Chapter 66
1205words
Anger blurring her vision now, Aneesa went to her suitcase which was still half unpacked. She hauled it to the bed and with hands shaking started to throw things in. ‘I've told you about the baby, and that's enough. Now I should leave and
let you get on with your life. I can let you know when the baby is born and perhaps we can come to some arrangement where you can visit when you want. That's if you're interested.'
She stopped for a moment, her chest heaving and her eyes blurring with tears this time.
‘And where exactly are you going to go?'
Sebastian's voice came from much closer and was so unexpectedly gentle that, to her horror, tears started to fall. She dashed them away angrily. ‘I don't know. I'll think of something. This is one of the biggest cities in the world—I'm sure I can find somewhere. I should never have bothered you.'
She felt his hands on her shoulders and then she was being pulled around. Sebastian handed her a handkerchief. He led her over to the bed to sit down. She pulled back from him, her breath still jerky. ‘I really didn't think beyond getting out of India so that the story could die down. I don't have some dastardly plan to trap you in a marriage or a relationship you clearly don't want.'
She shrugged one slim shoulder and looked at him. ‘I felt I owed it to you to at least tell you face to face. Do you think I would have asked for any of this in a million years if given a choice?'
Aneesa bit her lip before continuing. ‘By the time I was getting married, my father's business was almost bankrupt.
The wedding was a huge burden on him financially. I've paid him back every penny and made him sell the apartment he bought in Juhu as part of my dowry. I couldn't stay and have them suffer the media on their doorstep every day. At least now they have some peace and my father is back on his feet and can provide for the rest of my family again. My career is over and
I'm going to have to start all over again. But right now that's the least of my worries.'
She felt fierce when she said, ‘But I don't regret what happened between us that night and I don't regret becoming pregnant. This child will be loved, and wanted. And I'm not telling you this because I want your money. I can look after myself and I'll look for somewhere else to stay. I'm sure I can
get a job….'
A look of stoic determination came into her eyes. ‘I could work here for my board?'
Something about the way she'd asserted that their child would be wanted struck Sebastian deep down inside. The reality was sinking in more and more by now and he knew that despite his own woeful upbringing, he, too, wanted any child of his to have a stable and loving environment. However that might be achieved.
Drily he asked, ‘When was the last time you did laundry or washed dishes or even shopped?'
Aneesa flushed brick-red. ‘Once I might have been like that, but not any more. I'm a fast learner and I don't mind a bit of hard work.'
Something within Sebastian twisted at her innate pride and how far she'd fallen from her Bollywood princess pedestal. She wasn't at all like the vacuous spoilt woman he'd assumed her to be on her wedding day. He couldn't believe though that she wasn't resenting her abrupt fall from grace, even if she didn't show it.
She went on with a rush. ‘Look—I meant everything I've just said. You just happen to be the father of this baby. I really don't expect anything from you at all.'
Sebastian tried to ignore the effect her huge shimmering eyes were having on his equilibrium. How could he feel dizzy sitting down?
He focused with effort. ‘Quite apart from the fact that you've already got Daniel wrapped around your finger, he would have a fit to see you treading on his turf. You're welcome to stay for as long as you need.'
He quirked a smile and ran a hand through his hair, ‘Hell … we're having a baby.' His smile faded. ‘It's just going to take me a while to absorb that. I'm not used to sharing my space….'
‘I'll stay out of your way.'
Sebastian shook his head and took the handkerchief out of her hand to wipe at a stray tear on her cheek. ‘No … it's not
your problem. It's my problem to deal with. This is your home now as much as mine. And we need to look into booking you in with a doctor and setting up appointments.'
‘I can do all that, you're busy.'
Sebastian shook his head. ‘I'll have my PA do some research.'
His hand was cupping her jaw now, and Aneesa had stopped breathing. Her body was reacting, tightening, melting, remembering. For a second she thought she saw an answering heat in Sebastian's eyes but then he got up and moved away, becoming brisk. Cold again.
‘I've got a meeting in Paris this afternoon. I'll be back late tonight, but as it's the weekend tomorrow I'll be off so we can discuss doctors and hospitals.' He frowned now. ‘How long are you intending to stay?'
Aneesa's heart thumped to think that he might actually care, which was ridiculous. ‘Perhaps a couple of months? Until the scandal dies down at home—my family will be worried if I stay away for too long.'
Sebastian shrugged, a dart of emotion slicing through him at her easy mention of family. ‘Like I said, you're welcome for as long as you want.'
And then he was gone. Aneesa felt slightly stunned. She wasn't used to having emotional outbursts like that but she figured it had to be her pregnant hormones and the way Sebastian's less than ecstatic reaction to her arrival made her feel so vulnerable. And if that insouciant shrug just now was anything to go by, evidently he wasn't prepared to have much of a say in the baby's development, or birth.
Aneesa put her hand on her belly and said out loud, ‘Looks like it's just going to be us, baby….'
When she got up and started to put away her things again, she resolutely pushed down the ache in her chest that told her of a very secret and treacherous desire that Sebastian's reaction to seeing her again might have been different. But reality was harsh and that was something she'd been getting a master class in recently.
