But this sarcasm, this utter arrogance? She couldn’t stomach it, no matter how she ached for him.
“I see,” she said, quietly shaking inside. He was stiff and formal now, all trace of the thoughtful lover gone. It hurt so much. She’d be damned if she’d let him see it, though. “Thank you for letting me know. I am so fortunate that you care.”
His nostrils flared, a single concession to emotion. She hoped he might break then, hoped he might tell her he was sorry, that he hadn’t meant that the way it sounded.
He almost did.
“Sheridan, I—” He stopped, clenched his jaw, shook his head. And then he looked at her again with eyes that were cold and empty. Icy. “Go rest. I’ll see you when I return in a week.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RASHID HAD BEEN gone for three days when the rumor reached her. Sheridan stared at Fatima and blinked. Hard. Her belly twisted into knots as she asked Fatima to repeat what she’d said.
Fatima didn’t seem to hear the note of anxiety in Sheridan’s voice.
“There is talk His Majesty will choose a second wife from one of the tribes, Your Highness.”
“A second wife.” How had she been in Kyr for over a month now and not considered that Rashid could have another wife?
“A Kyrian wife.”
“I see.” But she didn’t. Fatima clearly thought this was not a problem because she went about her work as if she hadn’t just upended the foundation of Sheridan’s entire being. A second wife. A Kyrian wife. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? And why hadn’t Rashid told her it was possible?
After they’d returned from the hospital, she’d been angry and hurt by Rashid’s sudden distance. But she’d known it would do no good to push him. She had to give him space, had to let him come around to it in his own time. He was an intelligent man and he would eventually realize he couldn’t hide from life. He would miss her in his bed and he would want to continue the relationship they’d had. She’d had every faith they would grow together as a couple.
They might not have married for love, but that didn’t mean love wouldn’t grow.
But what if she was only fooling herself? He’d spent two weeks taking her to his bed every night and making love to her. He’d given her a puppy because he knew she’d never had one. But what else did he do that indicated his feelings for her might evolve?
He’d gone to the hospital with her so he could show his support, but he’d come away more distant than ever.
And now he’d gone into the desert without her. Could he possibly be looking for another wife? It didn’t seem plausible, since he’d planned to take her with him up until the last possible moment. Would he really have gone wife shopping with her along?
His mood had changed so drastically after the revelation they were going to have twins that she couldn’t be certain what was on his mind anymore. They weren’t from the same world, and it certainly wasn’t unusual in his to contemplate such a thing.
She grew chilled as she considered what it would mean for Rashid to have another wife. He would take another woman to his bed. Sheridan would have to wait her turn to be with him. She would grow big with his children and she would be shunned while he chose to spend his evenings with another.