Leilani bites her lip—he seems to see through her. “I’m feeling much better now, so it’s unnecessary for you to spend all your time here. There are nurses everywhere, and I can press the call button if I need any help.”
Waylen glares at her fiercely. He asks, “Do you want to escape again?”
Leilani shakes her head, guiltily. He has every right to be suspicious. She’s tried to leave him multiple times, and he just caught her trying to walk out of the hospital. Still, she craves privacy, and she wants some time to herself.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says. “How am I going to escape in my condition? Just look at me!”
Waylen smirks and takes her words literally. He slowly looks up and down her body—from the long lines of her legs under the sheets, to her small waist, up to the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.ts under the hospital gown and the soft, pale skin on her neck. Finally, he gazes deeply into her eyes. She shivers.
“If you try to run away again, I’ll handcuff you to me,” Waylen says huskily.
“Do all men have this weird handcuff kink?” Leilani asks with a roll of her eyes.
Waylen seems to flinch at the reference to Andrew, but he recovers quickly. He leans in, so his lips brush her ear and whispers, “It’s especially fun in the bedroom.”
“Are you hungry?” Leilani asks, trying to change the topic.
Waylen pulls away and looks concernedly at her. “Why? Are you hungry again?” he asks.
“Yeah, I think I’m having some sort of pregnancy craving,” Leilani says without meeting his eyes. “There’s pastry shop in North Town that makes the best red velvet cupcakes.”
“Okay, I’ll send Robert at once,” Waylen says.
“Can’t you go?” Leilani asks. “You almost never bring me anything yourself—you always just ask someone else to do it.”
Waylen seems to consider her words, she rubs her stomach over the sheet. “Won’t you do this one little thing for us?” she asks.
Waylen nods and points at his lips. “Kiss me, and I’ll be on my way,” he says.
Leilani tilts her head back and waits for him to lower his to meet her. She pecks him quickly on the lips and turns her head away before he can deepen the kiss. Waylen kisses her cheek, stands, and strides out of the room. She can hear him in the doorway instructing the nurse to check on her every ten minutes.
Leilani clears her throat and glances meaningfully at Robert, and he rushes out of the room after Waylen. She walks to the window and gazes down at the street far below. Within a few minutes, she sees one of Waylen’s Ferraris tearing out of the parking lot. She waits until the car disappears and walks out of her room. A nurse stops her immediately.
“Mrs. Bamford, where are you going?” the nurse asks. “You know, it’s really not safe for you to be up and about so soon after the operation.”
“I’m just so worried about the baby,” Leilani lies. “I’d feel a lot better if I could talk with a specialist about the pregnancy, and I’d like to have a few tests done.”
The young nurse nods. “Of course you’re worried,” she says sympathetically. “The maternity ward is down a floor and to the left. But let me call for a wheelchair—I can take you down there myself.”
“Thanks, but that’s not necessary,” Leilani says with a friendly smile. “The doctors said I need to build my strength up again, and it’s not a long walk.”
Leilani walks away as quickly as she can, hoping she’ll make it to the elevators before the nurse thinks better of letting her go. She exhales with relief as soon as the elevator doors are closed. She makes her way to the maternity ward and stops outside one of the labs.
Through a small window in the door, she can see a woman in a white lab coat preparing a blood sample. The woman holds a vial of blood to the light and then inserts it in a machine. Leilani enters the lab, and the door shuts noisily behind her. The Doctor and the lab technicians look up immediately.
“Who are you?” the Doctor asks, frowning. “Didn’t you see the sign on the door? Unauthorized people are forbidden to enter—now get out!”
Leilani ignores her and leans against one of the tables, taking care to avoid bumping any of the complicated machinery. “Do you know who I am?” she asks the Doctor.
The Doctor glared at her. “I don’t care who you are,” she snaps. “Do you want me to call security? Get out!”
“I want to see the results of a pregnancy test,” Leilani says, thinking about the piece of paper Leonie dropped outside the elevators.
“Absolutely not,” the doctor fumes. “That’s a violation of doctor-patient confidentiality. Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but I’ll give you one last chance to get out of here before I call security.”
Suddenly the young nurse bursts into the lab followed closely by the nurse Waylen ordered to check on Leilani. “What are you doing out of bed, Mrs. Bamford?” Leilani’s nurse asks. “You know you’re not supposed to leave your room.”
The Doctor looks fl.u.s.tered. “Oh, are you, Mrs. Bamford?” she asks. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you I—”
Though Leilani feels weak and slightly dizzy, she tries to muster the famous Bamford arrogance. “Just check the results of the test for me, will you?” she snaps.
The Doctor seems to hesitate, weighing the risks of violating doctor-patient confidentiality against the danger of refusing a Bamford. Finally, she nods and walks to a computer. “Do you have the patient’s name?” she asks.
“Leonie Summers,” Leilani says.
One of the lab techs gasps and elbows her coworker, and Leilani mentally curses the tabloids for publishing so many rumors about Waylen and Leonie. The Doctor quickly enters the information into the computer and scans the information in Leonie’s patient file. Leilani tries to read over the Doctor’s shoulder, but the blue glow of light from the computer screen pierces her eyes like needles. She squints and looks away.
“Well, is she pregnant or not?” Leilani asks.
“Err, yes,” the Doctor says, “It appears that Miss Summers is indeed pregnant. She’s early in the first trimester.”
Leilani feels her blood run cold, and an uncontrollable shiver shakes her body. She leans more heavily against the table, closes her eyes, and counts to ten. She doesn’t want to fuel more rumors by breaking down in front of so many people.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Bamford?” the Doctor asks, “Would you like me to print out the results?”
Leilani nodded weakly. In her head, she can see Waylen on top of Leonie, and she can hear his satisfied m.o.a.ns. She thinks It’s not Waylen’s fault. He was drugged. I was pregnant, and I couldn’t help him get released, so really he had no choice but to use Leonie. Besides, there’s no guarantee that the baby is even Waylen’s. Who knows how many other men she’s been with? Leilani touches her abdomen and breathes deeply, trying to stay calm for the sake of her unborn baby.
“All you all right, Mrs. Bamford?” the Doctor asks.
Leilani shakes her head and staggers out of the room. As she leaves, she can hear the lab techs whispering behind her.
“Do you think Waylen is Leonie’s baby daddy?” asks one of the techs. “What a man! He has two women pregnant at the same time.”
“I read that it’s common in wealthy families,” says another. “They want to make sure there’s an heir, so they get several women pregnant just to be safe. Besides, I’ve heard that Leilani isn’t very healthy—she might not be able to carry the baby to term.”
“That’s ridiculous. I read that Waylen dotes on Leilani, has even risked his life for her,” says the third lab tech. “There’s no way he’d get another woman pregnant.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.