Chapter Fifteen

Laila moved her leg and groaned at the pain that shot up her thigh. Her head was pounding, so she was afraid to move it.

She squinted as she opened her eyes and let them scan the room. A frown puckered her eyebrows. What happened? Where am I? She raised her arm to see an IV. I'm in a hospital. Why? She had so many questions.

The side of the bed moved, so she carefully turned her head and saw Roland resting on part of her mattress with his hand wrapped around her hand.

"Ro…" She had to stop because her throat was so dry it was hard to speak. She moved her hand to get his attention.

His head lifted immediately. "Hey. I've been waiting for you to wake up."

"Water?"

He reached behind him for a cup filled with water and a long straw. He held it up to her lips and waited until she got her fill.

"I'll get you more in a bit. Do you want ice in it?" he asked.

"Yes." Cold water sounded great. "Why am I here?"

Roland stood and sat by her hip on the mattress facing her. He didn't let go of her hand and used his thumb to caress the back of it.

"What do you remember?"

When she tried to think, her head started to throb worse. "My head. It hurts."

"Let me call a nurse. We'll get you some pain medicine."

He reached and pushed a button.

"Yes," a woman's voice said.

"She's awake."

"Good. I'll call the doctor."

She closed her eyes when he started to say something, and then the door opened, and a man and woman walked in.

"Well, hello, Mrs. Stewart," the man said. "I am Doctor Burns."

"Hello. Can I have something for my head?"

He smiled, nodded, and said something to the nurse. Laila watched her walk to the IV stand and pull something from her pocket. It was a syringe. She stuck it in one of the valves.

"It won't take long to go into effect, and you'll get drowsy again," the doctor said.

She didn't want to go back to sleep, but if she didn't have to feel the throbbing pain, it was worth it.

"Can you tell me what happened?" She didn't like how the doctor looked at Roland.

"We haven't had a chance to talk," Roland said.

The doctor smiled. "I'll let your husband tell you. I want to check the bandage on your head while the nurse takes your vitals, all right?"

"Okay." She stayed still as the doctor pulled the bandage back. He poked at the injury and then put the piece back to cover it.

"That looks good. We've given you antibiotics that will help prevent an infection."

"My leg hurts."

"It's bruised. Your husband will tell you why."

"Okay," she said, carefully looking at Roland and then back to the other man.

"I'll be in to check on you later. If you want anything, call the nurse's station. If you need me, they'll track me down."

"When do I get to go home?"

"Tomorrow, if everything looks all right."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, watching them walk out before turning to her husband. "Tell me."

He sat back down, facing her. "You were hit by a car."

Her eyes widened. "How?"

"You didn't see it."

She started rubbing her forehead where it throbbed the worst. The memories wanted to come back, but the pain was keeping them away.

He got her attention when he cupped her face. The smile on his face looked … joyful. It was the only way she could think of to describe it.

"You're pregnant, Sweetheart. We're going to have a baby."

It took a moment to understand, and the drug they had given her was starting to work. "A baby?"

"Yeah. We're going to be parents," he told her.

She felt happiness grow in her chest, and she smiled. "A baby."

Roland nodded.

"And it's okay, right?"

His thumb caressed her cheek. "It's perfect."

She tried to fight the drug because she had so many questions, but it was too strong.

He put a finger over her lips. "Just rest. I'll take care of everything, and I won't leave your side."

She reached for his hand and squeezed, and then her eyes closed.

Laila had no idea how much time had passed when pictures started running through her mind. She didn't understand most of them. The ones that showed Roland slow dancing with a woman made her stomach tighten. Why would she dream about that?

Laila couldn't stop images from coming, some of them over and over again.

When she woke up hours later, the room was dark. She blinked a few times and then looked to her right to see Roland's head on the mattress like it had been before. She looked toward the window and saw how bright the stars were.

Her head felt better, but now her stomach felt tight and upset. She knew why. She just didn't want to think about it. But she had to. She was pregnant and had to think of the baby now and not just herself.

She couldn't get the picture of him and his mistress holding each other out of her mind, and it made her want to vomit. She must have moved because he raised his head. She tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his grip.

He frowned when he saw her expression. "What's wrong, Love?"

She almost laughed, but she was afraid it would turn into hysterical tears. "I want you to go."

Roland's confusion made her angry. He sat by her hip on the mattress.

"Why? What happened?" he asked.

She almost snorted. "Remember what I said about my father and how he was with my mother?"

"He was a jerk and had affairs. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes. I told you I would never stand for a husband doing that to me. I watched my mother's spirit lessen every time she saw something."

If anything, he looked more confused. "We don't have to worry about that."

She brought her hands up to cover her face as tears started to run. When she got some control, she looked at him. "I saw you with your mistress."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Stop the lying. The lies are about as bad as the mistress."

"Explain what's going on because I have no clue."

She wanted to yell at him. "Your father and I were at the benefit last night."

"Yes, I saw you. Why were you there?" he asked.

She chuckled sadly. "I know. It kind of messed up your plans. You weren't planning on me seeing you. How long have you had her?"

"Love…"

"Stop calling me that. You don't know how to love if you can have affairs behind my back."

Roland stood beside the bed. "I've never had an affair, and I'm never going to."

"Stop lying," she yelled. "You were dancing with her last night when you said you were at a meeting. You've had a lot of late-night meetings lately, and now I know why."

"I did have a meeting. When it ended, a friend caught me leaving and wanted to have a drink. All I could think about was getting home to you. The woman you're talking about is a childhood friend. We've known each other since kindergarten. She's married to the man that was sitting there, who is also my friend. I've never and will never feel that way about her. Most of the time, I think she's a brat."

Laila tried to remember who was at the table with him, but her eyes didn't stray from the horror she was seeing.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe you."

He wiped a hand down his face. She was just noticing the exhaustion. Fucking two women would make a man tired, she thought.

He stared down at her. "I hate that you don't trust me."

She tried to laugh again. "Put yourself in my place. What if I suddenly started having these late-night meetings, and then you saw me dancing very closely with a man? What would you think?"

"I can see where you're coming from, Love. I'm wracking my brain trying to find a way to show you."

Laila pressed her lips together. She was starting to get tired again. "I don't want to talk anymore. Go home. I'll come to the house, and we can discuss our future."

"If you think for a second that we would get divorced, you're delusional," he snapped. "Remember the baby we're having?"

She had thought of that, and although she was thrilled with it and already loved it, it would be the one thing that would keep her tethered to Roland.

"Just go home." She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

"I'm not going anywhere until you do. Just sleep. We'll get through this."

She couldn't see how, but her mind was so filled with questions. Her body was pulling her down, and she couldn't fight him.