The Sheik's Accidental Pregnancy (The Botros Brothers Series) (8 page)

Sara laughed nervously. There was no way she was pregnant. It didn't make sense.

“I can't be.” Sara stood up and shook her head. “I’m only twenty-three and not married,” she added, starting to panic.

“It's still a blessing,” Fiddah said.

“It is, yes. I have always wanted to be a mother and planned to be. Someday. When I was married.”

“It's okay, dear. I'm sure the father will be overjoyed.”

Sara froze. Dammit! Tariq! What will he think!

“Sara? Won't the father be joyful?” Fiddah turned to look at the doctor. “Please excuse us,” she said to him. He nodded and immediately left the room. Sara looked at Fiddah in panic. Her hands started shaking.

“It'll be fine,” Sara said. “It has to be.” She touched her belly. A smile appeared on her face. She couldn't believe that she was going to be a mother. Fiddah got up and hugged her.

“If you need anything, I am here for you,” Fiddah said.

Sara wanted to tell her who the father was but words failed her. She was not even sure how she was going to tell Tariq himself.

Fiddah arrived late for the family dinner. She had spent the past week making sure Sara was okay. She knew Sara was panicked about the pregnancy, so she went to her apartment every day to make sure she was ok. She bought Sara a few things to help with the morning sickness and the dizziness. She had also told Amir that Sara would not be in to work that week. She needed time to adjust. Fiddah greeted everyone as she sat down.

“How come you pay so much attention to Sara?” Amir asked her when she told them why she was late.

“She is lovely girl. I like her,” Fiddah replied.

“Why?” Tariq asked with a frown on his face as if there was a bad smell.

“Who is Sara?” Aaliyah, Tariq and Amir's cousin asked. She had moved in with them after her parents died and had been raised like a younger sister.

“My assistant,” Amir replied as he rubbed her head. He was always play fighting with her.

“Do you like this one?” Mrs. Botros asked. She knew her son was always changing assistants as if he was changing socks.

“I do. She is very competent, intelligent and very funny,” Amir replied.

“So, Tariq is the only who loathes her,” Aaliyah said.

“As usual,” Amir said.

“But why have you been looking after her?” Sheik Botros; their father, asked Fiddah.

“Poor girl,” Fiddah said and sighed. She took a sip of her wine.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Amir asked. “I knew I should have gone to see her. She had been unwell last week,” he added. His face was now creased with worry.

“She is with child. Don't tell her I told…” Fiddah said, but before she could finish, Tariq dropped his fork and cut her off.

“She's what?” Tariq roared as everyone turned to look at him.

“Sara is pregnant?” Amir questioned. He was shocked. Fiddah nodded. Tariq wiped his mouth with his napkin before tossing it down. He got up and immediately stalked to the exit without saying another word.

“What is wrong with him?” Aaliyah asked.

“That was rather peculiar,” Mrs. Botros commented.

*                             *                         *                  *

Sara jumped when she heard loud bang
ing on the door. She pressed the monitor by the door to see who it was. Her jaw dropped open when she saw that it was Tariq. What was he doing here? She wanted to ignore him but he kept banging loudly. Kaleena opened her door to find out what the commotion was all about.

“Sheik Tariq?” Kaleena asked. She was shocked to see him there.

“Is she home?” Tariq asked Kaleena. He recognised her from the restaurant.

“Yes, she is.”

Sara rolled her eyes. She didn't want him to know that she was home and hoped he'd stop knocking and go away. Now that Kaleena had told him, she had to open the door. She looked at him with irritation. He walked into her apartment before she could say anything. Kaleena grinned at Sara.

“I'll talk to you later,” Sara said to Kaleena and shut the door. She looked at Tariq. “Why are you here?” she asked.

“When were you going to tell me?” he challenged, raising his voice. He sounded angry.

“Tell you what?” Sara was confused.

“Don't play with me, Sara.”

Sara frowned even more. She was too tired and sick to be dealing with him.

“You are carrying my child,” he said staring at her belly.

“How do you know?”

“That's not the point. Why didn't you tell me?”

“Would you want it if I did?” she shouted.

“Do you think I'd kill my own child?” he shouted back at her. He was so angry, his hands were shaking. He turned and punched the wall. Sara was shocked, her eyes wide.

“Well, you loathe the mother. Why would I think that you would care about our first-born?” Sara asked as her voice cracked. She was not going to cry. She was not going to cry, she chanted to herself.

“How I feel about you.” Tariq stopped. “This situation.” Rubbing his head, “That doesn't mean I do not want my child,” he finally managed to say. He walked to her and grabbed her hand. She tried to pull free, but it was pointless. He was much stronger than she was. And determined. Looking around, he tightened his grip on her hand, “You will not stay here in this dump. You are coming with me,” he said and headed for the door pulling her with him.

Grinding to a halt, Sara looked at him angrily. “Who do you think you are?”

“The father of our unborn baby. There is no use fighting me, you will not win.” 

“At least let me get my things,” she said. She saw the look of anger and determination on his face. She knew she had to give in. For now.

“Someone will come back for them.” He did not trust her. She would refuse to leave. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder. She started hitting his back and shouting for him to put her down. He opened the door to leave. Keira and Kaleena jumped. They had their ears to the door, trying to eavesdrop. He looked down at them angrily.

“Pack up all her stuff. Someone will come by later to pick it up,” Tariq ordered before he strode to the elevator.

The twins looked at each other in disbelief and confusion. How was Sara pregnant with his child? When had this happened and why was he carrying her on his shoulder? They walked into her apartment and quickly packed her belongings.

Later that evening, a sophisticated, tall woman came to collect Sara's things. She said that she was one of Tariq's assistants. Keira and Kaleena tried asking her what was going on but she refused to say anything.

*   *  *  *

Sara paced up and down in her new bedroom. When they arrived at Tariq’s home, she was reluctant to get out of the car so he carried her upstairs and deposited her in this bedroom telling her that it was her room until she gave birth. She tried arguing with him about it. She did not want to live with him, but he was very clear on the matter. It was his child. She was to stay there whether she liked it or not. He did not want to speak about it anymore.

Sara looked around the room. It was large. There was a king-sized bed with pillars on each corner. The floor was marble, like the entire house. There was a 50-inch flat screen TV. The walk-in closet was the size of her entire apartment and the balcony had breath-taking views of the city. The adjoining bathroom was beautifully decorated with a soaking tub the size of a hot tub. While the room was beautiful, it didn’t change the fact that she was here against her will. Mostly. How was it that the one person who detested her the most was now her baby’s daddy? She sighed and threw herself on the bed.

Sara dragged her feet as she went downstairs early the
next morning. She was wearing shorts and a vest. She felt unbearably hungry. She walked up to the huge fridge, opened it and stared inside. She didn't know what to eat.

“Looking for something?” She heard Tariq's voice. She turned quickly. He was sitting at the table reading a newspaper.

“Figures that you're one of those men who reads newspapers in the morning,” Sara said as she turned her attention back to the fridge. She pulled out eggs and some veggies. Tariq was sitting there watching her.

“There is someone who can cook for you,” Tariq said.

“Too much hassle. I’m hungry now.”

She searched every cabinet until she found cooking oil and a pan. She made herself a mushroom omelette. Tariq watched her the entire time. She took the pan and placed it on the placemat across from him before sitting down. Tariq frowned when he realised that she was going to eat straight from the pan.

“There are plates you know,” he said.

“That will take too long,” she said. She used her fork to cut the omelette, and then shoved it in her mouth. She looked at Tariq who was frowning at her. “It's your fault for bringing me here. So you're going to have to deal with my habits,” she said and carried on eating. After the third bite, she ran from the room. Tariq followed her and waited outside the toilet. He knocked on the door.

“Are you all right?” He asked.

“No!” she called out. A wave of panic washed over Tariq as he stormed in. Sara was hunched over the toilet. “I'm hungry and I love eggs but I can't eat them,” Sara sniffled. Tariq narrowed his eyes.

“I thought something was wrong,” he said as he held her hair back. Sara was shocked that he was there for her like that. She would have never pegged him for a caring guy. Then she remembered that it was all for his child. It had nothing to do with her.

She got up and rinsed her mouth. She wiped her face with a towel. “I'm fine,” she said to Tariq and left the bathroom. As she headed towards her room, he grabbed her arm.

“Are you fine?” he asked. Her eyes watered.

“I'm just hungry,” she said.

Tariq's eyes widened. He was shocked that she was emotional about food. He knew she loved food but not this much.

“So you want to cry about it?”

“It's the hormones,” Sara said and stormed off to her bedroom.

A few moments later, Tariq came to her bedroom with a tray of food. Sara's face immediately brightened up. She accepted the tray with glee. Tariq shook his head. It was going to be a long nine months.

“I am going to speak to Amir,” Tariq said.

“About what?” Sara spat out. She knew he was going to find out soon anyway but she was not ready for him to know.

“You’re not working.”

“Me, what now?” this was worse. Sara loved her job.

“Did you think you were going to continue working?”

Sara placed the tray on the table. A wave of rage washed over her. Who was he to stop her from working? He has been mean to her since the moment he met her and she was done. She stood on the bed and tried to slap him but Tariq caught her hand.

“You are so controlling!” she shouted at him.

“And you are so stubborn. Listen to me.”

Sara puffed up her cheeks. She was so mad at him. She loved her job. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to get it and she was not giving it up. Tariq wanted to laugh at her little tantrum, but at the same time, she needed to be disciplined. She was too unladylike and stubborn. In one move, he picked her up and slammed her on the bed. She screamed as she landed. Before she could roll off, he had her hands above her head as he loomed over her. Sara tried to kick him but he pinned her legs down. As Sara squirmed, Tariq made a strangled noise as he tightened his grip on her wrists.