Alea felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She turned to Dane, her feet unsteady. Oh, god, she'd thought about it, but it was like a little whisper in the back of her mind. She'd known that she could become pregnant. How many weeks had gone by? She'd lost count. Time seemed to flow differently on the island, but now it was speeding up like a carnival ride. It was making her sick.
Talib had gone an angry red. "My cousin is pregnant?"
Alea shook her head. "No. I'm not."
Was she?
Dane's smile was that of a man who had just tossed down the winning hand when everyone had thought he was played out. "We were on the island for over a month. She never had her period."
Oh god. She hadn't even thought of that until now.
"Perhaps you didn't notice," Tal tried.
"I was inside her every day, sheikh. I would have noticed. We didn't use protection. She's pregnant by one of us, but I assure you, we will all claim the child. We believed she loved us and had pure intentions. We always intended to marry her with full respect to her culture. I understand that you shouldn't have been placed in this position, sheikh, but you should understand that I have no intention of allowing my child to grow up without his fathers. If you choose not to honor my rights as the man who impregnated her, then Cooper, Landon, and I will be forced to petition your courts to have our rights recognized. Since she was in a relationship with the three of us, according to your laws, we all have rights to the child."
Alea felt sick. She managed to stay on her feet.
Tal was still talking, his voice rough. "If the doctors confirm a pregnancy, then the marriage will take place as soon as possible. We'll keep it private, but afterward, we will announce the union to the press. In a few months, we'll publicize the princess's pregnancy." Tal turned to her. "I have no choice. You were right about our people. We could handle an affair. The heat would be on us for a few months, but we would survive the scandal. We cannot handle a princess with an illegitimate child. This isn't England or America where people just accept royalty and celebrities as human. If you don't marry, they will blame me for not protecting my family. It will weaken my position. Did they rape you?"
Honesty would be her death knell. Alea knew it. Yet she couldn't lie. "Of course not."
"Then you made your bed, cousin, and you will lie in it. I know it's not fair, but there are conservative factions in this country that would do anything to topple my throne and set us all back a thousand years. I cannot allow that to happen. In this, I must be the sheikh and not your cousin. I have to keep my throne stable for everyone in Bezakistan. You will marry them if you're pregnant. I would offer to allow you to marry someone of your choice and pay off these men, but I have a feeling they cannot be bought."
"Not for anything, sheikh," Dane confirmed, his face grim but resolute. "We will not back down and we are united in this."
"As brothers should be." Tal reached out and shook Dane's hand. "We'll sit down and talk about all the details this evening after dinner. Alea, I'll send the doctor up to you in a bit. You should rest until then."
"You can't do this to me, Talib. You can't do this to them." Her voice sounded small and lost.
"You chose to sleep with them, knowing how they felt. You chose to not use protection. And now you're throwing a fit because there were consequences to your actions. I have to take charge because you're acting like a child and not a woman about to become a mother. You're still clinging to the pain and the guilt like they're security blankets. I know because I did the same thing, but I cannot allow it now. I'm not stupid, Alea. I know your refusal has something to do with what happened to you, and I am so sorry it is being dragged up again, but your time to hide is over. You have to face what happened and decide if you are going to allow it to defeat you or if you will grow beyond it and move on. I love you, my cousin. I pray you can heal and embrace the future." He walked away, pulling out his chair and sitting behind that big desk where his fathers once worked.
"Tal?" She'd just lost something precious and she hadn't meant to. Tears threatened.
He didn't bother to look up. "You're dismissed, Alea. I have to prepare for the meeting with the investigators and then I must start the paperwork for your marriage. It's a matter of state, after all."
She felt tired. So weary. She'd been trying to protect them, but it had blown up in her face.
Dane wouldn't look at her. He kept his attention on Tal. "I will see you in the meeting, sheikh."