His Reluctant Bride (15 page)

Dressing simply in a light cotton dress Katie pulled her hair back and finally left the sanctuary of the tent. She was met by curious stares from the women and not all of them friendly. Unlike when she had first arrived some of the women gazed upon her with hostility and Katie straightened her spine and lifted her chin in an effort to appear unaffected.

Katie was going to take a seat at one of the tables but the glares that were sent her way stopped her and instead she turned in the opposite direction and moved herself further in to the secluded part of the desert ignoring the two bodyguards who followed her. With a sigh she seated herself on the sand and gazed up at the pure blue sky and took a deep calming breath that helped relax her.

“Hey,”

Startled, Katie looked up with a smile as Jai seated himself next to her and offered her a plate of food. The guards remained where they were but their gazes stayed fixed on her and Jai.

“Thanks,” Katie offered as she accepted the food gratefully only just realising how hungry she was.

“I didn't think you'd be back here,” Jai said with a frown and Katie sighed.

“Me neither. But it seems my decisions are always made for me,” she said quietly and Jai's frown deepened.

“Tariq's a good guy,” he said and Katie sighed again.

“I know he is. But there's a difference between being a good guy and being a good husband and father,” she told him not aware of her slip-up until Jai pounced on it.

“Father? You're not...?” he said gesturing to her belly and Katie froze as she realised what she'd said. Apparently her silence was answer enough and Jai smiled.

“You can't tell anyone,” she told him firmly and Jai frowned.

“Well of course not. You and Tariq will be announcing it soon anyway,” he said with his grin returning only for it to fade when he saw how uncomfortable she looked.

“Yeah,” she breathed and Jai's face changed as anger showed.

“Tariq does know doesn't he?” he asked and Katie blushed.

“It hasn't been the right time to tell him,” she tried but Jai wasn't buying it and his face darkened at the realisation she had been keeping this secret from her husband, his ruler and the man who had saved him and his nieces.

“You cannot keep this a secret from him. He deserves to know,” Jai snapped and Katie glared at him.

“It's up to me to decide when to tell him,” she hissed, conscious of the guards watching them with interest.

“Really? Because I don't agree with what you're doing. If you don't tell him then I will,” Jai informed her as he got to his feet and turned back to the village.

“You can't do that,” she shouted after him but if he heard her shout then he ignored her as he carried on his way leaving Katie to collapse back on the floor.

Well this was a mess. She'd thought she could trust Jai but it seemed that even here men stuck together. It seemed ridiculous not to tell Tariq about his impending fatherhood but Katie was panicked. Once he knew the truth her life would not be her own and all the decisions about her child would be out of her hands. If they had a normal marriage it might not bother her so much but the thought that her child could be raised by a womaniser or even one day being a part of Amber's life was just too much to bear.

She was busy trying to find a way to salvage the situation when a commotion sounded behind her and Katie turned to find a fight breaking out in the village. Two men were fighting and there was screaming and shouting. Her guards hesitated before one of them turned and ran to help while the other stayed where he was keeping a careful eye on Katie. That was when an idea formed.

“Oh,” Katie gasped as she held her stomach in pain and fell forward.

“Something wrong?” the guard asked gruffly and Katie gasped in pain again.

“It hurts. I think I'm losing the baby,” she said and if it was a surprise to him to realise she was pregnant then he didn't show it. Instead he turned to shout of his partner but he was too far away.

“I'll carry you back,” he said bending to scoop her up but Katie cried out in pain again as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“No, it hurts too much. Please, I'm begging you. Get help,” she pleaded. And finally the guard glanced back at the village with indecision showing on his face.

“Alright. Stay here. I'll get help,” he said.

Katie waited only until he was nearly at the village to stumble to her feet and run in the opposite direction. She ran as fast and as far as she could certain that they would catch her at any moment.

“I'm sorry baby. So sorry. We're going to be okay. You're going to grow up to be happy and healthy,” Katie whispered as she continued to run and prayed that she and her unborn child would be safe.

It didn't take long for Katie to realise that she had made a terrible mistake. The desert had swallowed her up until there was nothing around her but sand and sky. The sun beat down on her with a heat so oppressive that it was a struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Her throat was so dry that it felt like razorblades had lodged themselves there and she was running out of breath and hope.

“We can do it baby,” she murmured as she placed a protective hand over her belly as though that would reassure them both that things would be fine. It was clear that they weren't.

Fatigue began to assail her but still Katie continued to walk. One foot in front of another. Just one more step. It became her mantra as she walked and finally she stopped straining to see something, anything in the distance. Instead she kept her head down and kept moving. One foot in front of another. Just one step.

When walking became too much and she fell to the sand Katie kept moving, kept crawling with only one thought in her mind. One single purpose. Saving the life of her unborn child. She had already let her baby down and she couldn't let her fears be the reason that her baby never got the chance to be born.

She realised how stupid she had been as she dragged her slender frame through the desert with the sun bearing down on her with intense heat that got worse by the second. But the only thing she could do as she fought to keep moving was think of all the stupid things that led her here.

If only she had accepted that damn wedding invitation instead of ignoring Tariq and hoping he would go away. If only she had tried to make their arranged marriage work instead of fighting against it so hard. If only she had told him about the baby. But she also realised that it wasn't all her fault and that he had something to do with it. Why had he bought Amber in to their lives? It just didn't make sense. If he was as committed to making their marriage work as he claimed to be then why was he allowing Amber to come between them? And why was a man so discrete with everything else keeping his mistress so close to his wife? It made no sense. And with sudden clarity Katie realised that something wasn't right. Maybe she had misjudged Tariq. Maybe they had both made a mess of things.

Just as Katie was thinking that she would never get the chance to apologise or to realise what secrets had been hidden in their marriage she became aware of voices. Children's voices. Lifting her head wearily she blinked. Once, twice, three times. And still she saw blurry images of young children, their faces clouded with concern.

“Help me!” she breathed and then she fell in to darkness, hot stifling darkness that felt like Hell had claimed her.

Katie came around slowly as reality intruded. The heat had faded to be replaced by a coolness that made her shiver and the sand beneath her had been replaced with soft sheets that felt heavenly to her. Forcing her eyes open she focused unsteadily on the image above her and a smile crossed her cracked lips.

“Tariq,” she croaked and instantly he was beside her his face full of concern as he brushed her hair back from her face with a tender hand.

“Catherine, for a moment there I thought.... I don't know what I would have done,” he murmured as he traced her face with his fingertips as though she were made of glass and might break at any moment.

“I'm fine,” she murmured turning her head slightly to press a soft kiss to his palm and surprise flitted across his face.

“I was so worried. Why did you run off like that?” he demanded but not harshly and she closed her eyes briefly wishing that she had a better reason for why she had done something so foolish.

“I panicked,” she said softly and saw his brows draw together in confusion.

“Panicked about what?” he asked equally softly and Katie hesitated before she spoke as she didn't want to ruin between them or see the disappointment in his eyes.

“I lied to you,” she said and his frown deepened, possibly at her honesty.

“How so?” he queried but even he couldn't have been prepared for her answer.

“I wanted to hurt you. I lashed out to hurt you. I didn't mean it, I swear. I found out the other day and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to feel trapped,” she rambled and he stopped her with a single kiss to her lips that had her slowing her speech to stare at him.

“I don't understand. What didn't you tell me?” he asked and she hesitated again before rushing forward.

“I'm pregnant,” she breathed and for a moment neither of them moved as Tariq stared at her in shock and she waited to see what his reaction would be. It wasn't what she expected as he suddenly pushed the cool covers from her and began running his hands over her slim frame as panic flitted across his gaze.

“Are you alright? How do you feel?” he demanded and Katie frowned.

“I'm fine, I feel fine,” she said but he didn't seem convinced as he continued to search for any signs of pain until he was satisfied that she really was fine.

“I'm so sorry,” he said looking at her as though to plead for forgiveness and Katie stared at him in wonder for he had never asked her for forgiveness before.

“I don't understand. What are you sorry for?” she asked uncertain of just what he was pleading forgiveness for. After all wasn't it her who had driven him to all this? And wasn't it her who had blindly run in to the desert?

“For getting you pregnant,” he said and she reared back in shock and confusion. Wasn't this what he had wanted all along?

“I thought you wanted a baby,” she said and he closed his eyes briefly as he rested his head against her hand.

“I do, but you don't. It was selfish of me to let this happen. I'm so sorry Catherine. All I wanted was for us to be a family but I should have listened to you and I shouldn't have forced this on you,” he informed her and Katie stared at him in wonder. He was asking her forgiveness because he thought he'd taken away her freedom?

“You didn't force this on me,” she said but he wasn't listening.

“I can't believe I made you have a child that you don't want. There are things we can do, steps we can take to stop the pregnancy,” he said and Katie finally realised that he cared about her. That he really and honestly chose her over his own child.

“I don't want to stop the pregnancy. I lied Tariq. I want this child, I love this child,” she told him firmly and he finally lifted his dark head to stare intently at her as though unable to believe that she could be serious.

“You want our baby?” he asked wide-eyed and uncertain and Katie placed a soothing hand on his cheek.

“I love our baby,” she replied and his face broke in to the biggest smile she'd ever seen him wear as he leaned closer and kissed her before placing a hand on her small belly .

“Our baby,” he breathed in wonder and Katie couldn't help but smile with him.

“There's something we need to talk about though,” she told him firmly even though she hated to ruin the mood and he grinned down at her.

“Anything,” he breathed still amazed at the fact that his child was growing in her right now.

“ Amber,” she said and his grin disappeared as though it had never been while his face became shuttered and withdrawn.

“I can't talk to you about Amber,” he said firmly and Katie was about to ask why but she was beaten to it by another voice. One that had Katie spinning round in confusion for she had given no thought to where she was or who else was here.

“I can,”

“Who are you?” Katie asked in confusion and the older woman who approached the bed gave a sad smile as she looked at Tariq and gave a slight nod.

“Catherine, this is my mother,” he revealed and Katie gasped even as she wondered what the hell was going on.

“I don't understand. That's impossible. Your mother's dead,” she said confused by what was happening.

“That's what I wanted everyone to believe, my dear.” she said and Katie frowned.

“How did you fake your death? Why?” she asked and Tariq gently threaded his fingers through her own drawing her attention back to him.

“My mother was deeply unhappy,” he explained and his mother smiled lovingly at him.

“It's alright Tariq. I can explain. You see Catherine, my marriage was arranged for me too and it's all my fault that you're here,” she revealed and Katie stared at her.

“I don't understand,”

“Well dear, it's simple really. You see my husband was not a nice man. We were never really happy and he never loved me. Mine was a miserable marriage full of hate and my husband continued to see other women. I thought that maybe providing him with a child would help but if anything it made it worse. I was deeply miserable and I ended up falling in love with another man,” she revealed making Katie stare at her in shock. How could nobody have realised the state of her marriage? It had always seemed so perfect, they both had.

“I still don't see what this has to do with me or Amber,” she said softly and the older woman nodded sadly.

“You will. You see I fell hard for this man and I did the one thing that my husband could never forgive. I fell pregnant again but with another man's child,” she explained.

“You have another child?” Katie asked in astonishment for Tariq had never mentioned a sibling.

“Yes. When my husband found out he was furious and I had to beg and plead with him not to hurt my child. He agreed to let me have the baby and he sent me here. He told everyone that I was ill and here I lived in secret until I gave birth,” she said and as Katie looked round she finally realised why this place looked so familiar. It was where they had spent their honeymoon.

“You lived here?”

“Only until my child was born. I tried to stay with her as long as I could but my husband wouldn't let me keep her and he flew in a furious rage when I tried. It was my lover who nearly killed him when he threatened our child. And when your father saved him he arranged your marriage to get back at me. You see he knew how much I resented being forced to marry someone I didn't love and he knew that forcing our son in to the same situation would kill me,” his mother said and Katie turned to Tariq as she realised just how much they had both been forced in to the same situation and how it had made them resent each other.

“What happened to the baby?” Katie asked knowing that if anyone took her child from her it would kill her so she had no idea how his mother must have felt having her child ripped from her.

“Did you ever wonder why my husband chose to send you to that school?” she asked instead and Katie frowned.

“I don't understand,”

“You were a cover, my dear. He sent you so that he could send my daughter away too and hide the payments for her schooling,” his mother revealed and Katie didn't think she could handle many more shocks.

“She was there? At my school?”

“Yes, she was there. And my husband made sure that she was punished for my sins. You're aware I'm sure that the school does not just train wives although it's other job is a little more secretive,” she said and Katie gasped.

“You mean she was trained to be a mistress?” Katie asked in horror wondering how she would have coped if that had been her.

“My daughter was bullied in to becoming everything I despised about the women my husband slept with. He destroyed her. He made sure that she was punished more than the rest of those girls. And he made sure that her life was ruined before it even began. Do you know that I didn't see my daughter for twenty-three years?” she asked and Katie stifled another gasp.

“You found her though and she was okay?”

“Hardly. My daughter had been through hell. Used and abused, treated like a rich man's pawn. By the time I found her she may as well have been making a living on the streets. She's a mother you know. Three children before she even hit twenty-two. And it's all my fault,” his mother said her guilt plain to see.

“I'm sure she doesn't blame you,” Katie said softly hoping to ease the woman's pain but she shook her head sadly.

“I'm afraid she does. I was weak and I didn't fight for her as much as I should have. I didn't know how to make it better between us so when my husband died in that flight, I knew what I had to do. I pretended to be dead and I took her children here and said I'd raise them for her while she got to experience a real life. Only it hasn't been easy for any of us,” his mother sobbed and Tariq took over.

“The reason I couldn't tell you the truth about Amber is because she's my sister!” he revealed.