She rolled over gently; he was facing her, his eyes shut.
She stared at him, her heart beating faster, harder, and she knew where the light was. She knew where it had always been.
Love.
She loved him.
Her breath caught in her throat as she turned that idea over, and it was like every single piece of a puzzle was clicking instantly into place. She felt it with a visceral, absolute truth.
She loved him.
He was her husband, and circumstance alone had led to their marriage. She’d never expected to feel anything for him but desire – a desire she’d become adept at concealing. She hadn’t expected to find him captivating and enchanting and enigmatic. She hadn’t expected to hear the struggles he dealt with and to want to reach out and wrest those troubles from his shoulders. She hadn’t expected to want to sleep with him and wake up with him, to be with him, always.
She reached out, a smile on her lips as she pressed a finger to his nose. He lifted his hand, swatting hers away, before opening his eyes with confusion. Confusion gave way to something else. A smile hinted at his lips before it was flattened.
“Sophia.”
“Uh huh.”
Silence. But a silence that crackled with words not spoken. And suddenly, her conversation with Fatima sat inside her like a butterfly’s chrysalis on the day of emergence. She felt it weakening and giving way and she bit down on her lip, to hold it steady for a moment or two, and then, she cleared her throat. His eyes latched to hers.
“Fatima said,” she whispered, so softly the words were barely audible. “That is to say, Fatima believes me to be pregnant.”
The words flooded the room, quiet, but with the power of a thousand drums.
His eyes widened, and he was very, very still, watching her while his own expression was impossible to interpret. “Does she?”
The question was flattened of any emotion.
That poked a hole in Sophia’s happiness, but only for a moment. “I mean, she might be wrong, but … you said she’s got this talent and the moment she said it, I felt… is it ridiculous to say I felt different?”
Malik didn’t respond.
She swallowed, waiting. “I know I’ll have to do a test. I meant to ask Awan to organise something for me yesterday but I … didn’t. I can do one today, so we’re sure.”
“Yes,” he frowned. “I will organise the chief of medicine to attend to you.” He turned away from her, reaching for the phone on his side of the bed. He spoke into it in rapid-fire Abu Fayan and then stood, reaching for a pair of pants. She watched as he pulled them up, over his cock, covering his body, and confusion spun inside of her.
“The doctor will be here within minutes.”
“I don’t need a doctor, Malik. Just a pregnancy test. I can get one brought from a pharmacy.”
“A doctor will be better able to confirm at this early stage, no?”
He was right. It made sense. Only her anxieties had nothing to do with the possible appearance of a doctor. “Malik? You’re not… happy?”
His frown deepened. “We don’t know for sure that there is anything to be happy about yet.”
“But… I mean… you want a baby. You’re desperate for us to have a child, so you have your heir. Isn’t it a good thing if this has happened so quickly?”
His eyes met hers, and there was a challenge in them she couldn’t comprehend. “Yes, Sophia. It would be a very good thing.”
Chapter 13
SHE WAS PREGNANT, CONFIRMED by a blood test. The results had been expedited and the doctor surprised by the increased level of her hormones, given the earliness of the baby’s gestation.
‘A strong pregnancy!’ The chief physician had concluded, and Malik told himself he was glad. It was essential for the country and the kingdom. And yet, he also knew it spelled an end for them. He couldn’t keep having sex with the woman his brother had intended to marry, not when the sole purpose of this marriage was procreation.
They’d done what they set out to achieve.