My visit to the doctor seems to take forever. I’m only going to be here in Montovia for the day—and I’d prefer to spend it with my husband instead of in the sterile room where they have me confined.

But when the nurse comes in to draw another vial of blood—and won’t tell me what’s going on—I start to panic. Maybe it’s something serious. Maybe I have cancer or some rare disease…

It’s a while longer before the doctor comes back. She’s always been very pleasant, but her tight-lipped half-smile tells me there’s a serious concern.

“What is it?” My voice croaks as I say the words—maybe I’m sicker than I thought.

“We need to get you to the hospital. As soon as possible.” She shoves her hands into the pockets of her white coat. “We need to run a few more tests, and we don’t have the equipment here—”

“What is it you think is wrong with me?” I let out a shaky breath. “And can…can Andrew come with me? Can—?”

“I don’t want to alarm you.” She presses her lips together. “Nor should you get your hopes up.”

“My…hopes?” I wrinkle my nose. “If something is wrong, why would I get my hopes…?” Oh my God. Part of me knows exactly what she’s saying, but I don’t want to believe it.

The procedure I had done several months ago, before the wedding. It would be too good to be true, of course. I’m not supposed to be able to conceive at all—I’ve known for a long time that I would never be able to have children. Before Andrew and I got married, I went to a few fertility specialists, hoping that by some miracle my condition could be reversed, but everyone I spoke to told me it was futile, except the one doctor in Paris. And after that minor surgery, he told me it had failed. That I should give up all hopes of ever having children.

“His Highness…” She shakes her head. “Of course, you should do what you feel is best. But until we know exactly what is going on…it might be best not to alarm him. Or to get his hopes up, either.”

“So you think…?” I can hardly get the words out. Part of me is terrified to even ask the question. “You think I’m pregnant?”

“You are pregnant.” She presses her lips into a line again, but I can’t quite tell what it is she’s trying to hide from me. “But the likelihood of this being a viable…pregnancy…is very, very slim. And unfortunately, we don’t have an ultrasound machine of high enough resolution here in the palace to be certain.”

“Of course. Because…because why would you need one?” I give a shaky laugh, though there’s nothing at all funny about this situation. My eyes fill with tears at the realization of what she’s telling me. “So…I’m pregnant. With the heir to the throne of Montovia. And I’m going to lose this child.”

She looks at me for a long moment, and I would swear her eyes shine as much as mine probably do. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness.”

I nod at her a few times as tears begin to spill down my cheeks.

I should tell Andrew, I think. He was so angry with me for not telling him about the procedure I had done before the wedding. I understand why he was upset, but it was for exactly this reason—I didn’t want him to have to suffer this loss in case it didn’t work.

And now that it has worked, it’s even worse. I didn’t have the other three stages of the surgery done because the first one had failed. This baby is in the wrong place—outside my womb or something—and there’s no way for anyone to fix what’s wrong.

“I…” I try to hold back the tears, but they just won’t stop. “Can you ask my husband to join me, please? I’ll…I’ll have him take me to the hospital. He…he’ll want to know. He’ll want to be there when they…” I gulp. “Terminate.”

The doctor bites her lip as she nods, and I swear she’s trying not to sob herself. She turns and walks from the room.

God, I really fucked this up. I swipe at my tears with the backs of my hands, trying to make myself look at least presentable for when Andrew shows up.

But as soon as he walks in the door, I begin to sob again.

He has me in his arms a second later. “What is it? My God, what is it?”

“I…I’ll give you two a moment,” the doctor says. She places a hand on the doorknob before she turns back to us. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

I nod into Andrew’s chest as she leaves.

He strokes my hair, kissing the top of my head a few times before he pulls away to look down into my eyes. “What is it? What’s happened?”

“I…I need to go to the hospital.”

He shakes his head a few times. “You’re ill. I knew it. What…what is it? Why wouldn’t the physician have told me—?”

“She…she didn’t want to alarm you. Or to have you take the news the wrong way.”

“Oh.” His eyebrows draw together. “Why would I have taken the news the wrong way? If you’re ill…”

“Andrew…” I let out a long, shaky breath. “I need to go to the hospital right away. We have to go now.” I press my lips together, not sure I want to say the next few words. Tears fill my eyes again as I look up into his eyes. “I love you so much. And I’m so sorry…”

“Sorry?” He shakes his head again. “Sorry for what?”

“Sorry…because I’m pregnant.”