Page 32 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

Chapter Eleven

Things returned to normal for the next two weeks or so. There was something dark and grim waiting in the wings, but now that she knew its face and shape, Bedelia knew how to avoid it. She concentrated on her work, she concentrated on Jahin. She never thought about tomorrow.

Jahin, for his part, seemed to focus all of his attention on her when he could. He made time for his governance and for the business concerns that belonged to the royal family, but otherwise, he was with Bedelia.

Somehow, for some reason, they couldn't keep their hands off of each other after that night. In her more thoughtful moments, Bedelia likened it to two people who knew that the end was nigh. Why wouldn't you kiss and make love when the world was going to end?

Almost two weeks after their discussion, she called Miller.

"There you are, Lindow," he snapped. "Where the hell have your reports been? I've been waiting almost twenty-four hours, and believe you me, this is not what I bloody well pay for..."

"You won't be paying for it anymore at all," she said, her voice cold and distant. "I quit."

There was a solid pause on the line that was so quiet she wondered if he had heard her at all.

"What the hell do you mean, you quit?" he raged. "I don't pay you to gallivant all over the damned Middle East for you to leave me high and dry!"

"You certainly do not," Bedelia said. "And I am done with you. I have given you more time and effort than you deserve, and for what? A bad paycheck and the knowledge that I am going to be contributing to one more crappy spy novel?"

Miller's gasp was almost operatic, so over-the-top that she had stop herself from laughing. She didn't know why she wanted to spare her old boss that much, but she did.

"You can deposit my last check into the same account that you always have," she continued, "and before you quibble with me about price, let me tell you that I know exactly how much you owe me. Down to the penny. If you try to shortchange me...I will go after it, and I will make you sorry. I have made some very good friends in the UAE, and I am sure that they want you to be fair."

She knew that the message had gotten through, because Miller simply started swearing. He was careful, however, not to direct all of that swearing at her, and after a few more moments, she quietly ended the call.

He was right about one thing. The pay he was giving her was becoming rapidly inadequate for her to continue reporting on the locations she was visiting. The places were beautiful, and some of them were holy, and some of them were remote, and some of them were all three. There was something beyond sacred about them, and to have them used in the backdrop of some dumb spy thriller, ones where Jahin and his beloved people were never more than the victims at best and the scenery chewing villains at worst, that was something that she could not bear to have on her conscience.

After she quit Miller's assignment, Bedelia felt immediately lighter and more free. Suddenly it felt as if she was completely herself, and she could be completely with Jahin. She pushed away the thought that he would never be completely with her. This was a victory of sorts, and she was determined to celebrate it.

Jahin was pleased that she had left Miller, who he had always thought was a wretch of the first order, but he was less pleased at how fatigued Bedelia looked at dinner that night.

"I know it is never a good idea to say this," he murmured, "but are you all right? You look pale and troubled."

She laughed a little, but even she could hear the weary note in it.

"You are making me sound like some kind of fainting Victorian maiden," she teased. "I'm probably still reeling from quitting, that's all."

Jahin looked unconvinced, but he nodded. "If you continue to feel poorly, please speak to my physician. He is quite good, and if there is something wrong, it is always better to see to it sooner rather than later."

Bedelia hardly disagreed, but she didn't feel bad, exactly. She felt a little tired, and she felt a little worried, but beyond that, she was still able to run and walk and hike and make love to Jahin. She was sure that she was simply a little stressed or under the weather, and the fatigue would go away.

It didn't, however, and one day while she was dozing in the corner of the couch at the penthouse, an explanation occurred to her.

"No," she whispered in shock. "No, it can't be..."

She checked her calendar, counting back over the four months that she had been with Jahin, in his house, in his arms, making love to him. She thought of the IUD she’d had inserted several years ago, how she was supposed to check its placement every month, and how she never did. A panicked examination in the bathroom proved her fears, and now she was confronted with the reality that had never occurred to her before, not even for a moment.

She was pregnant.

Somehow, Bedelia stumbled to the living room again, her eyes wide. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, as if her head was lighter than air. Surely there was no way she could be pregnant, but she quickly realized that this was nothing more than denial. She took a deep breath, which seemed to help, and she made herself face facts.

Her mind spun, and slowly the pieces fell into place. She had been feeling so tired lately. Her moods had been all over the place, and when Jahin had left this last trip, she had seen him out the door before crying stormily in the living room. The intensity of her emotion frightened her, but Bedelia had assumed that was just another indication that she was in over her head as far as Jahin was concerned.

This...this was something else.

There's nothing confirmed until I've taken a test, she thought, and shrugging on her coat, she headed out to get a test. It was as simple and straightforward to get one as she had suspected it would be, but on the way back, she caught sight of a news box that had yet another story in it about Jahin and another woman, this one an Italian countess.

Though the test was burning a hole in her pocket, she couldn't stop herself from staring at the picture. He had told her to ignore them, that they would keep on going together as long as they could, but there was something about the pictures that always ate away at her. She believed Jahin that they were nothing more than innocent photos, and she had read enough of the articles at this point to know they were nothing more than fluff and speculation.

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