Desert King, Pregnant Mistress(18)

       
           



       

'I'll never forget you. And your life won't change.'

'My  life won't change?' She spoke slowly and deliberately, annunciating   each word as if she had to be sure of his meaning. 'You're even more  cut  off from reality than I thought.'

'And you're overreacting,' he  said impatiently, turning away. He had  never felt like this, his insides  churning. He had never felt so  unsettled and dissatisfied before. They  waited out a tense silence  until the bell sounded on the intercom. 'That  will be your taxi,' he  said unnecessarily, walking her to the door.

'Don't bother coming down with me,' she said in a clipped voice. 'I'll be just fine.'

He didn't doubt it, but would he?



If she had slept for even a second she might have thought twice before lifting the phone when it started ringing.

'Beth?' The voice was expressionless, but unmistakeable.

'Yes,  it's me … ' She held her breath and then said what had to be said.  'I  haven't changed my mind, Khal, and I think it's better if we don't  see  each other again.'

'You took the words right out of my mouth.'

'Oh … '  Somehow she wasn't prepared for that. Biting her lip, Beth  squeezed the  phone until she had proper control of herself. 'Why are  you calling,  then?'

'I just wanted to set your mind at ease before I leave the  country, and  tell you that whatever happened between us will not impact  on your  future with Khalifa.'

She remained silent. If he'd expected enthusiasm, he was out of luck.

'Yes, in fact I have recommended you for promotion.'

'I wish you hadn't.'

'This has nothing to do with us. You're the best person for the job, and that's all there is to it.'


'Thank you.' She felt numb.

'Well, that's it … Maybe I'll see you next time?'

'Maybe … '

There was just the suggestion of a pause, and then the line went dead.





CHAPTER NINE




GRIPPING  on to the cold white porcelain in her small en suite, Beth  wondered if  she was going to be sick again. As the moment passed, and  she was  capable of doing things again without worrying she was going to  faint,  she ran a basin full of cold water and dunked her face in it.  Emerging  spluttering, she felt clean, fresher, and more determined than  ever. She  knew what she had to do; she wasn't the type to let things  hang.

She  called into the chemist on her way to work, and then took refuge in  the  staff bathroom to carry out the simple test and wait for the  result.  She emerged from the bathroom a different person from the woman  who had  gone in; something deep inside her had just adjusted to a new  orbit.

She  was excited and scared and overwhelmed by the complications and   consequences of carrying Khal's baby. But more than anything love was   everywhere, bursting out of her, exploding in a cascade of shimmering   light. If only she'd had someone to share it with. The love she felt for   the baby they'd made was overwhelming, and her love for Khal was   constant. Fate had played a cunning hand. Khal could never legitimise   their relationship, but they were tied together now for the rest of   their lives. She must do the right thing and let him know.

She  tried first to contact him through the embassy, but no one would  release  his private telephone number, even when Beth explained in a  small white  lie that she was a member of his staff.

It was too late now to  wonder why she hadn't asked for his number  before, Beth reflected as she  replaced the telephone receiver in its  nest. And far too late for shame  at the thought that if she had asked  Khal for his number he probably  wouldn't have given it to her, even  though in every other way they'd  been intimate. Even so, it was a  miracle she had become pregnant. She  wasn't on the Pill, but Khal had  always been careful to use  contraception.

It was no use looking back, Beth told herself  firmly, and about as much  use blaming the manufacturers of  contraceptives as it was panicking  about the future. This was her baby  and her responsibility, and she  would cope as she always had. She adored  her baby already, and felt  fiercely protective of it; she would guard  it with her life.                       
       
           



       

Full of resolve she rang the embassy again, and  this time left a  message for His Majesty to call her back. It drew a  sharp intake of  breath from the person on the other end of the line, and  wasn't really  satisfactory for Beth-but she could hardly blurt out the  fact that she  was pregnant by the ruler of Q'Adar to a stranger. The  only person she  would give that news to was Khal. And she'd have to do  that discreetly.  She had seen enough in the gossip magazines to know how  young women  were derided for pointing the finger at wealthy men. And  Khal was more  than wealthy. She had nothing to lose, but what about her  baby? No  child of hers was going to be exposed to ridicule.

For  now she would go back to work, Beth decided. It was crucial she  brought  in an income. There was the future to think about, a future in  which her  child might not grow up to know the trappings of great  wealth, but they  would know love. It would be safer for them to live  quietly and  anonymously, so that was what she would do.

Beth did everything  required of her that day at work and more. If what  Khal said was true  and she was in line for a promotion, then she was  determined to prove  herself worthy of that promotion ten times over.  She was dead on her  feet by the time a phone call came through for her.  She took it by the  till in the store, expecting it to be one of her  loyal customers wanting  her to put something aside for them.

'Ms Torrance?'

Beth's heart stopped. The accent if not the voice was unmistakeable. 'Yes … ?'

'I am calling from the Q'Adaran embassy, Ms Torrance.'

If  she could have fast-forwarded the conversation she would have   done-right up to the part where the man said, 'His Majesty regrets … '

He  regretted? Regretted what? Beth shrank inside. What now? She had to   make herself concentrate on what the man was saying to her. 'Keys?' she   said in confusion. 'I don't know about any keys.'

'To the penthouse, Ms Torrance.'

'I'm sorry?'

'His  Majesty has signed over the deeds of a property, which I believe  you  have viewed? I'm arranging to have the keys couriered to your home   address.'

Beth recoiled. 'I don't want it.'

'I'm sorry, Ms Torrance, but that's something your lawyer will have to take up with our legal department.'

'I  need to speak to him-to Khal-to His Majesty, I mean. It's really   important.' Beth hardly knew that she was nursing her still-flat stomach   in a protective way as she spoke. 'Can you give me a number where I  can  reach him?'

'I'm sorry, Ms Torrance, I'm not at liberty to release that information.'

'Then can you put me through to someone who can get a message through?'

'I'm sorry, Ms Torrance,' the caller repeated patiently. 'That won't be possible.'

'If someone could just tell him that I called … '

'In the event that you called, His Majesty has already left instructions that no thanks are necessary.'

Beth  had to silence the hysterical laughter bubbling up inside her. And  now  it was too late, because the line had cut. Khal couldn't have made  it  any clearer that he didn't want to talk to her, and, whether she  wanted  it or not, he had given her the penthouse as a pay-off. And also  as a  reminder, just in case she had forgotten, that the ruler of  Q'Adar  pulled everyone's strings.

There was nothing she could do about  it, Beth realised, firming her  lips. She felt angrily defensive on  behalf of her baby. Khal wasn't  going to pull their strings. She would  bring up their child without his  help, and in her own home, and not one  of his choosing. She would call  a lawyer now, because she needed someone  to advise her on the best way  to rent out the penthouse and invest the  money for her child. She  wouldn't touch a penny of the money it brought  in, but it would provide  security for her baby in the future.



'It's about time you went home, isn't it?' the elderly doorman joked as Beth smiled goodbye to him. 'You look terrible.'

'Thank  you,' Beth replied wryly. Wasn't that what she needed to hear  after the  day she'd had? But, not being the type to cower in a corner,  she came  straight out with it. 'I probably look pale because I'm  pregnant.'