Page 55 of The Wanted Prince

“Did you say my baby?” I laughed at the thought. “No, I’m not pregnant. Did Mother say that?”

“No, your blood test did.” She held up a paper.

“You took blood?” I peered down at my arm. Sure enough, I’d been stuck. I had a strip of pink tape in the crook of my elbow, a white cotton ball sticking out to the sides. “The test must be wrong. No way I’m pregnant.”

“It’s not wrong.” Dr. Cabrera smiled. “We double-checked.”

“But, I haven’t—” Except, I had, with Alessandro. We’d been safe, I thought, but not safe enough. Unless… “Are you sure there’s not some mistake? Could my blood have gotten mixed up with somebody else’s?”

“I ran the test myself,” said Dr. Cabrera. “I assure you, your sample was never out of my hands.”

“But, aren’t there some medical conditions that make you test positive when you’re not? Like, certain cancers? What if it’s cancer?”

Dr. Cabrera laughed. “I assure you, it’s not cancer.”

“Can you know that for sure?”

“Have you had abdominal pain? Abnormal bleeding? Bloating or swelling, or sudden weight loss?”

I shook my head. “No, but?—”

“Then I doubt it’s cancer.” Her expression turned gentle. “You know you have options, if this isn’t something you planned for. It’s all confidential. Your family won’t know.”

“No! No, I mean, I didn’t plan this. But if I really am pregnant…” I slid my hand over my belly, still smooth and flat. I’d never thought about children, but I smiled all the same. Then a shiver ran through me, and I felt my smile fade. “I’d want it,” I said. “Just… you really are sure?”

“As sure as it gets.”

I lay back, closed my eyes, and felt the room spin and swoop. My head throbbed with my heartbeat, a slow, rhythmic pulse. Pregnant. I was pregnant? I tried to parse how I felt. Protective, for one, when I laid my hand on my belly. Scared, because what if the papers found out? What if my baby grew up the way I did, gaped at and scrutinized, in the public eye? Cream Puff Girl, that had been me.

I had to get out of here. Back to New York. Or, no. To the palace, to tell Alessandro. Or, would he want this? And what would we do? Get married? But he only wanted to marry for love. Then, should I ask him first, did he love me? Or should I come clean first and see what he said?

“Try to rest,” said Dr. Cabrera. “I’ll be back to check on you in twenty minutes.”

I grunted assent, a shaky uh-huh. My head felt too full, brimming with questions. How would I do this? Who should I tell? Should I stay, go, run like the wind? Run to Alessandro, or run away? No answers presented themselves, and I lay there half-dreaming. Whole lives flickered by me like film reels, lives with Alessandro and lives without. Lives where I raised my child by myself, or where I came home and let Mother help. Where Alessandro was king, and where he wasn’t. Where we were happy, and where we fought. Which would it be? Which path to choose? Or would it be my choice, once the news got out?

I pressed both hands to my belly and tried to feel the life there. Tried to sense it, and who it might be.

“What do you want?” I whispered. “What’s best for you?”

CHAPTER 21

ALESSANDRO

Iwasn’t arrested, or even confined to the palace. But whenever I left my suite, two guardsmen followed. They marched twenty paces behind me and stopped when I stopped, and when I sat, they stood over me like a pair of glum statues. It was awkward, embarrassing, and I kept to my suite. Carlo came by to visit, but Dom had gone back to school. Father was home — I knew because his guard was — but he didn’t see me or respond to my texts.

“He’s hurt,” said Carlo.

“He told you that?”

“No, but when I told him what you’d been doing, his first question was, why didn’t you tell him?”

“Because he’d have forbidden it.” I laughed without humor. “He’d never have let me go if I’d told him my plans.”

“But you could’ve called later, after you’d left. He was worried, not knowing where you might be. He had everyone looking, the police, the Royal Guard. He even hired detectives all across Europe.”

I started. “He did?”

“They never found much, just the odd rumor. Maybe you have a future in the Intelligence Corps.”

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