The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Rachelle texted Phoebe that she wasn’t feeling well and would be taking the rest of the afternoon off. After assuring her several times that she didn’t need anything except for Phoebe to watch things at the office, Rachelle sat on her couch and stared out at Lake Michigan.

She thought about her last moments in Zaradi. The stone cold darkness in Darian’s eyes. No matter how many times she went over it, there was still the memory of something behind that steel—something softer. It had given her hope as she had cried herself to sleep more times than she wanted to count.

Now, she would be having his child.

As her shock began to wane, Rachelle’s mind began to whir as she tried to think about what her next steps would be. The truth was, her feelings had never dulled since leaving his country. She loved him. She knew how irrational it was. She had only known him for a tiny fraction of time. But that time was the most precious she had ever experienced. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of Darian holding her, cradling her belly with his child inside.

There was nothing for it. She would have to find him. She had to let him know that he would be a father, and perhaps they could find a way to be a family, disjointed as they were at the moment. A thought tickled the back of Rachelle’s mind.

His business card.

In the chaos of leaving Zaradi, Rachelle had completely forgotten that she had Darian’s business card tucked safely away in a back pocket of her wallet. Rising, she evaluated her body as she walked across the room to get her purse.

She felt fine. Great, actually. Healthier than she ever had. Weren’t there supposed to be side effects to being pregnant, like morning sickness and the like? Might she be one of the lucky few who avoided them?

Pulling her wallet out of her purse, she unzipped the pocket with his card and delicately removed it, holding it like a sacred relic. She held it against her nose, and she almost believed she could catch the scent of him through the fibers of the card. Super smelling powers was a pregnancy thing, wasn’t it? His pajamas had long since lost their scent, and she had tried keeping them in a closet a few times before giving in and wrapping them around her every night.

Turning the card around, Rachelle gazed lovingly at the distinctive, swirling handwriting. She had never seen a man with handwriting like that, like he was from another time. His number was written clearly, and she brought the card back to the couch, where she picked up her cell phone and typed in his number.

She listened as the phone rang, and rang, and rang.

There wasn’t even a voice mailbox for her to hear his voice. After several minutes of listening to the ring, hoping that she would be surprised by his voice on the other end of the line, she ended the call, holding the phone as she gazed out once again.

She had to find him.

Darian was going to be a father, and he deserved to know. Rachelle didn’t want to keep that information from him, only to have a child asking her where his or her father was, only to find him and discover he never knew his son or daughter existed.

That would be too hard to bear.

Rachelle wracked her brain for an answer, a solution. She was a problem solver by trade. A million little problems crossed her desk every single day, and she fixed them all. She could find a solution to national upheaval, right? She picked her brain for an answer before landing on one.

The Zaradi embassy in New York could have some answers!

Pulling out her laptop, Rachelle began to dig around the internet, finally landing on the contact page for the embassy. She tapped in the number and pressed call, waiting as the phone rang once again.

“Zaradi Embassy, this is Shara speaking.”

“Hi,” Rachelle said, not sure where to begin. “I’m looking for Sheikh Darian Al-Adain.”

There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line.

“Who may I ask is speaking?”

Rachelle felt a small flicker of hope beating in her heart. Maybe that’s where they had evacuated him to! Maybe she could speak with him in that moment, finally! What would she say over the phone? This kind of news wasn’t really something one gave from a distance. She had been hoping that she could get his whereabouts and tell him then.

“My name is Rachelle Smith. The Sheikh and I were together when the siege occurred. I’ve been trying to reach him.”

“The royal family has been displaced by the conflict in Zaradi and at present, as I’m sure you’re aware, the rebel army has assumed control. Their current whereabouts are unknown.”

The woman’s voice was cold and final, and it was the same story Rachelle had read before it had been eliminated from the internet, somehow. Who had that ability, anyway?

“I understand that you have to tell people that, but Darian and I are friends, and I am worried about him. Please, if you know anything, can you bend the rules a little and tell me?”

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I have no other information to tell you. We are just as hopeful that the royal family has been brought to safety. Beyond that, there is no other information to provide.”

“But…”

“I’m sorry. If you have any other questions, please consult our website. Good day.”

There was a click as Rachelle’s phone beeped at her, signaling a hang up.

Rachelle nearly threw the phone against the wall. That woman had to know more than she was letting on, didn’t she? Perhaps not. In her frustration, Rachelle stood, pacing back and forth once again.

She could go back to Zaradi, and look for him personally. As she considered her other options, the dead ends and the brick walls, it was the only thing that made any sense in that moment. If she could find him, they would be safe. It was the only way. There was no knowing where he was, but chances were that they didn’t hide him far from his home country, right?

Determined, Rachelle opened her laptop back up and began looking for flights to Zaradi. Warning signs flashed all over her computer as she clicked through each page to order her flight. The airline companies made her digitally sign a waiver that they were not liable if flights to war zones were cancelled. When she got to the last page, it refused to sell her a ticket.

“Ugh!” she huffed, slamming a palm against the sofa.

Tapping her nails against the sofa ledge, she glared at the screen, trying to think of another solution. It dawned on her slowly.

Nurabi.

The neighboring country she had flown out of! Surely there couldn’t be any travel restrictions there! Clicking back several pages, Rachelle changed her airport selection, clicking back through without any warnings. When she reached the end, she made the final click and watched as the confirmation screen flashed before her eyes.

It was done, then. She would fly into Nurabi and find someone who could help her locate Darian. A seed of doubt splintered in her belly. What if he didn’t want to see her? What if that hardness in him as they parted was how he really felt, and she’d read him totally wrong? They had had such a magical time together—could it have been one-sided?

She remembered how his eyes glistened in the starlight on his balcony before he kissed her. There was magic in the air. She knew it in her bones and her soul that it was there. It was real. It had to be. Their child’s happiness depended on it.

At that moment, her phone beeped. It was a text from Phoebe.

Just checking in. You okay?

Rachelle stared at the message. If there was one person she could confide in, it was Phoebe. She texted back, asking her assistant if she could come over, and was granted with an instant response saying that she would be there in ten minutes.

Rachelle hadn’t bothered to change out of her work clothes, and her suit coat was wrinkled as she settled back into the couch, waiting for Phoebe to arrive. The door opened minutes later, just as promised.

“Hey! I brought you some soup from down the street. I ordered it on my way in so it was ready to go. Should be nice and hot!”

Phoebe brought the soup over to the coffee table in Rachelle’s living room. It was nearing dinner time, and Rachelle did feel a little peckish. When Phoebe looked at her, her eyes narrowed.

“You don’t look so bad,” she observed.

Rachelle smirked.

“Thanks,” she said, leaning back and eyeing the soup.

“What’s going on, Rachelle? The only reason you’d call out of work sick is if you were dying. Here you are, still dressed in your presentation outfit, looking fit as a fiddle. What gives?”

Rachelle stared at her for a moment, thinking about how to break the news. Blunt honesty was usually the best policy, right?

“I’m pregnant.”

Phoebe blanched as she stared at her, disbelief etched into her face.

“Are you certain?”

Rachelle hesitated. There was a chance she could be wrong. Pregnancy tests weren’t always accurate. Still, she knew. There were things one could feel without having to be told.

“Yes,” she said.

“Like, you went to the doctor and got a blood test?”

“Well, no…” Rachelle hedged.

“You can’t be totally certain then. It could be a false positive, or a faulty test, or—”

“Are you so upset at the fact that I would be pregnant?” Rachelle asked, her voice curt.

Phoebe leaned back, not at all worried by her tone. They had been working together long enough that Phoebe knew she could be honest with Rachelle without the fear of losing her job.

“Do you want to be pregnant?” she asked.

Rachelle picked at the sofa threads beneath her, staring at her busy fingers.

“I never thought about it, really. All the guys I dated never lasted longer than a week, and I never heard from them again. The few relationships I’ve managed were so long ago, and at that point, I had no intention of starting a family that early.”

“How did it happen?” Phoebe asked.

Rachelle glanced back up at her, humor glinting in her eyes.

“Do you really need me to explain the birds and the bees to you, Phoebe? I believe there were a few men at that conference who could have done a much better job.”

Phoebe scoffed.

“You know what I mean. Who’s the father?”

Rachelle hesitated on her answer. There was no turning back now, and someone would need to know her whereabouts, just in case anything happened.

“Darian,” she replied.

“The Sheikh of Zaradi? That Darian?”

“The very one.”

“But you got torn from his side while bombs were going off.”

“Yes, well, that didn’t change anything that happened earlier.”

Phoebe sat in stunned silence for a moment, absorbing that piece of information.

“Do you know how to find him? Wasn’t he taken into custody or something?”

Rachelle frowned.

“I tried calling the embassy here in America, but they’re sticking to their story. They say they have no idea where any members of the royal family are, and that they are hopeful they’re safe.”

“And you don’t believe them?”

“I don’t know what I believe. I do think that it’s very possible he could be hidden close to Zaradi, which is why I’ve opted to fly back there tomorrow morning.”

“What?!” Phoebe cried, standing. “You can’t be serious! Rachelle, that is beyond dangerous, and you have a baby to think about now!”

Rachelle had prepared herself for this outburst. She stood, meeting Phoebe at her level.

“I understand the risk. It is more important to me that Darian knows he is going to be a father. If there is a chance I can find him, for the sake of my child, I have to try.”

“You can’t!” Phoebe said, her eyes filled with worry.

“I wasn’t asking for your permission, Phoebe. I simply wanted you to know, so that someone can keep an eye on things while I’m away. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“You want to put your life, your baby’s life, in danger? Rachelle, you have time. It takes quite a while for a child to grow and develop. You don’t have to go gallivanting off to a war zone to find the father now. You can wait until—”

“Until when? I’m eight months pregnant and can’t fly anymore, endangering us even more? You have to see that this is the only time I have to go and find him. I have to take my chance.”

“Please reconsider this, Rachelle. You’ve had a shock. You’re not thinking straight.”

“I have never felt clearer in my entire life, Phoebe. This is something I have to do. I understand that this protest is coming from a good place, and I know you’re looking out for me. Now, you need to understand that I will not back down. Nothing will stop me from getting on that plane tomorrow and finding Darian. Nothing.”

They stared at each other for some time, Phoebe clearly trying to think of other ways to convince Rachelle not to go, Rachelle crossing her arms and patiently waiting for her to give up and move on. In the end, Phoebe sighed.

“You are one of the most stubborn women I have ever met.”

“I will take that as a great compliment, and thank you for the delicious soup. I look forward to enjoying it while I pack.”

“Just promise me you’ll keep your phone handy, so I can reach you at all times. I don’t care about any of the deals we have coming up. If you’re not alive to make them a reality, what’s the point?”

Rachelle laughed.

“Now you’re just being melodramatic. Go home and get some rest. I promise I’ll keep in touch and give you regular updates, okay?”

Phoebe followed Rachelle to the door as she was ushered out, her steps reluctant as Rachelle opened the door and waved goodbye.

“I’ll be all right. Stop worrying.”

Phoebe grunted as Rachelle quietly closed the door, turning back toward her apartment. Telling Phoebe went about as well as expected, though it left her with a cloud of worry and doubt that she didn’t want to face.

Feeling exhausted, she slid out of her work outfit and into a pair of comfortable pajamas before devouring the soup and packing her bags.

After she finished, she slipped beneath her comforter, placing a gentle hand on her stomach.

Closing her eyes, she whispered to the baby, “Don’t worry, little one. I’ll find your father. We’ll all be together again soon.”