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“I have no idea.” The blonde wrings her hands. “He’s not been to the club. I haven’t seen him.”
Thanks to a full-length mirror on the right, I see her turn around. My heart shoots into my throat, taking in her perfect basketball-shaped pregnant belly.
From behind, she looked stick thin.
She and the friend walk my way, and I manage to slip back into a stall, my heart pounding and my head swimming. Of all possible emotions, jealousy fires through me the most. What if… What if she’s carrying Kieran’s baby? For the first time in all these months,Iwant to be pregnant, and a jolt of competitiveness hits me out of nowhere. I’ve never felt that before.
Now…it’s suffocating.
A whisper of floral perfume floats past, and their voices, talking about something else, drift away. I open the door and quickly wash my hands. With still no sign of Marilyn, I hoof it back to the ballroom. If that woman tracked my movements, she’ll see I’m not around and perhaps try to talk to Kieran.
Your Kieran…
“Oh, no, he’smyhusband, bitch.” Shit, I feel bad calling a pregnant woman that.
Given the size of her belly, if that baby is his, it was before we were married. I can’t be mad at that, except for his obvious carelessness. Protectiveness surges through me, as well. A child from a mistress could hurt Kieran as the king. Our marriageisa business arrangement, despite what we’ve grown to feel for each other. I’m his partner if nothing else. It’s my duty to protect the family. The name I proudly said earlier.
I find my husband standing alone in the lobby, staring out the large plate-glass windows that face the busy city street. My eyes track the rest of the lobby and see no sign of the blonde. How did she miss him?
I get a few steps away, and as if he senses me, he turns around. His wide smile as I approach him sets butterflies off in my stomach. “Everything all right?” He presses a kiss to my temple.
“Yes. Of course.”Not.
“Things are winding down. Ready to leave?”
God, yes.I nod heartily. But Kieran stiffens, and that gardenia perfume I smelled a few minutes ago hits my nose. I turn, and she’s there. She waited… Waited until we were together.
“Hello, Kieran.” Her voice sounds different, sultry.
“Hello,” my husband replies after a beat. He either forgot her name or doesn’t want to say it out loud.
Out of respect for me, perhaps.
The tension that surged through my body in a matter of seconds, the pressure that strangled me so tightly that I’m ready to snap, vanishes when Kieran slides a hand around my waist. Claiming me in front of this woman.
She glances down and sees my rings. Plural. I’m not a fiancée. I’m his wife. That means I’m permanent. She must not have realized it when she remarked about me earlier. Wait… She didn’t remark about me. At all. Not my dress. My curves. My large breasts, or that I’m the Italian princess he bought. All she saw was him, and I was just a yellow blur at his side.
“Congratulations,” she says.
“You, too,” my husband remarks with a tight smile. “Apparently.”
“Thank you.” She rests her hand on the crest of her stomach, and her lips part.
I brace for the words to come out of her mouth:It’s your baby.
I can see my bladder giving out now. Even though I just peed.
“We’re thrilled.” She glances at the lobby bar where a man in a dark blue suit with a beer glass in his hand watches us.
We.We’rethrilled. The baby must belong to that man.
“Congratulations, again. Take care,” Kieran says, steering me away, still not addressing her by name.
And I don’t want to know. I’ll imagine him saying it, whispering it, groaning it when he came inside her.
I have a decision to make. Address the gold pregnant elephant or let it go. If anything, he’d like to know women talk about him behind his back. And it shows him I’m not afraid to bring up sensitive subjects.
Although I’m terrified, I have to address it. What if thatishis child? Could this be my way out? My chest heaves, thinking about that. No. I…like Kieran. A lot. I’m happy. This isn’t such a bad life. It’s nottoodifferent from living at school, where my guards followed me around, or at home, where they were up my ass. If I married a businessman like Mama wanted, I would be right here, anyway.
