Page 17 of Twins for the Secret Prince (Even More Babies #8)

EVA

A fter a fitful sleep, Eva awoke on the morning of her promotion interview with a feeling of dread.

Bad dreams, in which she was the only candidate for the job but still didn’t get the promotion, had plagued her.

She figured the dreams stemmed from her lack of knowledge about who else was up for the promotion.

When she’d known that Pieter was her rival, she’d known exactly who she had to beat to the job.

But with Pieter gone, she didn’t know who else she was up against.

With Pieter gone. She’d tried not to think about it in the days since he’d left, telling herself to stay strong and focus on preparing for the interview.

She hadn’t found out about his departure until after the fact, when Lieutenant Marshall had called her into his office to give her the news.

Although Eva didn’t blame Pieter for not saying goodbye to her, especially given that she’d refused to speak to him after learning his true identity, the fact that he hadn’t told her he was leaving only compounded her hurt feelings.

She knew it was for the best, because any relationship between the two of them didn’t stand a chance.

A clean break was always best. Without Pieter around, the temptation to throw herself at him was completely eliminated.

She didn’t have to be ever-aware of his presence, trying to avoid him, worried about other people seeing how he was looking at her.

Although she wasn’t proud of it, she’d felt a quick, sharp thrill when she’d found out that he’d left.

She had felt, for one glorious moment, that she would be certain to get the promotion with Pieter out of the running.

It had only taken ten minutes for reality to come crashing in — namely that there was still the chance she wouldn’t get the promotion.

Sure, she wouldn’t have to see Pieter gloat about beating her to it, but she’d be forced to suffer the humiliation of her senior officers and colleagues knowing that she’d been deemed not up to the job.

Eva believed that giving formal presentations belonged in one of the circles of hell, so when she’d learned she would have to give one as part of her interview, she’d felt queasy.

She would be asked to speak about her five greatest achievements since joining the military, which objectively seemed like an excellent subject.

However, Eva knew she had to walk a tightrope of diplomacy and tact, somehow figuring out what the interview panel wanted her to say about her achievements.

She couldn’t say that surviving for a decade in a male-dominated system was, in and of itself, a huge achievement. She couldn’t say that persevering through years of blatant sexism without giving up and quitting proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was steel at her core.

She wanted to tell the panel that Private Sully and all of the new recruits she’d met who were like him — damaged, angry, desperately seeking their purpose in life — were individual triumphs that gave her untold pleasure whenever she thought of them.

She was concerned that by being honest about these achievements, she’d open a seam of vulnerability that the panel might interpret as weakness, and she wasn’t about to let that happen when the stakes were so high.

Instead, what she’d practiced was a carefully crafted presentation that drew attention to her strengths, her record of commendations and the actions that had led directly to previous promotions.

She’d rehearsed the presentation so often that she knew it by heart, but now, as she dressed for the interview, she told herself to put it out of her mind and focus on staying calm. There was absolutely no room for error.

When she was invited into the interview room, she set up for her presentation as the stern-faced panel watched in silence. Although their faces gave nothing away, Eva thought the presentation went as well as she could have hoped under the high-pressure circumstances.

“Who, more than anyone else, has inspired you to be the sergeant you are today?” was the first question asked by Major Tom Adams.

It wasn’t a question that Eva had anticipated, and she took a moment to compose her thoughts before answering.

“When I was a new recruit, Sergeant Jane Riley was in charge of our squad,” she began.

“She was tough on us, but she took the time to tell each and every one of us what we were good at and what we needed to do better. She epitomized grace under pressure, and she showed us every day how important it was that a squad not just work together, but also believe wholeheartedly in the importance of a strong, cohesive unit.”

The question was a gift, because talking about Sergeant Riley seemed to have the effect of channeling her strength and calm, and Eva felt much more confident throughout the rest of the interview than she’d expected to.

When the interview was finally over, the panel told Eva that they would make their decision once all of the candidates had been interviewed, and that they would let her know as soon as they could.

Slightly deflated, she went to her office to tackle the mountain of paperwork that had built up over the past week.

She tried not to think about who else was being interviewed or how long it would take to find out if she was successful.

Eva went for a long run at lunchtime and was returning to her office when Lieutenant Marshall appeared at her door.

He stepped inside, and she couldn’t read his expression.

“Are you here with news?” she asked, hoping he was there to put her out of her misery.

“I am, and it’s good news. Congratulations, Eva. Or should I say, Sergeant Major Bailey.”

Eva clapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, sir,” she said, her voice choked.

“The panel said you blew all of the other candidates out of the water,” Lieutenant Marshall said, smiling. “Although maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, so keep it to yourself.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Not that I’m surprised, you understand, but I thought you might like to hear that.”

“Thank you, sir. And thank you for encouraging me to go for the promotion.”

“You don’t need to thank me for anything. You’ve proven time and again that you’re up to it, Eva. You’re exactly where you deserve to be.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Once Lieutenant Marshall had left her office, Eva pumped her fist in the air and gave a muted scream of happiness. She’d done it. Success tasted sweet, and she allowed herself a few brief minutes to feel proud of what she’d achieved.

Determined to show the senior officers that she was, without a doubt, worthy of the promotion to sergeant major, Eva was burning the candle at both ends again.

She survived on just a few hours of sleep each night and pushed herself to her physical limits every day.

She wasn’t very surprised, therefore, that she was feeling more tired than usual.

She had to battle against the desire to fall into her bed and have an afternoon nap every day.

She’d become prone to dizzy spells, too, and waves of nausea.

She knew the answer was most likely to get more sleep and go a little easier on herself during the day, but she told herself she had to keep the pressure up at least until she believed the senior officers were satisfied that she was the best sergeant major their base had ever seen.

It all came to a head late one morning during drill practice with her squad.

The sun was high in the sky and so bright that it seemed to be searing right into Eva’s brain.

She ignored the piercing pain in her head and the accompanying dizziness that made the ground appear like it was swimming up to meet her.

Before she knew what was happening, she was on her back on the tarmac, shielding her eyes from the sun with the back of her hand. A huddle of faces, their features blocked out by the sun, appeared over her.

“Sergeant Bailey, are you okay?” one of the faces asked.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice so faint it was like a whisper.

“You fainted,” the voice said calmly, and Eva realized it belonged to Private O’Malley. “Someone go and get the medic!” she shouted over her shoulder.

“No, I’m fine. It was just the sun,” Eva said weakly.

“Did you hit your head?” Private O’Malley asked. “You should let the medic have a look.”

Eva protested again, but mildly. She knew Private O’Malley was right; if there was any chance she’d hit her head, she really should get it checked out.

She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face.

Almost immediately, the voices of her squad died out as she fell into a state of deep relaxation.

She was hardly aware of the medic arriving and asking her some questions, then helping her to her feet and supporting her as they walked together to the medical center inside the base.

Everything seemed to be happening in a dream.

Eva was told to lie back on the examination bed, and she sunk into it like it was a giant feather bed.

The medic’s voice murmured so gently that it didn’t puncture Eva’s rest, until—

“Eva, Eva?”

“Yes?”

“Good, you’re awake.” It was Ali, the medic. “We need to do an ultrasound, if you’re okay with that?”

Eva nodded, still groggy. “Did I fall asleep?”

“No. You passed out because you were so dehydrated. We’re getting some fluids into you now.”

Eva saw that there was an IV drip attached to her arm. “Dehydrated? Are you sure?”

Ali nodded. “I’ve run some tests. I’m sure.”

Through her daze, Eva suddenly realized what the doctor had said. “What are you doing an ultrasound for?”

Ali’s green eyes were filled with concern as she looked at Eva. “I know this might come as a shock, but one of the tests I did was a pregnancy test. It was positive.”

Eva had no words. She stared at the doctor, waiting for her to say she was joking. But Ali just continued to stare at Eva, her face full of compassion, waiting for the news to sink in.

“That’s impossible,” Eva said finally.

“Do you remember when you had your last period?”

Eva’s brain churned under the pressure of trying to remember, but she couldn’t. Had it really been more than a month ago, and if so, how much longer? She shook her head. “I can’t remember. I think I lost track.”

“Not to worry,” Ali said, looking at the monitor. “This ultrasound will help us figure things out.”

Eva shivered as the cold gel was applied to her stomach, followed by the plastic wand. She couldn’t believe that this was actually happening.

“I’m just going to turn the volume up,” Ali said.

Eva strained to hear; all she could make out was the sound of overlapping thumps of some kind, but she had no idea what she was listening to. As a smile broke out on Ali’s face, Eva suddenly understood.

“Are those heartbeats?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes, they are. Two of them. Congratulations, Eva, you’re expecting twins.”

Eva just stared at Ali, speechless, as her eyes filled with tears.

“I take it you weren’t expecting this news?” Ali said gently. Eva shook her head. “I know it can come as a shock. Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?”

Eva shook her head again, not because she didn’t have any questions, but because she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t stop crying. Ali handed her a box of tissues and waited patiently as Eva absorbed the news.

“You’ll need to start taking better care of yourself,” Ali said. “Get a good night’s sleep every night, and nap when you can. You will have to up your calorie intake and make sure you drink plenty of water. You can’t let yourself get dehydrated again.”

“I didn’t know,” Eva sniffed. “I honestly didn’t know.”

“Eva, it’s okay. Everything is fine,” Ali said, covering Eva’s hand with her own. “I’m just telling you that from now on, you need to put yourself first, which is what your babies need.”

Hearing those words, Eva burst into tears.

Choking sobs wracked her body as the full impact of the news hit her.

She’d been pushing herself so hard, battling her way to the job of sergeant major, and once she’d been promoted, she hadn’t let up because she didn’t want anyone to say that she wasn’t up to the job.

And she hadn’t known that the whole time her body was experiencing this incredible miracle while she’d been pushing herself so hard.

She cried tears of guilt, but they were also tears of joy.

She’d always known she wanted children but hadn’t allowed herself to believe she’d be a mother any time soon.

And here she was, pregnant with not one but two babies!

It was a shock, yes, but Eva knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was thrilled about this news.

“Is there anyone you’d like me to contact, to ask to come and be with you right now?” Ali asked.

Eva looked at her through her tears and shook her head. “He’s not here anymore,” she managed to say. “He was here — that’s how this happened — but now he’s gone away.”

A fresh wave of sadness hit, and she began to cry again.

It felt so painfully unfair that Pieter had gone back to Laagestein before she’d found out about the pregnancy.

She couldn’t make the relationship with him work, had very likely driven him away with her coldness, and now he was living on a completely different continent.

“I’ll have to tell him,” she said, sniffling. “He deserves to know.”

“Yes, he does,” Ali said, squeezing her hand.

“I was awful to him. I drove him away,” Eva said, weeping.

“You never know what might happen,” Ali said kindly. “In my experience, news like this has a way of bringing people back to each other.”

“But what if he wants nothing to do with me? With us ?” Eva sobbed.

“How about you just take one step at a time?” Ali asked, smiling. “You’ve had some exciting but unexpected news today. Get some rest, and take some time to process it. Once you’re feeling stronger, you can contact the father and tell him the news.”

Eva smiled weakly back at Ali, grateful for her strength and kindness. Then she closed her eyes, the echo of her babies’ heartbeats still echoing in her ears, and fell fast asleep.