Page 43 of Seduced By the Sheikh

“Soraiya?” He leaned his concerned face to hers, and all she could think about was that she wasn’t only losing her baby, she was also losing him. Their child was the only concrete thing that was holding them together.

“Zak,” she said. “Time to get that bodyguard.”

“Why? Soraiya, tell me what the hell’s going on!”

“I think… I think…” She cradled the baby she so desperately wanted. “I think… there’s a problem.”

CHAPTER 20

“We need to return to Paris! Immediately! Turn the plane around!” commanded Zak.

She squeezed his hand, which had never left hers from the moment she lay down on the bed. The security guard was hustled in by Aabid, who was barking orders to everyone as he unsuccessfully tried to hide his terror.

“I want to go home,” she said in a quaking voice. “Just take me home.”

“You need medical attention.”

The guard finishing examining her, and pulled the cover back over her. “She does, but there’s nothing more a hospital can do for her, I’m afraid.”

“What the hell do you know? Are you an obstetrician?”

The guard stood to his full height, his eyes flashing with barely concealed anger. “I’m a trained doctor and worked as a medic in the army before this. I might not be an obstetrician, but I know a miscarriage when I see one. I can’t detect a heartbeat and I don’t believe there’s anything that can be done to stop it. It’s only a matter of time before the foetus comes away.”

“The foetus?” erupted Zak. “Do not call him that.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m simply trying to tell you that you can, indeed, turn around and take Her Highness to hospital in Paris but it won’t make any difference to the result.”

“But what about Soraiya?”

“It looks to be coming cleanly, and Her Royal Highness doesn’t appear to be in any unusual pain. At this stage in the pregnancy it’s not uncommon and is usually relatively straightforward.”

Zak closed his eyes tight to stop the tears. Dammit. He never cried. “Are you sure there’s nothing to be gained in returning to Paris?”

The guard looked at Soraiya who shook her head. He cleared his throat. “It’s a six-hour flight to Sirun. Chances are, it won’t be over, er, properly, until well after we land. I think it’s most important for Her Royal Highness to be comfortable and not stressed. Navigating Paris at rush hour and finding a hospital bed could be far more stressful than being here, in a comfortable bed, with everything she needs. We can arrange to have an ambulance meet her in Sirun as soon as we arrive.”

Soraiya nodded again. “That’s what I’d like, Zak.”

Zak swallowed and gave a reluctant nod. It took all his willpower to do it. Instinct told him he wanted to take charge, to do something, turn the plane around, command people to make Soraiya well again. But he understood what was being said, and for the life of him he didn’t have it in him to deny Soraiya what she wanted. Not after she’d given him so much, and sacrificed so much for him. But he knew that even if she hadn’t, he’d have been putty in her hands. Because things had changed in his heart and he’d just been too stubborn to acknowledge it.

“Leave us, then, if there’s nothing more you can do.”

The man nodded, gathered his things and took one last look at Soraiya. “If you’re in any pain, call out. But the best thing you can do is relax. Let nature take its course, and don’t worry; it won’t affect your ability to become pregnant in the future.”

At that precise moment Zak didn’t care about the future, and could hardly take in what was being said. They were talking about his child—their child—as if he were in the past. He wasn’t. His baby was in the present, and also in the future. He was in his heart. He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his forehead against Soraiya’s hand, trying to control the grief which thundered inside of him, like a roaring wave threatening to annihilate him.

“Zak.” He heard his name as if it were from someone shouting down one end of a long tunnel.

“Zak!” It came again, louder this time, from a voice he recognized. He tried to pull himself together but felt an inchoate rage choking him. He jumped up and away, needing to do something.

“Zak!”

He turned to see Soraiya trying to push herself up to reach for him. He immediately knelt beside her and eased her back onto the pillows. “I’m here, I’m here. You must rest.”

She did as she was told for once but her gaze continued to bore into him. She looked scared.

“It’s okay. Everything will be okay.” He muttered the words of reassurance without believing them.

She shook her head, one tiny shake, and a tear leaked, overspilling her eye and running down the side of her face into her hair. “No, No it won’t. It won’t be all right. Our baby has left this world but will take a little longer to leave me.”

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