Page 24 of The Sheikh's Fake Fiancée

She wasn’t interested in him, not anymore. Their one-off sexual encounter had been more than enough for her.

That Kain would be unlikely to believe that made her all the more determined not to tell him.

She climbed off the bed. She had other, more pressing concerns to worry about. While Kain slept was as good a time as any to visit his physician.

She scrawled a quick note, letting Kain know she was exploring his palace. Signing it quickly, she stepped out of their suite of rooms and traversed the corridors, heading to what she hoped was the center of the palace.

Along the way she passed a beautiful lap pool, steam hanging heavy in the air and seemingly making the green foliage in pots grow like they were in some tropical oasis. She stopped for a moment, deciding she’d take a swim later that afternoon after she’d seen Kain’s physician.

Twenty minutes later she stood beneath a huge dome, looking up in awe at the gold ceiling with its intricate leaf patterns and the huge stained glass even higher overhead that diffused the sunlight from outside.

Sucking in a breath, she stalked toward the mosaic-blue arched doorway. It appeared to be a wing that was for guests and personnel alike, with a range of services and stores to cater to everyone.

She found the doctor’s office and pushed open its glass door, where the doctor’s awards were showcased proudly across its front. A receptionist in a colorful hijab and a pretty light blue abaya looked up. “Sheikha Zania! How may we help you today?”

She gulped, thankful no one was seated inside the waiting room and now gawking at her. That the receptionist knew her was disconcerting enough. “I-I’d like to see the doctor please.”

“Of course. There is no need for an appointment. Not as the soon-to-be wife of our celebrated sheikh.” She stood with a beaming smile. “Please, follow me. There is a nice private room where you can wait.”

Zania released a tight breath. “Thank you. I-I didn’t want anyone else to know I was here.”

“Of course. Don’t worry about any of that. Our service is very discreet. And the doctor is always happy to visit you if that is what you’d prefer.”

Zania sent her an abstracted smile. The last thing she wanted was for a home visit while Kain was in residence. She needed to learn the truth in private, then decide what to do about it if there was even a secret to tell.

The receptionist opened the door to a small, restful room with a desert landscape oil painting on one wall and a ticking clock on the other. She pointed to a comfortable seat. “Relax over there, the doctor will be in shortly.”

Zania smiled thanks and sank into the seat. Not even a minute later the doctor arrived. “Sheikha Zania, how may I help you today?”

She bit her bottom lip. “I’m here to have a pregnancy test.”

His eyes widened behind his horn-rimmed glasses. “I see.” He cleared his throat. “And how long since you had your last period?”

“I’m a little over three weeks overdue.”

“Let me just start by doing a routine health check.” After he cuffed her to check her blood pressure, then listened to her heartbeat, he riffled through one of the drawers in his desk and retrieve a small plastic jar.

Five minutes later she sat near his desk again with a contracted stomach. “So I really am pregnant?”

The doctor nodded. “The results don’t lie.” He smiled and winked. “I’m sure this will mean the wedding will be brought forward. Either way I’m certain Sheikh Kain will be delighted to start his lineage.”

“I’m sure he will,” she stated weakly. She cleared her throat. “I-I’d like to surprise him with the news at a later date, when I know our baby is healthy.”

The doctor nodded sagely. “Of course. There is a risk, albeit a small one, of miscarriage. But you’re young and healthy, and your physical was all good. I have no reason to believe you won’t deliver him a healthy baby. And of course, there is no reason not to continue being intimate.”

She was deep in thought by the time she stepped back inside Kain’s suite of rooms. She could no longer think of the rooms as theirs. They simply weren’t. They never had been, really. Knowing she was pregnant and it was likely Tabari’s, meant she had no claim to anything of Kain’s.

Not his home, not his money, and definitely not his heart.

She was all but numb when she walked into the kitchen, where Kain stood at the bench sipping an amber colored drink with ice, either scotch or perhaps bourbon. “Hey, shortcake. Did you enjoy exploring the palace?”

She nodded, and forced a smile. “Yes, it was lovely.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You don’t sound very impressed.”

She really needed to work on her acting. If only she wasn’t numb from the inside out. “How could I not be impressed by the beautiful furnishings and the sheer majestic architecture of the place?”

“I take it you stood in the center of the four wings?” he asked mildly, though pride flashed in his eyes.

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