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Chapter Twenty

“Oh God, not again.”I ran to the toilet and emptied the contents of my stomach.

After the heaving stopped, I rested my body against the surround of the bathtub. I closed my eyes and waited for the next wave of nausea.

This sucked. There was no doubt, I was pregnant.

I hadn’t thought anything of it when I missed a period last month since my monthly cycle had been irregular since I was a teen, making it so I could miss a month here and there without worry.

It wasn’t until this past week when the constant fatigue and nausea became too much to ignore that I grew suspicious. And then this morning, the vomiting started.

Wasn’t a woman supposed to get at least a few hours of respite between bouts of throwing up?

I covered my stomach. “Sorry, kid. I’m happy you’re coming, but could you let up for a few minutes?”

My stomach turned again.

“Well, I guess that’s my answer. Is this payback for taking you on my mission with me?”

God, I couldn’t believe I’d gone to Pakistan pregnant. I could have lost my baby if anything had gone wrong.

“I will never put your life at risk again. Though you did choose a very inconvenient time to make an appearance.”

I had to have ovulated during one of the first few times Ashur and I’d had sex. I literally was the bride who got pregnant on her honeymoon.

So, all the fucking Ashur and I had done over the last few weeks was for nothing. He’d kept to his word. We lived separate lives during the day and only met in the bedroom for the sole purpose of producing a child.

I wouldn’t lie to myself and say I hadn’t enjoyed the sex. Ashur made sure I achieved my orgasm, but it felt so cold. I’d rather have just gone to bed than feel so lonely afterward. We’d become the political couple that made appearances and posed for pictures but barely spent any time together. Gone were the heated discussions and the playful banter. Gone were the hot looks and constant touching.

“I promise, little one. No matter what happens between your daddy and me, you’ll never know a day without love. I suck at the wife-and-first-lady thing, but I will rock the mother thing.”

The churning in my belly finally stopped, and I pushed up onto my feet. Immediately, nausea returned and I grabbed the toilet seat, letting what little was left in my stomach empty.

“I hate you, Jacinta,” I muttered to myself and then said to my belly, “Your Samina Foi too. I hope your cousins make her gray early.”

“Why are you cursing my sister?”

I froze. Ashur had to have heard what I said.

I looked at him. He stared at me with worry and a bit of amusement.

“Go away, Ashur. I don’t need you to laugh at my misery.” I rested my head on my forearm, praying the nausea would stop.

“Let me help you.”

“I think you’ve done enough. Your super sperm did the job. You won’t have to fuck me every night anymore for an heir.”

“Do you really think that’s the only reason I want you? For God’s sake. I’ve known you were pregnant for over two weeks.”

How the fuck could he have known when I only suspected this past week?

“I can see the question so let me answer. I figured it out when your breasts began to swell and you kept sneaking away for power naps.”

“So, my need for sleep gave it away?”

“You are one of those high-energy, sleep-when-I’m-dead women. So, combined with the slight changes in your body, I knew it was either you were coming down with something or as you said, my super sperm did the job.”

“Could have given me a clue,” I muttered under my breath.