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What was I going to do?
I lifted my head, facing my reflection again.
Oh, God. I had to tell Sam.
Dread settled in my gut. He never wanted children. He’d made a vow never to let Shah’s blood taint another soul.
Now, one potentially grew in my belly.
I slid my hand over my stomach as an image of my parents and brother appeared in my mind. A part of them lived here too. A kernel of hope bloomed for the first time since my family died, knowing a piece of them would go on.
Was this how Sam’s mom had felt when she found out she was pregnant?
No. I’m sure it was completely different and a million times scarier. I couldn’t even fathom the pain and sorrow she must have felt.
Her family had thrown her out for getting pregnant and shaming them in their strict Indo-American community. Ashok Shah had promised her the world, used her, and then rejected her for a lucrative marriage.
She’d been alone with nowhere to go and no means to raise a child on her own. Instead, from everything I learned about her, she gathered the strength to raise her son while working two jobs and living with two other single moms.
If only she’d known the danger she’d been in from her ex.
Suddenly, a fear like nothing I’d ever felt surged through me, followed by anger.
I’d spent my whole life a target. I never had the luxury to trust a soul because of my uncles and their greed. I refused to let my child have a day like that. I’d protect them with every ounce of my being.
Though to do that, I had to stay alive.
Which meant no one besides Sam could know about my pregnancy.
For a split second, the thought of keeping everything to myself crossed my mind, and then I pushed it to the side. If Sam truly was anything like Ashok Shah, I’d have done it in a heartbeat. Then again, I wouldn’t have fallen for him or slept with him in the first place.
Knowing I had to reach out to him, I grabbed my phone from the counter and dialed his number.
“Do we need to scratch an itch before our meeting this morning?”
God, how was I going to face him while holding this secret? How would I sit across from him and pretend as if our lives weren’t permanently changed?
Ignoring his question, I said, “We need to talk.”
“We don’t talk. We fuck.”
I gritted my teeth. “You may not want to fuck me after I give you some information.”
“I’ll take that as a challenge.”
“You take everything as a challenge.”
“With you, yes.” The humor in his tone annoyed me and gave me a sense of dread.
“This isn’t a game, Sam.”
“Of course, it is. You started it. I’m just keeping everything in play.”
“Stop with the poker metaphors. Can you meet me or not?”
“We are meeting. In a few hours, in fact. Your company arranged it.”
“Just say no instead of being an ass.”
