The incessant beeping of the machines eventually penetrated Elena’s subconscious, and she forced open heavy eyelids, her sight still blurry. The machine started to race as she slowly became conscious of her surroundings and tried to sit up.

“No, no, no,” Jason urged and tried to force her back down. “Don’t move. Let me get the nurse.”

Elena was dazed and confused, and she stared at Jason like she had seen a ghost. “Jason? What are you doing here? What happened?”

“Just take it easy. I’ll explain everything in a second. Give me a…” He held his index finger out to indicate he would be back and ran quickly into the hallway. He returned less than a minute later with an elderly doctor.

“Miss Rose,” the doctor said as he moved rapidly. “I’m Doctor Suarez. How are you feeling?”

Elena shifted in the bed, her eyes on her stomach. Her eyes bulged before she looked pleadingly at the doctor. “My baby.”

“The baby is fine, but you did take a fall.” He moved closer to her and examined her eyes and checked her vitals. “Everything seems to check out. There hasn’t been any permanent damage, but we want to keep you here for a while for observation and to ensure both you and your baby are in good health. But after you go home, you will have to stay off your feet for the next couple of weeks. Nothing too strenuous, or you will risk losing the baby.”

Elena’s hands moved protectively over her belly, and her eyes watered. “What happened? I don’t remember anything.”

Olivia entered the room at that moment and shrieked when she saw her daughter awake. “Oh, thank God,” she exclaimed and hurried over. As she was prone to do, she placed her hand on Elena’s forehead to gauge if she was okay or not. “How are you?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” Elena whimpered. “But the doctor says I have to stay here.”

Olivia’s eyes darted to the doctor’s. “Is that true? She has to stay here?”

“That’s correct. We are taking every precaution.”

Olivia sighed. “Okay.”

“I’ll return in a couple of hours to see how you’re doing, but for now, you should get some rest,” Doctor Suarez ordered with a smile and walked out, leaving three uncomfortable people behind.

Elene shuffled on the bed, too aware of Jason in the room. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. He had a question of his own. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, indicating her stomach.

“Tell you what?” She looked away, and her eyes watered again. She brushed the tears away quickly and placed her hands at her sides.

Jason took her hand in his. “Tell me you were pregnant with my child. You know I wouldn’t let you go through this alone. I mean, you could have had the best doctors. Have you been taking vitamins?”

“Prince Jason, now isn’t the best time for this,” Olivia intervened as Elena wiped more tears from her eyes.

Jason sighed and wiped his hand down his face. “You’re right.” He held his hands in the air in surrender and turned and walked to the window.

Elena sniffled, and her entire body shook as Olivia tried to console her. She had made a stupid decision, but she hadn’t thought of it as dumb until a moment ago. She had convinced herself she was doing the best thing for her and her child by leaving Jason out of it. Now that she saw the hurt in his eyes, she knew she had been wrong.

Olivia looked at Jason. “I think we should do as the doctor said and let her rest.”

Jason nodded and turned slowly. “All right. I’ll come back later. Even if you don’t like it, Elena.”

Olivia kissed her daughter on the forehead and followed Jason out. Elena was left to her thoughts, and they plagued her for the remainder of the night. She tossed and turned on the small bed, listening to the machines beeping and toying with the tubes connected to her arm. She couldn’t remember much about what had happened or how she’d gotten to the hospital. She had asked, but she hadn’t received an answer. The doctor said she’d fallen. Did she fall so badly she blacked out? Her heart started beating faster as adrenaline coursed through her veins, arising from the panic quickly blossoming inside.

By the morning, her eyes were gravelly and burned from lack of sleep. She had tried, but sleep had evaded her. She felt guilty about what she had done, and she desperately needed to talk to someone. She was bored lying in bed when the door cracked open and her father stuck his head inside.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” He grinned and slipped inside. “How are you doing?”

“I feel like I got run over by a car.” Elena groaned and sat up.

Gregory smiled. “I can imagine. I don’t know what you were doing out there. Were you climbing?”

“Climbing?” Elena knitted her brows in confusion.

“You were in the barn, and Prince Jason started shouting, and when I came out I saw you on the ground. You had passed out.”

Elena’s eyes widened. “Jason found me? What was he doing there?”

“Well, he came to see you. He went straight to the barn. I guess he knows that much about you.” Gregory smiled. “He must have found you like that.”

“Yeah,” Elena whispered. “I sorta remember feeling dizzy. I tried to leave…but that’s it. I don’t remember seeing him.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he was there, or we wouldn’t have found you until long after,” Gregory told her and scraped the visitor’s chair closer to the bed before sitting. “Do you understand now why you should have told him? I mean, you could have killed yourself and the baby.”

“I know, I know,” Elena sobbed. “I get it. I was wrong.”

“Oh,” Gregory said as he stroked her hand. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but whether you like it or not, it’s out in the open.”

“And he isn’t happy about it,” Elena whispered.

“Can’t say I blame him,” Gregory added.

Elena flashed him a deadly glare. “Whose side are you on?”

“The baby’s.” Gregory grinned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure what he’ll do now. I had a chance to marry him before, and I didn’t. I don’t think he’ll want to make a family again. I mean, I know he’ll want to take care of his child. Even to take the baby away from me—”

“Stop that nonsense talk, Elena,” Gregory snapped. “I was mad at him, too, when he stopped by when your mother was getting you fixed up to come here after the fall. He wants to be with you.”

Elena heard the words but didn’t want to buy into them too much. “I’m not so sure about that. Remember, he only came to the village because he was forced to. I don’t want to be with someone like it’s a contract. If he wants to be with me, it should be real.”

Gregory squeezed her hand and sighed. “Maybe you should hear what he has to say. He has been gone a long time, and if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t come back. Maybe you should think about that.”

She did. Long after her father had gone and she had only the machines for company, the rhythmic beeping becoming almost natural. It was close to time for lunch, and the doctor had already been in that morning. She wasn’t feeling any pain, but they wanted to keep her at least another day. She didn’t complain—not when she didn’t understand what was happening to her or why she’d blacked out. If it was solely as a result of the baby, the possibility of it happening again was very real, and she dreaded what would happen the next time. If Jason hadn’t come—

She was in the middle of her thought when the door opened and he stepped inside. Her breath caught in her throat as she was instantly reminded of how handsome he was. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and she found it hard to tear her eyes away from his smiling lips—the same lips that had kissed her most intimate parts and left indelible marks.

“Hi,” he said as he walked over to the chair.

Her mouth felt dry, and she felt her eyes burning as tears she did not comprehend threatened to embarrass her. “Hi,” she croaked and pinched the loose skin at her throat.

He rubbed his palms together and looked around, like he was searching for words or trying to find a way to voice the words he already had. He sucked in a lungful of air and turned to her.

“Elena…”

“Jason…”

They froze when they started speaking at the same time.

“You go,” he told her, obviously not prepared to speak yet.

“I shouldn’t have kept the baby from you, but when you came to the village, you only did so because you were thinking about your kingdom. You didn’t really want to be there, nor were you interested in finding a wife.”

“That’s all true, but—”

“Let me finish.” His mouth clamped shut. “You came along, and I decided long before that I wanted nothing to do with you. But you kept coming until you wore me down.” She paused and rubbed her hands over her face. “I fell for you, but I was afraid it was only me, and if I married you I would lose everything. I was afraid.”

“Elena,” Jason whispered and pulled the chair closer so he could touch her hand. He covered her fingers with his palms and squeezed them gently. “I know how it must seem, and what you say is true. I only came because I was forced to. But no one forced me to love you. I started getting feelings I didn’t understand, and for a while I fought it. And I did try to win you, but you kept rejecting me.”

“Because I thought you were just fulfilling your duties.”

“I was, but that wasn’t the only thing. I really wanted you.”

“Wanted?” she asked, and her brows shot up.

Jason smiled. “I still do, especially now,” he said, and his eyes went to her stomach. “You two are my family now.”

Elena started crying, overwhelmed with emotions and the overpowering hormones. “I wanted to be sure you loved me for me. That was all I ever wanted. Not the dresses, or the jewelry, or the perfume, or whatever else you planned on sending.”

Jason’s eyes widened. “You know, if you had said that, I could have saved myself some money.”

She smiled faintly. “I don’t think you are short in that area. You could always sell them.”

“Me? The prince pawning jewelry? Nah, the media would kill me.” He laughed.

And she did too for the first time in what felt like forever, and she had never felt happier as her hand warmed in his and his presence entranced her. She was trapped, she knew, but a part of her didn’t want to be free of this snare. She leaned her head to the side and bit her lips as he moved and kissed her softly.