Page 34 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

Chapter Twelve

Jahin walked out of the meeting with a bounce in his step, not necessarily because things had gone so well, but because they were simply over. The talks had seemed to go on forever, but he had hopes that in the next five years, they would be seeing some real environmental gains from the talks that had happened today.

He grinned when he saw a message from Bedelia. He thought about calling her before listening to it, but then he thumbed the message to play on a whim. As he listened, however, his smile grew smaller and then disappeared entirely off of his face.

There was something wrong, he could tell instinctively. The way the legends spoke of horsemen who were attuned to their mounts, who knew when they were sick and when they were well, he felt similarly attuned to Bedelia. She would not be pleased to be likened to a mare, he thought, but the sense was the same.

She was speaking too fast, and the cheer in her voice seemed at best a fib, at worst a cover-up of something much darker.

"What's going on, love?" he murmured, looking at his phone as if it might have some of the answers. He listened to the message again, and this time, Jahin liked it even less.

He wavered for a moment, fighting with himself. Technically, there was a second meeting that evening, but he knew from experience that it would be an informal and casual thing, something where more pleasure was discussed than business. It would still be useful; there was nothing like sitting and sharing food with someone for getting to know them, but the bulk of the conference's work had been done.

I really should stay, though,he thought. As much as he wanted to see Bedelia, there were people who were expecting him, and it sounded like she was going to sleep all day and all night anyway. He could take one of the earliest planes out the next morning, see her as soon as she woke up, or even crawl into bed with her while she was still sleeping. He smiled at the thought of crawling into bed with a warm and sleepy Bedelia, listening to her murmuring with surprise as he touched her. Yes, that was likely the best thing to...

NO.

The sensation of wrongness and fear burst over him, and before it had even subsided, he was striding towards Sheikh Masoor Al-Bihari, an older man with a magnificent sea-captain's beard.

"Will you make my apologies to the others?" he asked, slightly breathless. "I am very much afraid that I will not be able to make the evening session."

Sheikh Masoor frowned at him. "Why ever not? Is everything all right?"

"I dearly hope everything is all right," he said, ignoring the man's first question and turning towards his car. "I very much hope so."

All the way to the airport and in the plane, he tried to tell himself that he was being ridiculous. He trusted Bedelia, and it was probably fever that was making her speak so quickly and so nervously. Likely, after she had hung up the phone, she had fallen into bed and even now was fast asleep. There was nothing wrong with her that rest and relaxation wouldn't fix. He was being ridiculous for rushing home when all that told him to do so was a dark little voice in the back of his head.

He leaned back in his seat in first class and tried to relax. However, there was something about the situation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he didn't think he could wish it away, not honestly. He wanted to call her back, but he was unwilling to do so, not when he might be taking her out of a restful sleep merely to indulge his nerves.

No, the best thing to do would be to get home as soon as he could, reassure himself that all was well, and simply let her rest. Tomorrow, she would wake up, see him there, smile, and life would continue.

Jahin told himself this over and over again, and by the time he landed in Muneazil, he almost believed it. He had his own car waiting on the ground, and as soon as he was in his home emirate, he started driving towards the penthouse.

When Jahin got there, it was dark, and for some reason, it felt slightly chilly to him. He knew his imagination was likely getting the best of him again. Of course Bedelia would keep it dim as she slept, especially if her head hurt.

Jahin kept his step light and gentle as he made his way through the darkened house, not turning on the lights or making more noise than he had to. The moment he stepped into the bedroom that they shared, however, he could tell that something was wrong. He stood in the doorway for several long moments, listening desperately for the light breathing that should have been there and hearing...nothing.

He reached for the light switch. In a panic, he wondered if he would find Bedelia fallen on the floor, dead from some household accident or perhaps simply not breathing in the bed, victim of some disease that had spread ridiculously fast.

He saw neither, and as his breathing slowed down, he felt that fear grasp him again. There was a folded sheet of paper on his pillow, and feeling as if the world was slipping sideways, he picked it up.

He recognized Bedelia's neat handwriting immediately, and for a moment, he had no idea what he was looking at.

My dear Jahin:

This is perhaps the hardest thing that I have ever had to write. First, I must apologize. I lied to you on the phone earlier, and I hope you will not think too badly of me in the time to come. I needed the time to leave, and I could think of no other way to make sure that I was uninterrupted.

Second, I dearly hope that this will simply be 'until we meet again' rather than a farewell. My heart is overflowing with feelings for you, but this needs to stop for now. If you will allow me to do so, I will contact you once I am in the United States. Perhaps sometime in the near future we can speak again.

There followed a series of cross outs so dark and violent that he could not figure out what was being said there. She had obliterated the next part with such a great deal of force that the paper was nearly torn there before it continued.

I care for you so much, and that will always be true. Please think well of me.

--Bedelia

He stared at the letter, and for a moment, he was simply stunned. What the hell did she mean about all of this? Did she truly think that he would be all right with her simply walking off and leaving nothing but this letter behind? Was this really all she thought of him?

The logical thing to do would have been to simply let her go. His father had once told him that when a woman wanted to leave he should let her. The right one would want to stay and wouldn't mind saying so.

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