“Always.”
The waiter starts serving the appetizers, but I’ve completely lost my appetite. If there was a flight back to London today, I would leave.
“You’re upset.”
“No.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Madeline.”
I look at him again. “I don’t like having my integrity questioned. I understand that there must be a line of crazy women wanting to have a child with a wealthy Sheikh. I’m not one of them, Your Excellency.”
“I didn’t say you did it on purpose.”
“But you thought about the possibility.”
He doesn’t deny it, and I have to control myself not to get up and leave him by himself.
“I understand your position, Kamal.”
“You do?”
I nod. “Because of who you are, you must have met many women seeking to take advantage of you. As I said before, I’m not one of them. If you brought me here just to talk about this, we could have spared ourselves the mutual discomfort.”
“It wasn’t just for that. I wanted to spend time with you.”
“We spent a lot of time together today, which eventually led to this issue, as you pointed out.”
“Why are you acting like this, Madeline? I know I’m not the most diplomatic person in the world, but we barely know each other. What did you expect from me?”
I set down my utensils since I can’t even pretend to eat anymore. “May I be excused? I need to go to the restroom.”
I don’t wait for a response. I grab my bag and head to the bathroom.
I thank God when I find it empty.
I look at my watch and calculate the time in Boston.
Jesus, it’s three-forty in the morning. I can’t call Zoe now. She’s pregnant.
I decide to leave her a message.
Me:“Call me as soon as you can tomorrow. It’s not anything urgent, but I need you.”
I exit the stall and look at my face in the mirror.
There’s nothing to give away how nervous I am. After living with my family my whole life, it’s easy to pretend that something doesn’t hurt me.
One day. I just need to endure one day, and then I’ll be back in my apartment and what happened today will be in the past.
I return to the table, occasionally smiling at people along the way, and it’s only when I sit down that I realize there was a bodyguard accompanying me.
“Why is he necessary?” I ask Kamal, referring to the man.
“I don’t think you understand the importance of what might have happened, Madeline. From now on, until you’re certain whether you’re carrying my heir or not, you’ll be treated as my woman, with all the necessary care and precautions.”
I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts me with a gesture.
“I haven’t finished yet. If you really are pregnant, we will have to make a different kind of arrangement.”
