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Lucy gasped with shock and excitement as a hectic heartbeat broke the anxious silence. Razi remained absolutely still and utterly intent.
‘And expecting a healthy baby,’ the radiographer confirmed to everyone’s relief.
As the tense mood in the small room relaxed, Lucy thought the amplified heartbeat was the most wonderful sound she had ever heard. It was certainly the most thrilling and the most life-changing. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she whispered, wondering if it was possible to explode with joy. ‘I can’t believe my little girl is growing safe inside me—she is safe, isn’t she?’ she anxiously confirmed. ‘There’s nothing wrong, is there?’ The hair was standing up on the back of her neck. The radiographer had gone very quiet. She looked at Razi for reassurance as the radiographer continued his investigations.
‘Just a minute, please,’ the radiographer requested, focusing all of his attention on the screen. ‘Can you hear that?’
Lucy strained her ears, and only then realised she was squeezing the life out of Razi’s hand. ‘What is it? Tell me?’
‘You’re not expecting one baby,’ the radiographer announced in triumph. ‘You’re expecting twins.’
‘What?’ Lucy’s mind blanked with shock. Then elation, disbelief, and Wow! No way! took its place, followed swiftly by acute alarm as she raced through some terrifying financial calculations in her head.
‘Are you sure?’ Razi demanded tensely.
‘Absolutely sure,’ the radiographer assured him.
‘Here…you can see for yourself.’ He pointed out first one tiny little child and then the other.
Razi exclaimed in Sinnebalese. He couldn’t believe it. Everything suddenly seemed more real to him. He could safely say he was ecstatic. Having heard the babies’ heartbeats on the monitor, suddenly he could picture them being a family.
Razi felt a swell of pride within him and he knew then that he had to protect Lucy. He never wanted the twins or their mother to feel ashamed of who they were.
‘Lucy?’ Razi prompted.
She was terrified. Totally overwhelmed. All her hardwon self-belief had just taken a serious knock. She had planned to raise her baby under her own strength even if that meant doing so here in Isla de Sinnebar, but now…How could she work or support herself and her babies? Where was her security? She would be at Razi’s mercy.
‘Twins usually come early,’ the radiographer was continuing, ‘so you won’t have so long to wait before you’re holding them in your arms.’
She knew the man meant to be kind. She knew he was trying to reassure her, but the timescale she had been working on to support one baby had just flown out of the window.
‘Aren’t you pleased?’ Razi demanded, touching her arm to reclaim her attention.
‘I’m overwhelmed,’ she said honestly.
Her mind was racing, leaving her numb from an overload of excitement, emotion, love, as well as the sense of responsibility coming her way, and most of all her fear of failure. She could be stand-up, determined and as independent-minded as she liked, but she wanted to have her independence and know that whatever happened with Razi, she could support her children. She had to try and build a stake before they were born, and then—
She found herself grabbing the arm of the radiographer and asking him to double-check.
‘There is no doubt,’ he said.
‘Sorry,’ she said, self-consciously letting go of his sleeve. ‘It’s just that I can’t believe it.’
‘Neither can I.’ Razi felt a rush of jubilation speed through him. He gave her a kiss, while she, still in shock, remained stiffly unresponsive.
‘I often see this reaction,’ the radiographer informed them. ‘Fathers are generally the ones on a high, while mothers count the cost in terms of coping and expense. But of course, in your case, that won’t be a problem.’
Oh, wouldn’t it? thought Lucy as the man bowed low to Razi. Why should she be any different from any other woman—especially when she had no intention of putting herself in Razi’s debt? Her little family had got bigger and she couldn’t support them on her own. Her fate was even more firmly in Razi’s hands.
‘So glad to be of service to you, Your Majesty,’ the radiographer was adding. ‘If there’s anything else I can do for you—anything at all—please, just let me know.’
Helping Lucy down from the couch, Razi smiled the heart-stopping smile that under other circumstances would have filled her with love and confidence, but right now filled her with something much closer to apprehension.
Chapter Sixteen
OUTSIDE the hospital, Razi escorted Lucy to the Jeep, keeping a firm hold on her hand and on her shoulder.
‘I’m taking you straight back to the palace,’ he said, gunning the engine and roaring away. ‘We’ll have a brief chat there—’ He held up one strong, tanned hand to silence her as his call connected. A few ecstatic phrases later he cut the line. Lucy didn’t need to be fluent in Sinnebalese to get the gist. ‘Aren’t they shocked?’ she asked as he stowed the phone.
