Chapter Eighteen

Roland walked out of the office feeling defeated. There was nothing he could do to make her see the truth, so he needed to stop trying. If she wanted to be away from him, he'd help by moving her into another bedroom. As much as it hurt, he was hoping it would shock her enough. When she went past him and into the bathroom and closed the door, he didn't like how pale she looked.

When he asked, she said she wanted to be alone, but he knew what he did wasn't going to work and that she wanted to be away from him. It hurt worse than anything ever had, and he pressed on his chest to ease the pain.

After leaving her room, Roland went downstairs and into his office, closing the door behind him. Work was the only thing he could think of to keep his mind off her.

A few hours later, he walked upstairs. He saw the light was off in her room and opened the door. The light from the hallway and from the moon outside let him see her clearly. He saw her eyes swollen like she'd been crying again, but her cheeks were concave.

They'd been home from the hospital for two weeks, and he hadn't seen her eat. He would ask Betsy, his cook, in the morning.

A few days passed, and he realized he rarely saw her in the house. One morning, he stopped in the kitchen. He asked about Laila, and Betsy said she spent a lot of time outside and in her room. The cook told him Laila ate but not enough.

Roland sighed. "I'll take care of it."

"I hope so because she's eating for two now," Betsy said.

Roland nodded. He went looking for her again and found her in her room, asleep on the bed. He didn't like the way she looked. She was losing weight, and it wasn't healthy for her or the baby. He'd catch her the next day because he wanted some answers.

The next morning, he had a few men in his office when he heard a timid knock on the door. He looked up to see Laila.

He'd never seen anyone look so defeated besides himself. "What?" It came out harsher than he wanted, and he saw her flinch and could have kicked himself.

"I … I wanted to…"

"Can this wait? I'm in a meeting?"

Laila went even more pale and nodded. She turned and walked out.

Roland ignored the surprised and irate looks on the men's faces. He went back to what they were discussing. After the men left, he went to find her. He looked all over and then asked Betsy if she knew.

"Yes. She had a doctor's appointment. I thought you'd take her, but she said you were busy, so she took an Uber."

Jesus Christ. "Why the doctor?"

"She hasn't felt well, and she was worried about the baby."

He nodded. He didn't like not knowing any of this. "Where's my father?"

Betsy shrugged. "He went out again. He's been gone a lot lately."

Yes, he had. Roland had tried to find him a few times because he had questions about the night of the benefit, but he never answered his phone and was never home. He would eventually get his answers because he was suspicious about a few things.

Roland went back to his office and got back to work. He felt like his life was falling apart, and he didn't know how to fix it.

"Roland," Laila said by the door.

She was so quiet he barely heard her.

"I don't want to bother you, but I thought you'd want to see the sonogram."

She reached his desk, set it on top, and turned to walk out.

"What's in the bag?" he asked, pointing to the small white bag in her hand.

"The doctor gave me vitamins."

"You've lost weight."

She looked down. "She, the doctor, said everything looked good and that I haven't done any damage."

His brows puckered. Damage? "What are you talking about?"

He saw her get even more pale.

"I need to lay down for a bit," she murmured, ignoring his question.

He nodded but stopped her at the door. She turned to look at him.

"When you came in earlier, it was to tell me about the doctor's appointment, wasn't it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry I interrupted. I promise not to do that again."

He opened his mouth to tell her he wanted to know what was going on, but she had walked out the door. He heard her tired footsteps and thought to help her up the stairs.

Roland stood to go to her and caught sight of the picture she gave him. He picked it up and studied it. From what he could see of the baby, it was shaped like a bean with tiny arms.

He stared at it for several minutes. Jesus, he was going to be a father. He smiled. It was something he'd always wanted. His smile fell. When he had pictured his family, he and his wife had been happy. That couldn't be farther from the truth now.

If he counted right, he had thirty-two weeks until the baby was born to turn his marriage around. He wanted her back in their bed and able to touch and fuck her whenever he wanted.

The next day, he went in search of his wife. "Betsy, do you know where Laila is?"

"I think she's in her room. She doesn't go anywhere but that room and outside."

The cook stopped, and he waited.

"I'm worried about her. It seems she's getting more dejected every day. She tries so hard to get food down, but a lot of the time, she runs to the bathroom, and then I won't see her until the next day. I also haven't seen her smile for a while now."

"Is that normal?" he asked.

"It's still the first trimester, and some women have problems like hers. If she's under any stress, it makes it worse."

Fuck. Yeah, he'd call what they were going through stressful. He wasn't a pregnant woman, but he was having problems sleeping and concentrating.

"Thank you, Betsy."

"You're welcome. I hope you two can figure out a solution soon."

"Me, too."

Roland ran up the stairs and to her room. He silently opened the door to see her lying in the dark on her bed. He wanted to wake her and talk, but first he needed some answers.

He went back down to his office and called the doctor whose name was on the sonogram Laila had given him.

He waited for her to call him back. He snatched up the phone when it rang.

"Hello."

"Mr. Stewert, this is Doctor Beals. I'm glad you called. I've wanted to talk to you."

"Why?"

"I'm very worried about your wife."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you tell me why?"

"She's losing weight much too quickly, and when I discuss it with her, she says to just worry about the baby. I tell her no, I want to take care of her too, and she says she doesn't matter. Your wife is extremely depressed, and I think the only thing keeping her alive is this baby.

Jesus, it was worse than he thought. "What can I do?"

"Get her counseling immediately, and if there's a problem with the two of you, you both need to go to a counselor together."

The first person he thought of was his friend, Stacey. The one Laila saw him dancing with. He'd call her and ask what she thought, but in the meantime, get the names of others. "Do you have some names you'd recommend?" he asked.

"Yes. Give me your email address, and I'll send them to you. If you decide, email me back, and I'll talk to them about my suspicions."

"I'll do whatever it takes, Doctor."

"I hope so. She's pretty special. What was your reason for calling?"

"She is very special, and she's my world. I am worried. All she does is sleep or walk around in the garden."

"I told her to get rest and moderate exercise. She's doing everything I tell her to. It's like she's afraid she'll do something to hurt the baby."

Roland didn't understand that. He could never see Laila hurting a child. "Send me the email. I want to find someone immediately."

"I'm glad we talked," Dr. Beals said.

"I am, too. Call me anytime if there's anything you think I should know. I'll take all the advice I can get."

He ended the call and sat back in his chair, rested his head against the back, and closed his eyes. Goddamn. He'd fucked up in so many ways, but now he was determined to get through to her.

Roland called Stacey.

"Hello."

"Hey, Stacey, it's me. I need your advice," he told her. He explained what was going on and how the doctor thought it best we get counseling and that she'd worried about her mental state. "Would it hurt for you to come and counsel us?"

"What if she remembers me?" Stacey asked.

"I doubt she will, but if she does, you can tell her yourself that there's nothing between us," Roland said.

"I'll stop by tomorrow around ten. Will that work for you?"

"Yes. Thank you, and I'll see you then.

He looked over the email and chose a woman if Stacey didn't work out. He sent a message back to the doctor, and she said she'd wait for him to get back to her if he needed another counselor.

Roland checked on Laila again before going into his bedroom. He wanted to carry her back to their bed but decided to wait and see how the counseling went.