But, when she looked, no one was in the bathroom.
That’s when she remembered the cameras!She’d bought two security cameras!
With trembling fingers, she reached for her phone.But before she could check the security app, she found there were more than twenty missed calls from Rafi.Carys remembered seeing Rafi, the man she’d thought she loved, kissing her best friend.
Almost immediately, she slumped down onto her bed, the phone dangling from her fingertips.She should call him back, tell him that he was a bastard and she hated him for betraying her like this.
But Rafi didn’t know that Andi was Carys’s best friend.That’s when she remembered that she was supposed to meet Andi for coffee.Andi must have been going to introduce Carys to her new boyfriend.
Who just happened to also be Carys’s boyfriend.
This wasn’t Andi’s fault.Her friend had no idea that they were dating the same guy.Carys suddenly realized that she needed to tell Andi about how they’d been with the same guy.Their lives had been pretty chaotic lately.Andi had started a new job that took her all over the world while Carys was busy launching new ad campaigns with a new supervisor.
No, that wasn’t right.Carys had been seeing Rafi for a couple of months now.While Andi had only met her guy a few weeks ago.Yes, that was right.Andi had only mentioned a new guy in her life two, maybe three, weeks ago.Had it been longer?Had it actually been four weeks?Or longer?Maybe Andi just hadn’t mentioned anything to Carys about her new love life.
Carys fell backward across her bed, ignoring the mess of blankets underneath her as the tears flowed again.What had happened between her and Rafi three or four weeks ago?What had she done or said that would have pushed him into the arms of another woman?
Carys wiped angrily at a tear with the back of her hand, sniffling and trying to breathe.But the pain was overwhelming.She rolled onto her side, curling into a ball as she thought back over the past couple of months.Being with Rafi had seemed so…effortless.They talked and laughed easily together.The sex was phenomenal!Of course, she hadn’t slept with many men so her sample size was pretty small, but Carys instinctively knew that sex wasn’t usually as incredible as it was between her and Rafi.It simply wasn’t!Most of the women in her friend group complained about sex with their significant others.Some of her friends were relieved when they got their periods, because it meant that they had a whole week “off” from having to smile and respond to their significant other’s sexual advances.
And she also knew that…!
Carys froze, the tears subsiding for a long moment as that last sentence registered.Her friends “enjoyed” a weeklong reprieve from sex with their significant others while they were on their periods!
That hadn’t happened over the past few months!Carys hadn’t abstained from sex because of her cycle in…ever!Not with Rafi, at least.She went cold.She hadn’t had a period in…well over a month!
Her hand moved unconsciously to her stomach.Could she be…?Was it possible that she might…?
“No!”she whispered, the tears streaming down her cheeks again as she thought about having a baby all by herself.In the past, she and Andi had laughed about how they could be “aunts” to each other’s children.They’d always assumed that they would remain close no matter what happened in their lives.They had been closer than some sisters!
But no more!Carys couldn’t be friends while Andi was with Rafi.It would be impossible.The agony of watching the man she loved with her friend would be too intense.So no, Carys couldn’t remain friends with Andi.
Especially if she was pregnant!
How cruel could the universe be if she truly was pregnant?That would be…beyond horrible.And wonderful, she thought as she contemplated the possibility of having Rafi’s baby.They hadn’t talked about kids.Hell, whenever Rafi brought up the future, Carys changed the subject.
Apparently, for good reason, she thought as she rolled over, pulling a pillow to her chest.Pregnant and alone.Carys blinked back the tears, her eyes burning.It was time to stop crying, she admonished.Then wiped more tears away.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes, trying to stop the pain.But the tears kept falling.Carys had no idea what time it was, but she was tired.Bone-deep exhausted.She might have slept most of the day and night, but every part of her ached.
Especially her heart.
Chapter 24
“Where the hell is she?”Rafi hissed, glaring at the head of his security team.“She didn’t call me when she finished her coffee date with her friend.We were supposed to meet up after I got through the airport!”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the man bowed, shaking his head.“We haven’t found her yet.I’ve stationed two men to watch her apartment.She hasn’t entered or left her apartment since I stationed someone there.”
“Did you go into her apartment?”Rafi demanded, wondering if Carys was hurt and couldn’t call for help.Was she lying helplessly on the floor of her apartment?Wounded and scared?
“No, Your Highness.But if you are authorizing us to enter, we’ll do so immediately.”
Rafi ran a hand through his hair, frustration driving him crazy.He was worried now.The sun was just coming up.There were glimmers of light shimmering on the horizon and the day promised to be beautiful.
But not without Carys.Every minute of not knowing if Carys was okay felt like a year.His Carys was hurt.He could feel it in his bones.She wasn’t answering her cell phone, hadn’t responded to his text messages, and she wasn’t in her apartment.
“Start interviewing her friends,” Rafi demanded.“Find out if anyone has seen her.Check into the office security system and find out if she worked today.I know it’s Saturday,” he paused and sighed.“I guess it’s Sunday actually.”He clenched his teeth for a moment, then ran his hand through his hair again.He spun around, glaring at his lead bodyguard.“She might be carrying my child.And if that’s the case, then she could be in danger.”
He couldn’t consider the possibility that Carys had already been taken by someone hoping to harm him or his family.The thought of Carys, tied up and scared, maybe being tortured, was more than he could handle.
