Page 123 of The Genius
It took me by surprise and I blinked a few times. “Ehm, yes, how did you know?”
“Mom told me about your conversation with her.”
“But I never mentioned Marco’s name.”
A curious smile tipped the corner of Rochelle’s mouth. “Ahh, so I was right.”
“Yes, but how did you know? I’ve been careful not to show anything around you.”
“I’m your sister; of course, I would pick up on the heated looks between you two. Plus, I did a test on Marco yesterday to be sure.”
“What test?”
“Showed him a lot of interest, laughed at his jokes, and sat close to him. He got so flustered that he got up and left. And then later when he was fighting, the first person he looked to was you. He was trying to impressyou, Shelly.”
“Was it really that obvious that something was going on between us?”
“Maybe not to the others, but after the fight you told me that he was your protector, and then I knew.”
“Does Mom know?”
Her smile was gone. “That it’s Marco? No, I spoke to Mom yesterday and I said that I had an idea about who it was, but she didn’t want details.”
“If you knew, then why haven’t you come and talked to me about it?”
Rochelle lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “I was waiting for you to come to me. To be honest I’ve been a little bit offended that it’s taken you this long.”
“It’s not an easy thing to tell your family that you have fallen in love with an Nman.”
Rochelle’s expression did not change; it merely seemed to tighten, so shadows now appeared beneath her cheekbones. “Didn’t Marco just fight in a tournament to win a bride?”
“Yes. But he pulled out of the tournament and came back to be with me.”
“Be with you?” Her eyes grew bigger. “What does that mean?”
“Marco and I…” I paused and licked my lips. “We’re not just sleeping together. We are a couple.”
“YoumarriedMarco?” Her words came out loud and shrill. I hurried to hush her voice.
“No, we’re not married.”
“But if you slept with Marco, he’s going to demand that you marry him. You know how territorial and possessive Nmen get.”
“Rochelle, I didn’t come to the Northlands to marry.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Then you shouldn’t have slept with him. You could have gotten pregnant.”
Taking a deep breath, I spoke in a soft voice. “I did.”
Rochelle’s reaction was so delayed that I wondered if she had heard me at all, but then her eyes fell to my belly.
“It’s only been two months, so it’ll take a while for it to show, but I’m pregnant, Rochelle.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She was visibly shaken and fiddled with a ring on her finger, a classic variation of calming behavior that told me Rochelle was thrown off balance. “Mom is going to freak out when she hears that.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. She was terribly upset about me having sex with a man.”
Rochelle leaned against the façade of the school, as if she needed support to stay on her feet. “I can’t believe you put yourself in this situation. What were you thinking?”
