She stared at him with despair, and shook her head slowly.
“You’re crying.”
“I’m hormonal.”
He frowned.
“And surprised,” she admitted. “I had no idea you’d…”
“Care?”
She nodded, jerking her face away and surreptitiously wiping her eyes.
“You’ve spoken so much about duty and obligation—duty to your country, your father, your brother. I just didn’t realise you’d feel such a duty to our child.”
“Of course I do.” He pressed his fork into a tomato. “All duty comes from a place of love, doesn’t it? Love for country, love for someone?”
“I suppose so.”
“This ismy child. Of course, I feel duty to them.”
Fresh tears filled her eyes.
“Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”
Her eyes widened. “We’re having a baby together. Don’t you think we’re past the point of tiptoeing around personal subjects?”
He chewed the tomato, took a drink of coffee, then relaxed back in his chair.
“One of the rumours about you—,”
She visibly paled and he winced.
“Go on.”
“The abortion.”
Her eyes skidded to her plate, her heart to her feet.
“It’s likely to get dragged up by some of the trashier papers.”
Anguish flooded her features, an emotion that was matched in the swirling of Samir’s dark eyes.
“I hate this,” she said angrily.
“I do too.”
Cora never talked about it, not with anyone, but now, she recognised she had no choice. Samir deserved to know, by virtue of the fact they were about to be parents. Besides, he was right. Her past was about to be dragged up again and they had to develop a defence against that.
“I was pregnant,” she said softly, her throat aching. “It’s why we broke up.”
Samir was very still, very watchful, but Cora was too lost in her own world to notice the intensity with which he regarded her.
“Things between us weren’t great for a long time. We were very different people, really, apart from a shared sense of humour.”
Samir was as still as stone.
“The stupid rush of rebellion faded pretty quickly, and I was left married to someone that at times felt like a complete stranger. I tried, so hard, to make it work, Samir. I wanted…I wanted what my parents had,” she said with a hint of self-deprecation. “The pregnancy was an accident, but I was happy. I wanted kids. I’ve always known I wanted to be a mother.”