The Sheikh's Surrogate Bride

by Holly Rayner

  The closet door had been taken out and Olivia had used it as storage to hold various sizes of canvas. There was a tall shelving unit in one side, which held boxes of notebooks. In the center of the room was a small round table with a bowl of fruit on it. Between the fruit and the table which held the supplies was an easel. Olivia had converted the space into an art studio for him.

  “I don’t know exactly what kind of art you want to do, or what media you prefer, so it has a little bit of everything,” she explained.

  Yasin was speechless. No one had ever done anything like this for him in the past. His heart swelled.

  “I…I don’t know what to say. This is amazing. It’s so—” He took a deep breath. “It’s so thoughtful. No one has ever done anything this thoughtful for me before.”

  “I know that you’re always busy,” she said. “And when the baby is born, you’ll really be busy all the time. But everyone needs a little time for themselves. I figured that this would be a great way for you to spend that time, if you want.” She walked inside and looked around. “Besides,” she said. “Your son or daughter should be around art. I saw how important that painting was to you and it seems to have influenced you a lot,” she said. “The one at the museum.”

  “Yeah,” he said, his voice catching. “It has. Thank you.”

  “Maybe you can create a painting like that with your son or daughter. Kids love art and it can be so meaningful for them.”

  His eyes began to well up with tears. It was surprising to the both of them.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. She walked up to him and touched his cheek.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’m fine. It’s just…wow. This is great.” He smiled. “This is so great.”

  He hugged her. In that moment, with his arms wrapped around her, there was so much that he wanted to tell her. But, most of all, he just wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her.

  They spent the rest of the day in the art studio, sketching each other, among other things. As he watched Olivia draw and focus on the baby toys that she had brought in to sketch, Yasin was suddenly overcome with emotion. She was doing so much for the baby. Creating art that she wanted to hang up in his or her room, painting, buying emergency supplies… She would be such a wonderful mother.

  He sketched her face as she stared at the small teddy bear on the table. Her eyes lit up as she looked at it. Her face was glowing. Was it because she was pregnant? Did he love her only because she was carrying his child? The question ran through his mind, but he knew better. He knew her—that’s why he was in love with her.

  He finished the sketch and looked down at it. The way that she looked at the bear made his heart ache. Even in his rough sketch, he could feel that she would make a wonderful mother. And every child deserved a wonderful mother.

  Another question began to form in his mind. He wanted to ask Olivia if she would raise the child with him. His brows furrowed as he pondered it.

  How could he ask her that? It would be against the contract. What if she still thought that this was just a business transaction? It was something that he’d been trying to convince himself of since her plane landed here. But now, he knew for certain that it was more than that. This wasn’t just a business transaction anymore. But how did she feel?

  Chapter 21

  Olivia

  One Month Later

  “I can’t believe your family threw me a baby shower,” Olivia said.

  She was excited about it, that much was obvious. She had spent the entire morning changing out of one dress after another, hoping that she could find something that would show off her six-month bump without making her look like a hippo. Despite Yasin’s insistence that she looked beautiful in everything, it still took her well over an hour to pick out a dress.

  “It’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?” he asked as they walked up the steps to his father’s house.

  “What?” she asked. “The baby shower?”

  “No, the getting dressed thing. It took you over an hour this morning, but it’s only going to get longer from here, isn’t it?”

  She held onto his arm. “You better believe it,” she said. “I’m probably going to need to buy more clothes soon, actually. Maybe I’ll get some of those jeans that have stretchy material around the belly.”

  “Whatever you need,” he said, patting her hand. He thought for a moment. “We might even get some for my father.”

  They were laughing as they arrived at the porch. The front door slid open and a woman in a maid’s uniform greeted them with a delicate curtsy.

  “You’re new,” Yasin said warmly. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  She smiled and blushed. “Yes, hello, sir,” she said. She shut the door behind them. “Everyone is in the sitting room.”

  Yasin held his hand out. “Hello,” he said. “My name is Yasin. This is my wife, Olivia.”

  The maid shook his hand and then reached out and shook Olivia’s, adding another curtsy. “I saw your dress,” she said. “At the wedding. There were pictures in the paper. You looked so beautiful.”

  Olivia blushed. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you,” she said.

  She curtsied one more time before leading them back to the sitting room.

  “Just because she said you’re pretty, doesn’t mean we’re taking her out to lunch,” Yasin whispered.

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe we can just buy her a house, then,” she whispered back.

  Their laughter faded to gasps of surprise as they entered the sitting room, a magnificent space that had been festooned with emerald, gold, and white decorations, which matched the lighter shades of the nursery. Balloons adorned the corners of the room, paper pompoms of various shapes and sizes were bunched on every available surface, and the long table which extended across the far end of the space housed a tower of cupcakes. Vases with flowers lined the back of the table; each vase was either gold or white with green foliage, baby’s breath, and yellow marigolds sticking out of them. Every imaginable detail had been taken care of.

  Nylah stood up from the couch and held up two sticks, one in each hand. Strung across them in gold thread were letters spelling out “Congratulations!”

  “Oh, Nylah,” Olivia said as they approached the couch.

  “You’ve really outdone yourself,” Yasin added.

  Maalik, who had been sitting next to Nylah, stood up as well. He held his hands up in the air. From around the room, cousins, aunts, and uncles all cheered—Olivia recognized some of the faces from the wedding. Nylah and her father welcomed the happy, expecting couple into the room, and Maalik encouraged her to sit down on the couch and offered to bring her a drink.

  “I’m fine,” she said. She looked at Yasin. “I see where he gets it from, though.”

  “You don’t need to put any extra stress on your body,” her husband said lovingly. He sat down next to her on the couch.

  A movement in the corner of Olivia’s eye caught her attention. Rashad walked into the room from the hallway.

  “Brother,” Yasin said, holding his arms out for an embrace. He stood up to give him a hug, but Rashad just looked at him and gave him an acknowledging nod before walking past him to greet one of their cousins. He didn’t even look at Olivia.

  “What’s wrong with your brother?” Olivia asked when Yasin sat back down.

  He shrugged. “Perhaps his underwear is on too tight,” he whispered.

  “He’s never really liked me, has he?”

  Yasin put his arm around her. “He’s hard to win over. It doesn’t help that we announced our engagement so suddenly.”

  She looked down. “I’d love to be able to get along with him. I know how important he is to you.”

  Yasin gave her a side hug and leaned in close. “Just enjoy the party,” he said. “I’ll talk to him later.”

  The guests were welcoming and sweet. Six months of living with Yasin certainly helped when it came to answering questions about him and their relationsh
ip. These days, she didn’t even have to make much up.

  His family asked questions about how he was treating her (“Like I’m breakable”), how married life was going, and what it was like living with Yasin (“I always thought that he was putting up a front for me while we were dating, but he’s just as romantic, thoughtful, generous, loving, and sweet now, as he was when we first met”).

  After a couple of baby-shower games, the men began to look restless.

  Nylah walked up to Olivia and gave her a quick hug. “I’m not used to hosting baby showers,” she said. “It didn’t dawn on me that I should have only invited women.”

  Olivia shrugged. “I’ve seen it both ways before,” she said. “After I left college, there was a span of about two years when it seemed like everyone was having a baby. I had to go to so many baby showers that I felt like I could burst. I’ve been to all kinds of showers, but I have to say that this one is, by far, my favorite. Normally, I’m just as bored as your dad is.”

  They both looked at Maalik, who was sitting in a chair, reading a book.

  “Well, maybe you can open some presents now?” Nylah asked. “Or maybe we should dive into the cupcakes.”

  “Cupcakes sound good,” Olivia said. “We can burn off the sugar with all our squealing over the baby gifts.” They both giggled as they made their way over to the table.

  Nylah, who had been urging guests to eat anything but the cupcakes, started the line for the treats. The line quickly formed behind her.

  “Pink champagne cake,” Nylah said. “From one of the best bakeries in town. And don’t worry, all of the alcohol in the champagne gets burned off when they bake. Also, I asked for alcohol-free frosting, so this should definitely be baby-shower friendly.”

  Olivia took a beautifully decorated cupcake from the stack and followed Nylah to the couch. It was delicate and light, the exact opposite of how Olivia was starting to feel. With each new day, her clothes were starting to feel tighter and tighter. She looked at the stack of presents and hoped that some of them were clothes for her.

  “Hey, Nylah,” she said.

  “Hmm?” she replied, her mouth full of cupcake.

  “Can we go shopping soon? I need to get some pregnancy-friendly clothes.”

  Nylah nodded enthusiastically. “I’d love to,” she said after swallowing. “I know this super cute maternity store at the plaza.”

  Maalik sat back down in his chair, chewing happily. He smiled at them. “Shall I get the presents?” he asked. “I need to get back to work, but I don’t want to miss you opening the presents. It’ll give me an idea of what you still need.”

  “Oh, Father,” Yasin said, sitting next to Olivia. “You don’t need to get us anything. You’ve already done enough by hosting this wonderful party.”

  Maalik pointed to Nylah. “It’s all her,” he said with a chuckle. He stood up and motioned for Nylah to follow him to the presents table.

  Before Maalik could get to the presents, however, Rashad stood up from his position on the other couch and pointed at Olivia, who was frozen in shock. “It’s a scam!” he yelled.

  There were gasps among the crowd. From behind her, Olivia heard Maalik call Rashad’s name in a hushed tone. Nylah did the same.

  Olivia held her breath. She could feel a lump forming in her throat as he spoke.

  “She’s been stealing from Yasin, and they’re not really in love.”

  The whole room fell silent.

  Olivia furrowed her brows. Despite the fact that he was accusing her of something that was way off base, she still felt her stomach drop. Her palms began to sweat, and she felt like she was going to be sick. She reached for Yasin’s hand but he sat frozen as well, unable to take his eyes off of his brother.

  Rashad continued, “I was looking over the Jubilee accounts when I came across several shady-looking transactions. After some digging, I discovered that Olivia has been conning Yasin. She’s been conning the whole family.”

  “What are you talking about?” Olivia asked, her voice breaking as she placed a protective hand on her belly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I saw it. I saw it all. A payment of one million dollars, funneled into an account in your name,” he said to her, pointing an accusing finger in her face. “This mysterious account popped up around the time that you showed up here. How strange, don’t you think? That you show up in Rebayah and all of a sudden, there’s an account just for you.”

  “That’s ridic—” Olivia started, but Rashad wouldn’t let her finish.

  “Ever since then, there have been monthly payments of $50,000 into the same account. So tell me, Olivia—if that’s your real name—what is it that you wanted from my brother? Is this all you wanted? Money? Did you just want to know his bank details so you could steal from him? Did you think having his baby would get you more money?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Olivia said. She turned to Yasin, who was still just staring at his brother.

  Rashad wasn’t looking at him, though; he was looking straight into Olivia’s eyes. “Are you denying all of this?” he asked. “Because I have proof.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Olivia insisted. “I’m doing no such thing. I’m not stealing from your brother or your family and I don’t know any of your brother’s bank details. That’s a ridiculous accusation.” She turned to her husband again. “Yasin,” she said. “Yasin, say something.”

  But her husband said nothing.

  “Rashad, why would you say such things?” Malik asked. “These are horrendous things to say about your family.”

  “She’s not family,” Rashad countered. “She’s an impostor, and a fraud.” He pointed to the hallway. “It’s all there in black and white, Father. Look at the paperwork.”

  “Excuse me,” Maalik said, walking toward Rashad. He looked around the room. “I apologize for my son’s behavior and for this drama. I believe that this party is over. If you could all leave us in peace, we can work all of this out.”

  The guests filed out of the room. In the distance, the front door squeaked open and guests began to pour out of the house.

  Rashad and his father followed the crowd out of the room, but instead of walking toward the door, they both turned left, toward an area of the house that Olivia had not yet seen. The sitting room was deathly silent in their absence.

  Nylah walked over and sat on the couch directly in front of Olivia. “What’s he saying?” she asked, her eyes watering. “What’s Rashad saying?”

  “He’s talking nonsense,” Olivia said.

  “But he says there is proof?”

  “It’s not what you think,” Olivia pleaded, her voice cracking with anxiety and worry.

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s not what you think.” Olivia turned to Yasin again. “Tell her. Tell her that it’s not what she thinks.”

  He looked down at the coffee table, his eyes transfixed, not saying a word.

  Olivia seethed internally. What was Yasin doing? Why wasn’t he saying anything? Why wasn’t he defending her? Everything was falling apart.

  Rashad walked into the room, then, catching everyone’s attention. All eyes were on him. He stared at Olivia with a smug smirk.

  Behind him, Maalik stormed into the room, nearly pushing Rashad over. “What is this?” he yelled. “What is going on?”

  “She was going to tell me,” Nylah said. “Let her speak.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Rashad shouted.

  “Stop shouting!” Olivia said.

  “I can do whatever I want in my own home,” Maalik said.

  “No, not you, sir. I wouldn’t dream of telling you—”

  “Yasin, control your wife,” Maalik bellowed.

  Yasin pulled Olivia aside, away from the yelling for the briefest of moments.

  Olivia wanted to scream at him. She wanted to pound on his chest and ask him why he wasn’t doing anything. She had thought he was a good man, but here he
was just throwing her under the bus.

  The only question that came out of her mouth was, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I know what I have to do. Just give me a minute.”

  “It’s over,” Olivia said.

  The words caught Yasin by surprise. He looked up at her. “What?”

  “The charade. It’s over. You have to come clean.”

  The wrinkles on his forehead softened and he nodded. “I know. I just need a minute to think about how I can say it—”

  “Get out!” Rashad yelled.

  The yelling ceased. All eyes were on Rashad once again. He was staring right at Olivia.

  “I said,” he started, “get out. Get out of our house.”

  Yasin held onto Olivia’s arm. “Stop,” he said, but he wasn’t staring at his brother. He was looking at his wife. “Don’t go. Stay here. We need to talk about all of this.”

  “What?” Rashad hissed. “No! She’s a thief.”

  “You haven’t heard her side yet,” Nylah protested.

  “Look at these papers,” Maalik shouted. He stared at his son. “You bring a thief into my house,” he said. “You bring a thief into my house and make us toast to her like she is family.” He pointed outside. “The photographers, they have her as your wife. You signed papers, and now you’re expecting a child with her. This is how you start a family?”

  Olivia looked from one face to the next, most of which were filled with rage. Nylah was crying. Olivia couldn’t even look at Yasin, her own anger was too great.

  Without another word, she rushed out of the room and down the hall. She opened the front door and shut it behind her, not even bothering to look back.

  Pulling her cellphone out of her pocket, she called a cab to meet her down the street and started walking. All she knew, in that moment, was that she needed to put as much distance between her and Yasin as possible.

  Chapter 22