Page 48 of His Impossible Heir

She sniffed, her chin lifting defiantly. Amanda didn’t reply or touch him, but she walked in the direction he’d indicated.

Daniesh trailed behind her, his thoughts whirling. “Our” child? “Our”?!

Impossible! His doctor had told him years ago that he’d never be able to have children! He’d had measles as an infant!

“Where am I?” she asked, coming to a stop in the middle of a long, unfamiliar hallway. “This isn’t the way I came in.” She turned around and glared at him, stepping back when she realized that he was so close. “I’m leaving, Daniesh. I’m going home.”

“This way,” he sighed, then opened the door to usher her into his private suite.

She stomped in, obviously beyond angry and he loved that about her. But he was still too confused by her comment.

“This isn’t the way out!” she exclaimed, turning around and glaring at him.

“These are my private quarters.”

She looked nervous now. “I’mnotstaying here. You didn’t stutter when you said you weren’t going to be the father to our child. I’m going back to Philadelphia. I can raise this baby on my own. I don’t need you or anyone else.”

Her assertion would have been more convincing if the tears weren’t streaming down her cheeks. And if her chin wasn’t quivering.

“Amanda, thatcan’tbe my baby,” he asserted, but this time, his voice was very soft. “I had measles when I was a child. I am sterile. You got pregnant by your next lover. It can’t be mine.”

He hated those words. He hated the unknown man who had touched this woman. But he curled his fingers into fists, fighting to keep himself from touching her, from reaching out to comfort her and be comforted.

“Youass!”

He reared back, startled by her reaction. “Excuse me?”

She huffed a bit, angrily wiped the tears from her cheeks. “First of all, I haven’t had sex with anyone but you in…well, too long! There was no man before you for several years and I definitely didn’t go from your bed in Paris to some other man’s when I returned to Philadelphia. And go to hell for thinking that I ever would!” She threw her hands in the air, letting the anger take over. “And furthermore, sterility only comes from the Mumps, you complete imbecile! Not the measles!” She stomped to the door and jerked it open. At the moment, he was too stunned by her declarations to react. “Get your diseases straight!”

And she slammed the door behind her. Once again, the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about was walking out of his life.

For a long time, he simply stood there, too shocked to react. He could have children? Granted, he’d never taken chances with sexually transmitted diseases in the past. He’d always used protection with every other lover. It had only been with Amanda that he’d thrown caution to the wind, needing to be as close to her as possible.

However, he’d genuinely believed that he couldn’t get a woman pregnant!

Was she right? Was the doctor from so long ago wrong? Was his body able to produce sperm that could result in a…pregnancy?

He turned, needing to clarify her words. But Amanda was gone! Again!

“Damn it!”

He stepped out of his suite and noticed Tito standing guard along with several other guards. “Where did she go?”

Tito didn’t appear overly concerned about his woman’s disappearance. Until Daniesh announced, “She’s pregnant with my child!”

At that point, a stunned and horrified Tito leapt into overdrive. He was muttering into his radio while he raced down the hallway, searching for Amanda. Daniesh rushed down the hallway with him.

For a pregnant woman who was exhausted and not eating well, Amanda could really move! She’d made it all the way to the palace kitchens before he finally caught up with her. She was literally pulling at her hair, so angry that she couldn’t find the exit in this maze of a palace.

“Amanda!” he called out, absently noting that Tito was still barking orders into his radio. Hopefully, the man was organizing a whole team of bodyguards for Amanda. She’d have to be protected now. Daniesh might have laughed at the other man’s frazzled appearance but he was too frayed himself.

“Are you kidding?” he asked, stepping forward. She stepped back but he wasn’t letting her go this time. Hell, he’d never let her go! “You’re pregnant withourchild?”

She sniffed and shook her head. “No Daniesh. You denied this is our child. This is my child now. I’ll raise my child in Philadelphia and we’ll be perfectly fine. I earn a respectable living with my book sales. I’m not wealthy, but I make enough to take care of us. You don’t need to worry.”

She stepped around him but he stopped her with his arm, pulling her back to him.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. She stiffened slightly, but there was a bit less tension in her eyes. “I’m so sorry! I honestly believed that I couldn’t produce a child. I was told a long time ago that I was sterile.”

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