Page 35 of Pregnant After One Forbidden Night

She winced, but did not deny it. “I’m happy for her.”

He knew she told the truth, the way he always recognized truth when he heard it, but he could see that her joy for her friend was not strong enough to take away the sting.

An unfamiliar surge of irritation with the king rose in him. It was Sebastian’s job to remain unequivocally in the king’s corner, but in firing Jenna so impetuously, Zayn had made a huge mistake—and because that mistake had caused irreversible hurt to Jenna, it was an unforgiveable one.

But the queen, whom he knew thought of Jenna not just as an employee, but a true friend, had already told her husband as much before insisting that he retract his dismissal of her guard.

When the king had capitulated, however, and tried to rectify his mistake, Jenna had refused his calls, just as she had refused the queen’s.

It took a lot of spunk to ignore a king’s telephone calls. Sebastian had been proud of her.

But spunk didn’t heal hurt feelings, and he suspected that what she needed was to talk to her friends.

While he excelled at planning in the shadows, he was powerless to address her current hurt. She had to take the first step.

More information, though, could potentially encourage the movement.

Information regularly inspired him to action, even when it hurt. Perhaps especially when it hurt.

“She is spending her pregnancy at the Summer Palace,” he said.

Jenna nodded. “That makes sense. Will Hel accompany her?”

He could see the wheels of her mind turning. It was not customary for primary security to accompany the royal family to the summer palace, but the queen would miss her friends with such an extended stay.

Sebastian shook his head. “She will not. Helene is on maternity leave, as well.”

“What?” Jenna’s screech in reaction to the news was less reserved than it had been to the queen’s. “But she—” She cut herself off before she revealed what he assumed was private information.

Idly intrigued, as he always was at the prospect of clandestine information, he set aside his curiosity at whatever barrier had previously existed to Helene having a child—a future that was somewhat expected of the head of one of the oldest families in the country—keeping his attention instead on Jenna.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was tired and quiet. “She didn’t tell me.”

Recalling the phone records he’d monitored, Sebastian said, “You only spoke once.”

Jenna nodded. “Right after she got back. I was so glad she had returned safely, but when she tried to convince me to come back to the capital, I just couldn’t. I cut her off and made an excuse to get off the phone. I never gave her a chance.”

Although he had his own suspicions as to the answer, Sebastian asked, “Why?”

Jenna looked up at him, startled by the question. “I—” she started and stopped. Looking away, she said softly, “I don’t belong there.”

Had she not been serious, he would have scoffed. “You are one of the most qualified royal guards we have seen in over a decade, Jenna. Your service record is impeccable and you’ve only improved over the years.”

She shook her head. “It’s not about that. I’m invisible there, no one sees me,” she said.

Lifting an eyebrow, he asked, “Isn’t that what a guard is supposed to be?”

Again, she shook her head in a negative. “To the majority of people, yes. But not to everyone.”

“I don’t follow,” he said, though he was beginning to understand.

“Helene has been my best friend for nearly a decade, and yet the gala was the first time I had ever been to her home. She and the queen have been the only people to see me, to be my friends in a real and meaningful way where I thought we were more than our roles, that we were the kind of close that opens and changes for each other, but neither of them shared their pregnancies with me.”

“You haven’t shared yours with them, either,” he pointed out, happy to play devil’s advocate if it meant presenting her with a more complete view of her situation. She was intelligent and savvy, but no one could truly see themselves.

Eyebrows drawing together in a frown, she waved her hand at him. “It’s not the same.”

“I think it might be closer than you think,” he countered.

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