Page 36 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

She had to awkwardly climb over the woman with the baby, and she was painfully aware of the looks they were giving her. They were wondering what kind of criminal she was, what kind of security risk she had to be before they turned the plane around for her and forced her off of it.

Even though she had done nothing wrong, Bedelia felt a blush of shame bloom across her face.

As she walked off the plane, however, there was also a sense of relief and freedom that she hadn't expected. It was as if the worst had happened, and now she didn't have to worry about it any longer. She didn't want to smile, she didn't want to cry. She simply existed in a state where she did not have any say in what happened next, so she could just relax and stop worrying about things.

The men in dark suits did not seem overly inclined to hurt or harass her. She thought they might be rude or curt, but instead, they were extremely courteous and deferential. She didn't know if they were just naturally polite or if they had received instructions not to harass her, but either way, she was grateful for it. Under their guidance, she got into a sleek black car, and then she was driven back to the penthouse where she had departed from just a few hours ago. She had not expected to see this place again, and now that she had, a part of her felt thankful. This place was immensely dear to her, and she hadn't even begun to fully mourn it yet.

They followed her into the elevator, and she realized they were concerned she might dart out on another floor and try to flee again. She could have told them that they had nothing to worry about. Now that her plan had been foiled, she felt like a deflated balloon, without the ability to move herself forward or back, up or down. The ride to the penthouse seemed to take forever, and when the door chimed and opened, she stepped through on her own.

Seated on one of the wing chairs, one ankle propped casually on his knee, Jahin looked every inch the ruling monarch. He was dressed in simple black, but there was something imposing and commanding in him as he watched her. She had never seen his copper eyes so cold before, and when he gestured at the chair across from him, she didn't dare defy him.

"I suppose you want an explanation," she began, but he cut her off.

"I was worried about you," he said, his tone harsh. "I returned home to Muneazil early because of you. I was concerned that you were sicker than you were saying, or that you might hurt yourself in your delirium. After your message, I flew here, and when I went up to the bedroom, I found your note."

He gestured towards the crossed out scrap of paper where she had penned what she thought was going to be her goodbye. Bedelia flinched a little. She knew very well what was written there, and it hurt to imagine Jahin reading it.

"I couldn't believe it," he continued caustically. "When I came home and found you gone, it was as if someone had carved the heart out of me. For a moment, I thought you were kidnapped, not that you had left, and when I realized that you had left, I had to also realize what a fool I was."

"Why did you call me back? Why did you ask your men to find me?"

He scowled at her, and she thought that if she were capable of feeling anything right now, she would be afraid.

"Because I needed to find out why," he growled. "I have been open and honest with you, and despite the evidence that lies in front of us, I believe that you have been open and honest with me. You fleeing for the United States...that is the part that feels strange and dishonest to me, like it is something that does not fit.

"You are a woman of passion and truth," he said, and it had never sounded less like a compliment in his tone. "What the hell would send you running back towards the United States?"

There was a practical voice in the back of her head telling her to lie. It was there, it told her that if she said enough cruel things, if she whined and groaned and begged, then he would let her go. But she was tired, and as she watched him, something occurred to her.

This man was the father of her son or daughter. Whatever role he took, whatever the circumstances of the pregnancy, that would never change. In that moment, she realized she could not lie to him, and she lowered her eyes, giving up.

"I am pregnant," she said, her voice soft and without inflection.

He was still so long that she thought he hadn't heard her, and then he was across the space between them, his hands rough on her shoulders, hauling her up to look at him. She gasped at his strength and speed, and then she was looking up into his copper eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

His quick and sudden motion somehow jump-started the emotions within her that had felt so frozen. This man was the father of her child, and right now, his grip on her shoulders ached. She couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, and she put up her hands to push him away. She knew it would be like a gnat trying to stand up against a storm, but for her safety and her child's, she had to try.

"I'm pregnant," she shouted, lurching away. He was so startled by her pushing him off that his hands fell down by his sides, and his expression would have been funny if she wasn't so pained.

"I'm going to have a baby, I am going to have our baby," she said, hugging herself, and she watched as the bafflement in his face skyrocketed up into rage.

"And you never thought that I might have something to say about this?" he snarled. "Did you think you were really going to simply sneak off into the night, keeping my child away from me?"

"What could you have to say?" she demanded. "You're not my husband, and we both know this relationship is going to end sooner rather than later. There's nothing between us, Jahin! There is nothing, and I refuse to allow you to...to fulfill your bloodline and take this child away from me."

"Do you understand that what you have done would once have been considered treason?" Jahin growled.

She glared at him defiantly. "Are you going to charge me with treason? Do you think that I won't yell my head off at anyone who will listen about me and my baby? Do you think I'll be too ashamed to get the help I need?"

"You are incredible," he said with disgust, shaking his head. "I have given you everything a woman could want, and you decide that you need to kidnap my firstborn because...because what? You couldn't abide by the relationship we had set up?"

"Everything's changed!" she cried. Why couldn't he see it? Didn't he understand that the child changed everything? "I was afraid you were going to take my child and..."

The scene in front of her wavered, and she scowled until it came back into focus.

"I...I can't. I can't explain to you what it felt like when..."

The words were barely out of her mouth before it felt as if the floor was rising up to meet her, arching up and gravity pulling her down. She grabbed onto the chair beside her, and it stilled her fall long enough for Jahin to catch her. She had just felt the safety of his arms around her when the room swam, and she was gone.

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