Page 35 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

However, this was Bedelia. In so many ways, she felt like the right one, regardless of her birth or her lack of wealth. She was the right one because of her smile, because of her heart, because of the body that could draw a response out of stone. She was perfect, and she was gone, and dammit, he refused to let that be the end of it. He read the letter through one more time, trying to figure out what the missing piece was, why she would flee when things were going so well, when they made each other so happy, but he found nothing at all.

There were two paths in front of him. One led towards a perfectly reasonable woman who would be his sheikha, another guiding hand for his country, a woman generations of his family would think of as suitable.

On the other path was a girl with green eyes that outshone emeralds and a heart that called to his like a siren, and in the end, it was no choice at all.

He folded the letter carefully, stuffing it into his pocket, and then he picked up the phone.

For a moment, he debated calling Bedelia, but he dismissed it with contempt. She had decided to leave without saying a word, which meant she didn’t wanted to speak with him. Right now, actions mattered more than words, and he was nothing if not a man of action.

Instead, he dialed the Muneazil airport.

"Hello, I am Sheikh Jahin Abdul Kattan, and I must speak with representatives from ticketing and from the flight control tower..."

He waited impatiently while the exclamation on the other end of the line died down, and then he started telling them what he wanted.

In less than ten minutes, he was out the door and in his car. He could make it back to the airport in forty minutes, and though his body cried for rest, he refused to stop, refused to even take a break.

In the back of his mind, there was a fury simmering there, something dark and roiling, but behind that, there was fear. He was never a man who could deal with fear, however, and he pushed it away.

Instead, he focused on the image of Bedelia, on her smile, the way she reached for him, the soft sound of her breath at night. More and more, he was realizing that he did not want to live without her, and what this meant for them moving forward from this moment was anyone's guess.

***

THE MOMENT SHE got on the plane, Bedelia felt herself relax. It was a narrow seat, and she was pinched between an irritated business man and a woman with a small baby snugged to her lap, but it was still a relief. She had searched for fares online before being simply reduced to calling the airlines heading out of Muneazil and Dubai. She had gotten the bad news over and over again; everything was booked up for the next forty-eight hours. She had said over and over again that she needed to leave the country, to return to the United States, but it had all been futile until she had reached one sympathetic representative in Muneazil.

"I can't get you to the United States," he said reluctantly. "But I can route you to Istanbul, and from there, you can take a flight to the United States almost immediately. Will that be acceptable?"

It wasn't, really. Istanbul still felt too close, too near to Jahin's grasp, but it was the best she could do. She agreed, winced as she gave him her credit card, and after that, she threw everything that belonged to her into her bag.

It gave her a surprising pang to leave behind the clothes he had bought her. It wasn't because she loved wearing them or because they were valuable, although both things were true. It was because she had so many memories of wearing them with Jahin. She could remember which dress she had worn to go to the national gardens, which tunic she had worn to the races. She shook her head, refusing to allow herself to take even one for the memories. It would feel too much like stealing, she’d thought with a pang.

Instead, she had put on her old tunic and trousers, throwing a black scarf over her head. Still, she’d had to pause when she found the little wooden figurine he had bought her on their first day together at the horse fair. For a moment, looking down at the figurine's smiling face, she’d wanted to break down into tears again, but somehow, she’d stopped herself.

What would you have done?she asked the wooden girl silently. You mourned, and you swore to never stop mourning until your lover returned to you. My issue...is a little more complex.

In the end, she couldn't bear to leave the talisman of their relationship behind. She rolled the figurine in a pair of socks and tucked it into her bag. She couldn't leave it, but if she kept on looking at it, she might simply start sobbing.

You can stop affecting my moods any time, kiddo, she thought, touching her stomach, but she knew it was more than just hormones. There was a part of her that was actively in mourning, but she couldn't allow herself to give in to it just yet. It would be safe when she was on the plane. She could cry all she wanted to on the plane, and then she would land in Istanbul, and after that, she would be in the United States, where she could only imagine that she would spend the next few months weeping at every turn.

She was tense all the way to the airport and navigating her way through the crowds there. At any moment, she expected Jahin to come out of the crowd, to demand an explanation for what the hell was going on.

Even as she thought of it, however, she knew how unrealistic it was. He knew they were having a temporary affair. He knew there was nothing binding them to each other. He would simply let her go, and that would be that. If he knew she was pregnant, however, things might change, and she could not risk that.

Still, when the plane made its way down the runway, picking up speed as it did so, something in her loosened. Bedelia couldn't help but notice that the woman in the seat next to her had a fat gold wedding ring, and she knew somehow that the woman and her child were returning to a man who loved them.

Oh god, I really don't want to cry all the way to Istanbul, she thought in horror, but it was certainly looking as if that was what was going to happen.

She was just wiping her eyes when the captain turned on the announcement system.

"We regret to inform you that due to circumstances beyond our control, the plane will be landing again immediately..."

Amidst the chorus of groans and grumbles, Bedelia froze. There was no way that it could be what she thought it was, but there was a cold certainty at the bottom of her stomach that was certain it was Jahin.

As the plane turned a giant circle to land again, she took a deep breath, trying to make sure that she stayed calm. There might be equipment failure. There might be some kind of security issue. It didn't have anything to do with her at all, or at least that was what she told herself to stay calm.

However, even that illusion of calm disappeared when the plane landed and two men in dark suits and sunglasses appeared. They made their way straight for her, one standing in front of the seat, one behind, both watching her with the uncanny attention of cats.

"Miss Lindow, you will exit the plane now..."

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