“You worry too much, old friend. Chia won’t know for quite some time. By the time she has recovered it will not be a problem.
Malek shook his head, but held his peace. He feared Jahan would be in for a very rocky time in his marriage if he couldn’t control the urge to treat Chia as his possession. Sometimes the lesson must be learned the hard way if it was to be learned at all. Lord knows he was still learning his.
“I’d better go back to get Amanda. She’ll be furious if we are late for Chia’s wedding.
Jahan walked Malek to the door, his thoughts were on Malek’s advice. He knew it was sound and he would follow it as long as Chia was kept safe. He’d nearly lost her once and would not take the chance now. She was far too important, she was the other half of his soul.
He turned and hurried back to his room. He didn’t want to be late for his wedding either. He chose a dark suit with a pristine white shirt. David entered as he finished his tie.
“Everything is set.” He handed Jahan a small bouquet of flowers, his face turning a bright red at Jahan’s sardonic look. “A woman wants a bouquet at her wedding,” he said defensively.
“And how would a confirmed bachelor know that?” Jahan’s lips twitched with mirth.
“I have four married sisters, Jahan. I’ve been through the madness four times. She’ll want the flowers.” David brushed a tiny piece of lint from Jahan’s sleeve and nodded. “You’ll do.”
“Come, David. We mustn’t be late.” Jahan spun and led the way down the stairs to his limo. Normally, he preferred to drive himself. Today, for protocol’s sake, on this most important day, he would ride in the limo. David climbed inside beside him, taking notes, setting appointments, and preparing for the negotiations.
By the time they had arrived at the hospital, Jahan’s next week was already booked. He would only have a few minutes each day to come visit Chia in the hospital. Things were going to be hectic the next couple of months. He would be too busy to spend much time with his new bride. She would have much to do learning how to be his hostess, how to manage his home, and all the duties of a prince’s wife.
Jahan’s mouth opened in surprise as he walked into her hospital room. There were flowers everywhere. His gaze swung to Chia, his heart racing at the sparkle in her beautiful emerald green eyes.
“Surprise,” she whispered. Her mother had arrived early, a gorgeous ivory, lacy dress in her arms. They nurses had converged on them, helping her bathe, fix her hair, and applying a light make-up.
Tears glistened in Chia’s eyes as Jahan handed her the flowers and brushed a soft kiss on her full lips. “They’re beautiful. Thank you, Jahan.”
The reverend arrived and in a flurry they were man and wife. Jahan felt a burden lift from him. He had doubted if he and Chia would ever wed. Pride welled deep inside his chest. She truly loved him. She would never wed without love. He had known that about her since she was a small child.
Dr. Khan stood nearby monitoring Chia’s blood pressure and her pulse rate. As soon as they began to climb, he ushered everyone out except for Jahan and her parents. “That’s enough excitement for you young lady. It you want to go home at the end of the week, you need to rest.” He told her with a grin.
Jahan’s face creased in a wide smile. “Wonderful!” He caught Chia’s lips in a hot, deep kiss.
Chia’s breath caught as Jahan kissed her with gentle mastery. She felt the tips of her breasts harden and her core swell and dampen with arousal. She hoped she would be well enough to enjoy her wedding night soon. It had been too long since she had enjoyed Jahan’s lovemaking.
“Soon, baby, soon,” he murmured against her lips as he reluctantly took a step back.
Amanda and Malek shared an amused look, remembering their own wedding day and the wondrous night they had shared. Fortunately, the heated passion they had shared had only burned hotter with each passing year. And even with the problems in their relationship, they were still fiercely attracted to each other.
“I can’t wait to go home.” Chia sighed, her eyes glazed with passion, her lips feeling swollen from Jahan’s kiss.
“I’ll have your things brought to our home.” Jahan told her, watching closely to see how she reacted to the news that she would not be returning to her parent’s home.
Chia’s eyes darkened a bit at the way Jahan informed her, as thought he had made the decision and she would just have to go along with it. She gazed up at him determined not to let anything ruin her wedding day. “That will be fine. Mother will help you take what I will need temporarily until I feel like dealing with the rest.” Although they had discussed it earlier, Jahan had gone back to his autocratic tone when he had told her parents.
Jahan saw the mutinous slant of her chin and nodded. Once he left he would have everything brought and she could worry about it sometime in the future. Perhaps that would be the best way to deal with Chia. Agree with her and then do what needed to be done and then convince her it was the best way. It would save needless arguments.
Chia saw the smug satisfaction on Jahan’s face and truly feared he had not learned anything from their battles. At least she knew they loved each other. “Jahan who would you have married if we had not worked everything out?”
“You are the only one I was going to marry, Chia. We have been betrothed since you were just a babe.” Jahan watched Chia’s face whiten with alarm. “Babe, what’s wrong?”
“Chia turned to her parents with accusing eyes. “You pledged me to him when I was just a baby. How could you? What was all that nonsense about me marrying for love? What if I had found someone while I was at college?” Betrayal made her eyes shine with tears.
Amanda moved nearer and tried to take Chia’s hand. “Honey, you have loved Jahan forever. We never had a doubt that you would end up married to him. There was no need to tell you of the contract.”
“You lied to me. And Jahan, did you know before you kidnapped me?” Hurt slammed into her, a hurt so deep, she felt as though she couldn’t breathe.
“Yes, I knew. When you went away to University and I received reports that you had taken lovers. I nearly went crazy. You were meant to be mine and I regretted that I had never told you of our betrothal.” He moved to her side, his sole aim to comfort her. He needed her to calm down before her stress had her having a relapse.
Dr. Khan rushed forward and virtually shoved Jahan and Chia’s parents out the door. “Go!” He bellowed, furious at the three who were supposed to have Chia’s best interests at heart. Damn it, if he’d know about that cursed betrothal contract, he’d have told her a bit more gently, himself so I wouldn’t have come as such a shock to her.
Chia panted, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was racing. Tears streamed from her eyes. She just didn’t know what she was going to do. She had married Jahan of her own free will. No one had forced her. They had tricked her and for that she might never forgive any of them.
Everything her parents had spouted about her finding true love had been pure nonsense. She felt manipulated and betrayed.
Dr. Khan placed the oxygen mask over her face and gave her a shot to calm her down. He was worried at the spike in her blood pressure. The continuous stress to her system could very easily cause her to miscarry. Lord help them if that happened. The three of them would have to carry the equal share of the blame.
“Chiandra, take slow deep breaths,” he urged. His head nurse rushed into the room, her face concerned, her manner all business and efficiency.
The quickly stripped off her ivory dress and put her hospital gown back on her. Together they worked on Chia until the sedative took effect and she was able to breathe without the oxygen. Dr. Khan did an exam, relived to note she was not cramping or spotting. “Nice and easy. Chia, think of your child,” he soothed.
For over two hours they monitored Chia until Dr. Khan was satisfied the danger was gone.
Nodding at the nurse, he left her to watch Chia and stepped out and headed to the waiting room. Coldly furious, he
forced himself to calm down before he insulted two of his country’s most powerful rulers. He took a minute to observe the three. Jahan was pacing, his face creased with worry. Amanda was sniffling in Malek’s arms, his own eyes moist.
Jahan glanced up when the doctor walked in. “How is she?” he demanded hoarsely.
Khan raised an inky brow at his imperious tone. “She’s stable for the moment. We’ve sedated her again and she’s off the oxygen.”
“Thank God,” Amanda breathed.
“How does this affect her being released on Friday?” Jahan continued, his thoughts fluctuating between Chia and how her stay in the hospital was going to impact his meeting. He had to travel north and he would be gone for at least two or three weeks. With things so strained between them, he needed time to win her over. If he left before they could work it out, she would have time to brood and she might never come around.
“At this point, I just don’t know. For now the only visitors she may have are the ones she asks for.” He tossed at them, his anger at Jahan’s apparent callousness rising. He well realized the responsibility Jahan carried. He had expected him to be more concerned over Chia’s welfare and the horrible hurt they had just inflicted on her. He acted as though it were of no consequence and she would eventually get over it and come around to his way of thinking. If it weren’t for the undisputed fact that Chia’s life and that of her child’s were in danger, he’d enjoy seeing his prince put in his place.
A certain amount of arrogance was to be expected in such a powerful position, especially in one so young. Yet Jahan’s went far above the acceptable. No one had dared gainsay him in too many years and he expected his own way in everything. Dr. Khan thought it might do the young ruler a world of good to be taken down a couple of notches and he thought Chia might just be the one to do the job, once she was well.
“I must see her. If she can’t be released by the end of the week, I have to tell her of my meetings and why I will be gone.” Jahan fully expected the doctor to capitulate and allow him to visit Chia whenever he wished.
“I’m sorry. Unless Chiandra wants to see you, you will be denied access to her room. Right now she needs peace and quiet so she can recover.” Dr. Khan was surprised to find he found a certain satisfaction in the chagrined look that crossed Jahan’s face.
“But I must see her,” he protested, unused to anyone denying him his way.
“Jahan, not right now. Let her be for the day and perhaps on the morrow she will feel like letting us visit.” Malek counseled, his own heart heavy at the pain he had inadvertently been responsible for with his daughter. Amanda had tried repeatedly to get him to tell Chia before she found out on her own. In his arrogance, he hadn’t thought it would be necessary. He had known she had loved Jahan and had foolishly thought that would be enough for her to forget everything else.
“I suggest you all go home and get some rest. It’s been a long morning. Chia will be out for the rest of the day.” Khan watched the indecision of Jahan’s face.
“Very well. I’ll go for now, doctor. Tomorrow I will call before I come by.” Jahan stiffly inclined his regal head and stomped out of the room.
“His pride is stung,” Amanda observed.
“None of you have any right to feel anything but shame for the way you have manipulated Chiandra,” Khan them coldly.
“You forget yourself, Doctor,” Malek began huffily.
“Oh just shut up, Malek. Dr. Khan is right. We’ve messed this situation up beyond belief and we’ll be lucky if we can salvage enough out of it that our daughter won’t hate us forever. In her position, I wouldn’t give in too easily.”
Malek took a deep breath, all his bravado collapsing at her truthful words. “You’re right. We can only go home and hope Chia can bring herself to forgive us.”
“Go home. Rest. If anything happens, I will call you.” Khan shooed them out, wondering how two people who so obviously loved their only child had taken such a wrong turn. Shaking his head, he went back to check on Chia, somewhat comforted at the presence of the two guards. At least Jahan’s enemies could not be able to harm her.
Chapter Twelve
Chia floated in a haze of blurred images. Hurt and betrayal pulled at her. She struggled to push the hurtful thoughts away. She had to relax, to let her body calm down to protect her son. Somehow she knew she carried Jahan’s son.
The sedatives she had been given were not terribly strong. They helped her relax without knocking her completely out. She wondered how they would affect her son. She’d have to remember to ask the doctor.
She tried to find a way out of the mess her life had become. She could always run. She didn’t think it would do her much good. Jahan had chased her down when she had run before. Now that he was her husband, it would be a hundred times worse. She couldn’t trust him, the man she had loved most of her life. The man she had dreamed of spending the rest of her life with. God! How could she have been so gullible? She’d actually saved her purity for him. How archaic that sounded now. She wondered if he even appreciated the gift or if he just thought of it as his right.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache. She moaned and the nurse moved nearer, clucking with concern. “Now dear, just stop fretting over it. Things will work out. Let yourself sleep. In the morning everything will seem brighter.”
Chia willed her body to relax. With ruthless determination she pushed all thoughts of Jahan and her parents out of her mind. Instead she imagined what her child would look like. She hoped he looked like his father, dark haired with midnight black eyes. A miniature of Jahan without all his bad habits.
Throughout the afternoon and evening Chia slept fitfully. Dr. Khan left late and gave detailed instructions for the evening staff. If there was any change in Chia’s condition, he wanted to be called.
Chia woke in the middle of the night. She needed to use the bathroom and refused to call the nurse to help her use that dratted bedpan. She slowly eased from the bed and walked into the bathroom. She was not as weak as she feared. Once she had tended to her needs, she moved to the door. The two guards moved to prevent her from leaving and Chia stopped in alarm.
“Why are you here?”
“Prince Jahan’s order,” the largest one rumbled. “Please go back inside, Princess.”
“You mean I’m a prisoner?” Rage glittered in her green eyes.
“Prince Jahan can explain it to you, Princess,” he insisted and gently, but firmly pushed her back inside her room.
“Prince Jahan will never be able to explain this,” she grumbled and went back to her bed. She was furious. She absolutely refused to become so agitated that she would become incapacitated and need another sedative. She regulated her breathing until her muscles relaxed and then she knew no more until the doctor woke her up at six in the morning.
Surprisingly, she had rested well and felt much like her old self. “Good morning Dr. Khan. How long have I been a prisoner?”
Dr. Khan refused to lie to her. She needed someone she could trust to tell her the truth. “Jahan posted them after you were first brought here. One of the opposition placed a note on your pillow. He did it for your protection.”
“Perhaps, but he did not tell me. He just made the decision without consulting with me.” She was so tired of being treated like a brainless twit.
“He is a prince. He will protect what he considers his.” Dr. Khan shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t suppose I am well enough to be released?” She asked hopefully.
“Actually, if you could find someplace you could go where you could rest and not have all the stress dumped on you, you could go today. Do you have someplace like that, Chia?”
“My parents gave me my own apartment here in the city when I started to fight for some independence. I’ve only used it a couple of times. It would be perfect if they would leave me alone.”
“I will speak with them later. Just don’t answer your door or phone for a few days. Now the first thing is to get y
ou past your guards.”
“How?”
“You just leave it to me.” Dr. Khan called for the nurse to bring a wheel chair. Once she was in the room, he explained the plan. They’d wheel her out and tell the guards were taking her for some tests and once out of sight, the nurse would find her some scrubs. Then Dr. Khan would take her to his car and drive her to her apartment.
Normally, Dr. Khan would be against her leaving. He sensed her despair and knew it would do her more good to be completely away from Jahan and her parents for a couple of days.
Chia held her breath as they left the room. The guards demanded to know where they were going. Dr. Khan drew himself up, his face frozen in hard lines of disapproval as he answered with short clipped words. “We’re going for tests. Never question me again or I will have you put out of this hospital. I don’t care who your master is. Do I make myself clear?”
The obvious leader bowed slightly, a sign of respect. “Of course, doctor. Forgive the impertinence.”
Dr. Khan pushed Chia down the long hallway, calm on the outside, a nervous wreck on the inside. His career might well be over once Jahan found out how he had helped Chia run from him again. Frankly, he didn’t care. His main concern was his patient’s welfare and Chia was near the end of her ability to cope with them all.
Once out of sight, he slipped into a storage closet and left the nurse to help Chia change. They’d only be able to stall the guards for so long before they became suspicious and called Jahan. Khan figured he would put him off for a few days, saying he had moved her to another room. He wasn’t sure it would work, but he’d give it a try.
Chia opened the door. Even Khan had a hard time recognizing her. A cap covered her bright hair and the baggy scrubs disguised her full curves. She was surprisingly steady on her feet.
Chia grinned at him, some of her spirit returning. She’d felt almost smothered since she had found out about the last betrayal. The sudden despair that swept over her made her wonder how she would be able to stay married to Jahan if she couldn’t trust him. They walked slowly towards the staff elevator. Chia’s heart raced the nearer they came. She wasn’t sure what she would do if they were caught. She didn’t expect they would listen to her and let her go. Not when they answered to their prince.
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