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Following her into the bathroom, he opened the glass door as she turned to him with water pouring over her and tears rolling down her face. “We’re not having a baby.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was odd how much those words hurt to say. She’d never had plans for a family and yet now she wasn’t pregnant she yearned to carry Mahindar’s baby. That Mahindar’s face paled at the news only increased her despair.
But despair warped right into devastation when he exhaled heavily and said, “Perhaps you were right all along.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice cracking sharply.
“I should never have forced you to marry me. You will never truly be safe as my wife.”
The hurt from her captors was nothing compared to the staggering amount of pain that shafted through her like ice picks to her heart. She was clearly too much trouble to keep around. That she couldn’t even bear him a child had no doubt cemented his change of mind about her.
His hands clenched the glass door, and she wondered hysterically how it didn’t snap. He visibly swallowed as she stared at him, her raw emotions rendering her with so much heartache she was left speechless and barely able to breathe.
“I’m letting you go,” he said hoarsely. “I can’t protect you, I know that now. And you might still have a chance with that man you love.”
She wrapped her arms around herself to still the tremors inside. Hadn’t that one lie come back to bite her hard? But she was too proud to admit the only man she’d ever love was the one standing in front of her. When she finally managed to speak next, her voice was surprisingly flat. “So this is it then? We’re done?”
His brows pulled in as he nodded sharply. “We’re done,” he repeated. Then he added vaguely, “I’m only sorry I didn’t realize it sooner.”
He spun and stalked away, his usual graceful stride now jerky and stiff.
She folded in half and let the tears course down her face, her whole body shuddering. Not only had she lost a brother, she’d lost a husband, too. That she was also denied the privilege of a baby meant she was surely cursed.
The tears came harder. Perhaps shockhadfinally set in. Her legs had no substance and her breaths came out ragged and raw. That she’d never truly grieved for her brother only added to the weight of her grief, her mind twisting with illogical thoughts.
Perhaps she deserved this punishment? She’d hardly known or remembered her brother and she’d never truly appreciated her husband for the decent and wonderful man he was. She’d turned her back on everyone she should have held close.
This outcome was what she truly deserved.
A long and lonely life with nothing more than a career to stave off memories of the man she loved and thoughts of what might have been. Because she knew now without a doubt it was Mahindar in her life or no one.
She sobbed harder. So much for mentally fighting her husband every step of the way and never allowing him to touch her emotionally. She couldn’t have fallen for him any deeper.
She swallowed back her grief and straightened, then lifted her tender face into the hot, stinging droplets of water. Like it or not, she needed to be stronger than ever now. She’d gotten her wish of freedom and independence. Now she’d have to suck it up and find a way to fill the void inside.
She had no idea how long she stayed in the shower, but once she blindly reached up for the lever and cut off the water, she was as weak and fragile as spun glass.
But within minutes she was dried and dressed, and staring at her shockingly swollen, black and blue face in the mirror, when a knock sounded on the bedroom door.
Mahindar?
Had he changed his mind? Was he returning to apologize and to let her know he couldn’t lose her? Her heart in her throat, she hurried to swing open the door, only to find a robed man waiting for her, a medical bag in hand. She slumped a little, only vaguely aware the man looked English despite his dress code.
He tutted, his blue eyes sharp as they assessed her face. “You really were put through the wringer. Let me take a look at you.” He stepped into the suite. “I’m Dr. Smith. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you but I’m guessing you would rather to have met me in any other circumstance but this one.”
She managed a smile and he directed her to sit on the bed while he did a thorough examination. She flinched when he touched her ribs and a couple of other places where she was bruised. Thankfully there were no broken bones. But she required stitches to her bottom lip and he applied antibiotic ointment to her many cuts.
Once the doctor was finally satisfied, he stepped back. “You’ll need an ice compress on your swelling and bruises.” He took out a little packet from his bag and handed it to her. “You’ll need these painkillers, too.”’
Will it help with my heartache?
She shook off the bleak thought and asked, “How long before the swelling goes down and the bruising fades? I have a-a plane to catch.”
The doctor frowned at her. “You really shouldn’t be travelling in your condition. I’d say it will be at least a week before you’re looking close to normal, but the mental trauma could take months, even longer—“
“I want to leave as soon as possible. I-I don’t care about anything else.”
