was sitting here, losing his mind over all of it.

And still... no answers.

He needed answers.

Zeke yanked out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and hit call.

Thomas picked up after two rings.

"Why are you calling?" he asked, half-curious, half-suspicious.

"You said your brother-in-law lives in Switzerland, right?"

Thomas hesitated. "Yeah? Why?"

"What city does he live in?"

"What?" Thomas let out a baffled huff. "You’re calling just to ask about Xavier?"

"Please," Zeke snapped, tension thick in his voice. "Just answer."

"...Zurich," Thomas finally said. "Why? What’s going on? Why are you asking about Xavier?"

"How long has he lived there?"

A pause.

"Four years, maybe more," Thomas answered slowly. "Zeke, what the hell is this about?"

Zeke ignored the question. His mind was racing.

"Does Xavier have a kid?"

Thomas let out a laugh. "Are you serious? No. He’s not even married. Why the hell would he have a kid?"

"Do you know a little girl named Claire?"

"Claire?" Thomas repeated, thrown off. "No. I don’t know any kid named Claire. I already told you."

Zeke exhaled sharply, his grip tightening around the phone.

"Does your brother-in-law have a girlfriend?"

"I don’t know," Thomas replied. "But Hannah did mention he liked someone..."

Zeke’s stomach dropped.

"Who?"

"I don’t know, man. Hannah didn’t say." Thomas sounded increasingly annoyed. "What’s going on? Why are you interrogating me about Xavier?"

Zeke didn’t answer.

He just hung up.

Silence filled the car again, but his mind was anything but quiet.

Yeah. Now that he thought about it, he remembered that day on the golf course. Thomas had dragged him along, and at one point, he’d been walking with Xavier between tees.

Zeke had asked him a question. Not randomly, he was trying to confirm something.

So, during golf, he brought it up casually. Asked Xavier if he had someone in his life. A girlfriend, maybe.

Xavier didn’t really give him a clear answer. Just a shrug and a half-smile. "There’s someone... but it’s complicated."

And yeah... now that he really thought about it, That voice. That soft, low voice in the background of the video call. It had been her. Cassidy.

Then... was Cassidy the woman Xavier had been talking about that day?

Zeke raked a hand through his hair, eyes fixed blankly on the dashboard.

So they weren’t married. They weren’t dating. At least, not publicly. No rings. No labels.

So what were they?

A fling? Friends with benefits?

Or just friends who happened to be raising a kid together?

No.

Zeke exhaled through his nose, slow and strained. Cassidy wasn’t like that. She never had been. She was thoughtful. Measured. The kind of woman who didn’t give herself away easily, not in words, not in actions.

She valued things like respect, trust, intention. Whatever this thing was between her and Xavier... it couldn’t be casual. Not for her.

That’s what made it worse.

Or maybe he was just overthinking it. Letting his mind run wild and connect dots that didn’t need to be connected.

He’d talk to Cassidy again at the next shareholders’ meeting. If she showed up.

After what happened at the mall today, he honestly wasn’t sure. Their so called reunion had gone off the rails fast. He couldn’t blame her if she decided to stay away.

But he hoped she’d come.

And this time, he’d try to talk to her like a normal human being. No grabbing, no demanding, no accusations. Just... talk.

God, he hoped she’d give him that chance.

***