After the appointment, she waited for the blood test results to come in. A couple of days later, the doctor called.
Congrats. Single motherhood in only seven months.
Before the call could even fully register in her brain, there was a knock on her door. Almost in a trancelike state, Rachel opened it, then nearly fell over.
“Hello, Rachel.”
“How…how did you know how to find me?” she gasped.
“I’ve had you followed for the last couple of months. There was no way I would leave the situation we were in without keeping an eye out for you. As soon as you were seen by a doctor, I made my way here.”
Standing before her was Ian, but he looked different. He was wearing different clothes, powerful clothes. He didn’t look like the man she’d met on the beach.
“You had me followed?” It was taking her brain a few minutes to catch up to what he was saying to her. Too many things had hit her at one time. Why in the world would he have her followed? She immediately became concerned.
She didn’t really know this man — not at all. She’d spent a week with him, had great sex and then went on her way. If he was someone who would follow her afterward, she wasn’t sure what he was capable of.
Her home was a small rustic cottage. Yes, she had neighbors, but before anyone could reach her, he could do whatever he wanted. Truly, she knew nothing about him, just that his name was Ian and that he was one hell of a lover — apparently he had pretty powerful sperm, too, if they could break through latex!
“Of course I had you followed. My good servant Harold has been working with you at the embassy. You made it very easy for me to keep track,” he said with a smirk.
Rachel felt as if she had been punched in the gut. Her “friend” Harold had befriended her only because he was being paid to do it. It seemed she couldn’t trust anyone. Before she had a chance to respond, his next words took her breath away.
“I discovered a broken condom. I had to make sure a child wasn’t produced. Apparently we have created one,” he said calmly as he looked down at her still flat stomach.
Raising her hand protectively without realizing it, she stared back at him through the doorway to her home. Though she hadn’t wanted to be a mother, didn’t even know where to begin in being one, she knew she must protect this child growing inside of her. Why would he care if she were pregnant or not, though? None of this made sense. They’d had a weeklong affair. That should have been the end of it.
“I…I’m confused” were the words she finally managed to get past her trembling lips. This was all too much.
“I guess it’s time we formally introduce ourselves. Hello, Rachel Palazzo. I am Adriano, king of Corythia. The child you carry is the royal heir.”
There was no fluctuation in his voice; he delivered a flat statement.
It took a few moments for his words to register, and then her hand lifted involuntarily and she slapped Ian straight across the cheek. He stumbled back a step and looked at her in complete shock.
Raising his hand to his face, he felt his cheek as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened. Rachel had a feeling the so-called king had never been hit before. Well, it was long past time, she thought snidely.
“I am done with this conversation. You may come back when I’m not so flipping pissed off,” she said, and she began to close the door in his face.
Her emotions had been over the top for the past week, and to have this man show up unannounced and tell her that he’d had her followed was sending her over the edge.
Ian regained his composure quickly. He put out a hand to stop her, then pushed his way into her small home, making the place seem even smaller with his six-foot-four frame invading it.
“Do you realize what could happen to you for such an offense if we were back home?” he said, looking coldly into her eyes. “You have assaulted the sovereign.”
“Well, we aren’t back at your home, King Adriano, so I guess I don’t have to worry about it,” Rachel said, emphasizing his name with sarcasm. No, she didn’t believe his cock-and-bull claim of being a king, but still, she was pretty ticked off at his audacity. This was the man who was the father of her child.
The poor kid didn’t have a chance, not with her as a mother and a crazy man as a father.
“You obviously need to be taught how to respect your king.” He looked around her modest home in disgust.
“You are not my king! I had an affair with you, Ian, which was obviously a very bad idea. It doesn’t mean I’m willing to bow down to you, and it certainly doesn’t mean I want you to remain a part of my life,” she said, more than a bit offended by the way he seemed to be looking down his nose at her.
She might not be royalty — not that she thought he was — but she came from a very respectable family. That she had chosen to make it on her own didn’t render her any less of a person. In fact, it made her stronger. She was quite proud of her home, the one he was sneering at as if it were a peasant’s hovel.
“Because I have known your brother through business, I will give you some leeway. Had I known who you were that day on the beach, I never would have commenced with an affair with you. It’s too late to have regrets now, though. We will obviously wed immediately. I think it’s important to get back to my country right away so we can prevent the media from swooping in before you are my wife.”
Rachel looked at him as though he had three heads sprouting. Her belief that he was crazy was beginning to lessen as horror took its place. The man could be telling her the truth. He just might be a king. Sheesh. That didn’t mean she was his subject, or that she would bend to his rules in the slightest, but it meant a whole heck of a lot of complications for her child. Maybe she had indeed screwed up royally.
“Look, Ian, or whoever the hell you are, I have had a really long day — a long week for that matter. I can’t take any more at the moment. We’re going to have to continue this conversation at a later time. Don’t worry, though. The baby isn’t due for seven months, so there’s plenty of time to talk later. I would appreciate it if you would just leave my home.”
Rachel was proud of herself for staying calm, speaking like a sane adult, and not slapping him again. How had she been so attracted to this jerk two months earlier? He radiated command as if it were a part of his skin, and she couldn’t stand men who thought they were lord and ruler of everything around them.