“Sanjana is pregnant. They are expecting a baby this year-end.”
His thumb moved once against her waist.
Yamini lifted her head slightly.
“You don’t look surprised. Did you know she was pregnant?”
His gaze moved to her. “Yes.”
She realized Ram must have told him.
She smiled and lay back on his chest. She traced idle circles over his chest, following the line of muscle beneath her fingertips. His heartbeat was slow. Controlled. Like the rest of him.
“Sanjana was exasperated by Ram hovering over her constantly,” she said. “He was commanding her to drink water and eat in regular intervals.”
Yamini grinned, recalling how Sanjana was ready to yell at Ram when he filled up her plate to the brim during evening snack time.
“I think you will be the same too when I get pregnant,” she said. “You’ll most likely schedule my water and food intake.”
She smiled, imagining it.
She had always wanted a child. But now, she wanted a specific child. His.
“I want our child to have your beautiful golden-brown eyes,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “And your intelligence,” she added. “But my temperament.”
She raised her head and rested her chin on his chest. “Don’t you think that’s fair?”
She watched his face, expecting a flicker of amusement. Or a faint smile he would never give anyone else but her.
But he didn’t give any of those reactions. She realized he had gone very still, and his eyes darkened. There was visible tension in his body.
She frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
He didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on her face, and for the first time tonight, she could not read what was behind his eyes.
“The child won’t have my eyes,” he said.
She laughed. “Oh please. Generations of Jogra royalty are born with golden-brown eyes.”
He looked at her then, but there was still no trace of warmth of amusement.
“The child won’t have my eyes because it won’t be mine,” he stated. “It will be from another man.”
Yamini blinked. Not understanding.
Then she let out a short laugh.
“That’s not all funny, maharaja,” she said. She realized she was yet to understand his strange sense of humor at times.
He didn’t smile.
His expression stayed the same.
“It is not meant to be funny. The child you will be carrying won’t be mine.”
Her heart gave a sick thud, and her lungs refused to fill properly.
