Now that we had no more secrets, my relationship with Rosie had blossomed.
I felt like her fiercely protective aunt, always watching out for her when Malik wasn’t around.
And Roman—Roman had stepped effortlessly into the role of her uncle.
I rubbed my eyes, still groggy. “What? Where are we?”
Emily tilted her head. “At a healer’s place somewhere in France.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?” I croaked. Then, sharper, “No!”
My pulse pounded as the realization set in.
“This was Roman’s idea, wasn’t it?”
Emily folded her arms over her belly. “Yes, it was. But I seconded the motion.”
She lifted an eyebrow, her expression unyielding.
“We need to get you checked out, sister.”
“I don’t need a doctor. I’m fine.”
Emily let out a knowing sigh, then turned down my covers.
“Have you ever thought you might be pregnant?”
My breath hitched.
Pregnant?
Emily smoothed a hand over her belly. “Believe me, I know what morning sickness feels like. I’m so glad mine is behind me.”
A cold, crushing fear wrapped around my ribs like a vice.
What if she was right?
What if I was pregnant?
My hands trembled as I pressed them to my stomach as if I could feel an answer beneath my skin.
And then, an even darker thought coiled inside me, suffocating, insidious.
What if Balthazar found me?
What if he did something to make me lose this child, too?
Rosie silently withdrew her hand from Emily’s and wandered away, sensing the shift in my mood.
Emily, however, didn’t let go of me.
Instead, she clasped my fingers in a steady, comforting grip.
“I can see it in your face, Olivia. You’re having those awful thoughts again.”
Tears burned at the backs of my eyes.
