Pregnant for My Stalker

by Kalpana Kali

  Within fifteen minutes they were circling their destination—a yacht the size of a mansion serenely cruising the lonely sea.

  “That’s yours?” she asked Stuart, too stunned to hold back her awe.

  “I borrowed it from a Russian friend of mine. He’s using my plantation in Brazil for his fourth honeymoon.”

  “Fourth wife, huh?” Beth asked, showing her contempt for rich, evil men. “He must be a real winner.”

  “Actually, he’s a sweet guy. This is his fourth honeymoon with his first and only wife. They take a new honeymoon every year.”

  “Oh.” She looked back out the window at the massive yacht, embarrassed.

  “You know,” said Stuart behind her, “You really shouldn’t be so quick to think the worst about people.”

  They landed in the front of the boat. She was happy to find it full of sailors and stewards, so she wouldn’t have to be here alone with Stuart. Though that no longer seemed like a completely horrible prospect.

  The party was in the main hall, on one of the higher levels of the ship. It gave a view of the sea out both sides through floor-to-ceiling windows. About a hundred guests in all milled about the room and meeting them became a blur. There were industrial magnates of course, singers, actors from soap operas about neighbors, Olympic swimmers, ambassadors, and socialites of all kinds.

  Hayman and Leonard took a table in the corner.

  To her surprise, Beth enjoyed the mingling and conversation. There was the usual party talk about who had visited where and who was dating and who was getting divorced. There were drinking games, people telling jokes about politicians they knew, more dancing and more food. The helicopter sang overhead through the night, bringing new people from the shore and carrying others back.

  And the whole time, Stuart was there at her side, helping to keep her in the conversations, easing her into being a part of this foreign atmosphere. Once she had made a few friends, he let her come and go as she wished. And while she enjoyed food talk with the host of a morning show and checking vacation photos of Inca temples with a Chinese steel magnate, she found herself more and more drawn back to where Stuart was, as if that was her natural place.

  Once Beth realized what she was doing, however, she panicked. There was a door near the back and she took it, wandering down some stairs in her bid for fresh air.

  Eventually, she found herself on a relaxation deck at the stern. Here, the water was practically at her feet. The sounds of the party continued, muffled, from inside.

  She looked up at the stars, so clear out here, even with the ship’s lights on. What was happening to her? Stuart had kidnapped her. There was no other word for it under the niceties. Why was she suddenly enjoying his company?

  Footsteps padded down the deck behind her. Stuart appeared as if she had willed him there from a fantasy. Even after all the night’s activities, his suit was immaculate. He walked over and held the rail near her. She looked up at his face, the slight wind blowing his dark hair across his forehead.

  He cocked an eyebrow at her inquisitively, but she didn’t respond, except to take a step right to him.

  ‘What are you doing?’ a voice in her head said.

  Nothing. I’m— I just want to know—

  The voice in her head shouted, ‘Step away. Don’t be foolish.’

  I just need to know. Just once.

  She reached up with her hand and held his face. He leaned down, stopping halfway. Beth stretched up and touched her lips to his, softly at first, testing. Then she pressed harder and he responded, his tongue grazing against her lips.

  She pulled back, scared of giving away too much.

  He held her hands, an expression of awe on his face.

  After a while of looking warily at each other, they turned to the ocean. Stuart pulled her close and she leaned back against his warm, firm chest with his arms wrapped around her.

  Eventually a thought occurred to her. “Your contracts said I was to wear what you gave me for different events this evening. That’s plural. But you only gave me one so far.”

  “I had a swimsuit laid out in your room that—”

  “My room? That’s presumptuous of you isn’t it, assuming I was going to stay the night?”

  “I only presumed you might like a private place to change your clothes.” Stuart shrugged. “I had planned to get everyone into the pool, but it got too late and then—”

  Beth laughed, “Did you get swimsuits for Leonard and Hayman too?”

  He laughed with her. “No.”

  “Where is Leonard anyway?”

  “Oh, he left on the helicopter at midnight. Once the four hours were up, he didn’t need to stay.”

  It’s over? A part of her was actually regretful. Mostly, she was amazed that she hadn’t noticed the time. Her phone told her she was two hours past what she owed. Like some reverse Cinderella, she had overstayed her time at the ball.

  She left Stuart’s embrace and turned around. She could go home now.

  And Stuart seemed to realize it too. His face filled with a dark emotion and she realized she was in trouble.

  Beth shouted, “You can’t keep me here still! I did what I was supposed to. You have to let me leave now.”

  “I— I can’t. I just can’t.”

  “You have to. The court said—”

  “The court doesn’t matter here.” He spoke like a doctor giving hard news. “We’ve sailed into international waters. This is a Costa Rican registered vessel. Australian authorities can’t come on board.”

  “You don’t even own this boat.”

  “I do actually.” Stuart looked sheepish. “After I saw how impressed you were with it, I called my friend in Brazil and bought it off him.”

  “You bought a million dollar yacht because you thought I liked it?”

  “Two hundred million, but yes.”

  Now I’m worth two hundred million dollars. Or at least this crazy fool thinks I am.

  Beth shook her surprise off and said, “People will know what you’ve done. My family for one thing.”

  “No. Leonard is going to tell them that you confessed the whole stalking claim was a bid for my affection and that we’re a couple now. He’s going to tell the press, the police, everyone.”

  “You might have bought off Leonard, but you can’t buy off my family. They’ll want to hear it from me.”

  “It won’t matter. By the time my lawyers are all done delaying them, I’ll have what I want.” With a calm certainty, Stuart added, “You’re not leaving this ship until you give birth.”

  “You can’t keep me here!”

  “I’ve given instructions for us to sail along the coast just outside the legal limit. The only way off this boat for the next year is on my helicopter or by swimming for shore.”

  Beth shook her head in frustration. “And I was starting to think you were an okay guy, you know that?”

  He looked away, guilt on his face. “I’ll send one of the stewards to escort you to your room.”

  “No. Fuck that. Do it yourself.” She grabbed his arm and swung him to face her. “Look at me.”

  He managed to meet her angry stare.

  She said, “I know there’s a human being in there. I’ve seen it. You know this is wrong. You’re going to keep me away from my brother and sister. Tell me you don’t know this is wrong.”

  “I know it’s wrong.” He spoke with an anguished voice, running his hand through his hair. “Beth, I don’t know what to do. If you get on that helicopter, I’ll lose you and my mind can’t— I can’t allow it. However much pain it causes you, however much it makes you hate me, it’s the only chance I have left.”

  She stared at him, stunned by such a blatant confession of his intent to imprison her. “You’ll lose everything,” she told him. “You can’t keep this secret forever. Even if you’re hiding here, they’ll shut down your mines, your offices, everything. You’ll lose it all.”

  “I know. I don’t care.” He shrugged and said,
“I’m sorry.” Then he walked away.

  ***

  Beth locked her room door the instant she stepped inside. The floor had lush carpeting. To one side was hardwood furniture and at the other was a king-sized bed. A swimsuit was laid out on a dresser.

  Beth swatted it to the ground and screamed in frustration.

  But she knew there was nothing to be done tonight—all the other guests were gone and her phone wasn’t getting a signal. At least she had the recording of Stuart’s confession saved on it.

  She brushed her teeth, slipped into a pair of pajamas she found among the many drawers of clothes and went to sleep.

  In the morning, she awoke hungry and knew she had to leave the room. She found comfortable underwear, then looked for the un-sexiest clothes she could find. She settled on a pair of baggy, waterproof sailing trousers with reinforcement patches over the knees. No sexy vibes from that. Then she added a sailor-style top and tennis shoes.

  She left her hair in a ponytail, even though she knew Stuart liked that. Anything more seemed like too much trouble just to spite him.

  Trying to remember which way was the front of this monstrosity of a ship, she wandered past an open door in the corridor. Beth would have kept going, except she saw a framed picture of Stuart as a young boy on the wall. He was about five, wearing a pilot costume and saluting the camera, his face covered in a carefree smile that she could not imagine on his now-adult features.

  She stepped into the room warily. A closer look revealed that it wasn’t Stuart at all. For one thing, there were other pictures in the room. Some showed Stuart with his whole family.

  And there was a second son.

  In one picture the pilot kid was holding hands with a boy of ten, looking up at him with a worshipful expression. The older boy was definitely Stuart. He had that tight-jawed look that betrayed the possessive mindset Beth had come to know in him.

  No pictures of Stuart and the little kid after that age though. When we researched him for our court case there wasn’t any mention of a brother or—

  One of the stewards cleared his throat at the door. “Madam,” he said, “Breakfast is served at the stern deck. If you’ll follow me please?”

  The stern deck was where she had stupidly kissed Stuart. But she was too hungry to object.

  No one else was there, at least. The waiter told her that Stuart was occupied. Why was she disappointed he hadn’t showed up? She should enjoy not having to deal with him.

  Near the end of what was probably the tastiest pancake breakfast Beth had ever had, Stuart finally showed up—on a jet ski.

  He roared up to the deck followed by a steward on another jet ski. While the steward simply parked his machine and left, Stuart looked up at Beth and said, “Morning. Care to join me for a ride?” He was bare chested, the beaded spray of the water on his skin sparkling in the sunlight.

  “The date is over. I don’t have to participate in social activities.”

  “I know. I’m just inviting you for an island picnic. You’re already dressed for it.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing a life jacket?”

  He chuckled. “I told you. The law doesn’t apply in international waters.”

  That reminder of her predicament annoyed Beth, but she tried to hide it. She wanted him to let his guard down. Walking over to the rail, she said, “You’re still serious about that? You’re going to keep me here until I’m pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, what if I go find one of the crew? I’ve seen some cute ones. I’ll just go get knocked up by one of them and then your whole plan is dead.”

  “You can’t,” said Stuart with surprising confidence. “All the men are gay.”

  “What?”

  “I didn’t want to take any chances with you. Besides, they love it. I mean, they have all-night orgies below deck once their duties are finished and every week we have Drag Queen Mondays.”

  Could that be true? No. He’d only bought the ship last night. He didn’t have a say in picking the crew, did he?

  She looked up to see him stifling a chuckle.

  “You ass,” she said, realizing she’d been gullible.

  But was it really gullibility? He was rich enough to hire a hundred gay sailors if he wanted. And crazy enough to do it too. Beth felt a panic in her. These people, Stuart and the prince and his Russian friend, they operated in a world far beyond what Beth could fathom. If she let herself get dragged into this world, she would be lost.

  “Let’s take this ride,” said Beth. She jumped the rail and got onto the jet ski. It didn’t matter that Stuart would be along with her, she needed to get away from the ship and the stewards and the helicopter and the rest of this overwhelming prison.

  “Just so you know,” Stuart told her as she pointed the bow into the open ocean, “there’s only enough fuel in that thing to go four miles. You wouldn’t even—”

  “Shut up.” She gunned the engine and the jet ski leapt out onto the calm sea. His motor growled to life behind her and the race was on. Not being bound by a track, Beth found it easy to stay ahead of him. If he tried to pass on the left she tacked to the right, putting him behind her again. If he came left, she did the reverse. It felt like freedom. As long as she could stay ahead of Stuart Sinclair, he had no claim on her.

  Yet it felt like a game of tag on the fourth grade lawn. It was kind of fun. No. It was a lot of fun.

  She reveled in the moment, letting her hair fly free. Just as she was settling into a sense of serenity, she spied land ahead. It was only a thin strip of sand, but there seemed to be people there. And...a hut?

  She sped toward it, careful that Stuart was not creeping up on her, hope of escape growing in her stomach.

  And then the hope died. The land was just an exposed sand bank and the people were actually crew from the yacht. They had come in a speedboat and set up beach umbrellas and a snack table. This had been a setup. She hadn’t outraced Stuart. He had herded her right where he wanted her.

  She rode the jet ski up onto the beach, then dismounted and kicked the sand in frustration.

  Stuart joined her, saying, “Welcome to the Island of Nowhere.”

  “Owned by you no doubt?”

  The yacht crew nodded to Stuart, their work done, and left in their boat.

  “This place will be under water in five hours,” said Stuart, pouring them drinks. “It’s only visible at low tide.”

  Beth accepted the wine. She took a few sips, having realized that Stuart’s twisted code of honor didn’t allow him to drug her food or take advantage of her without her consent. Otherwise, he would have done it by now.

  She sat on one of the beach towels and reached up for a granola bar. Stuart took the towel to the other side of her.

  He said, “My family started coming here when we were kids. Me and my brother would chase each other for hours ‘til the water came up.”

  “The kid whose pictures are in your room?”

  Stuart shifted uncomfortably and looked away for a moment. He looked past Beth and said, “Pass me a bunch of grapes, please.”

  Any other time, she would have thrown them at him, but he seemed to be in pain now.

  After he popped a grape into his mouth and chewed it contemplatively for a while, Stuart said, “I was an only child until I was five. Then Ben was born. I remember my mother letting me hold him that day and telling me, ‘You’re a big brother now, Stuart, you’ve got to help take care of him.’ And I did. I took it so seriously. I loved him and I tried to be the best brother I could for him.”

  Stuart put the grapes down, like he couldn’t stomach them.

  He said, “Then I was off at boarding school one day and Ben’s car was in an accident. An ordinary road accident. No one at fault. Just the finger of God coming down and saying it was time for him to go.”

  There was an intensity growing in Stuart’s eyes as he spoke. “I felt like I had failed as a big brother because I—”

  “But you we
ren’t even there.”

  “Exactly. I wasn’t there. As a kid that kind of thing tears you up. I ended up at the point where all I wanted was a second chance, a do-over.”

  Beth reached out and held his hand, saying nothing.

  He said, “I begged my parents for another brother or sister. Said I wouldn’t fail them. That they had to— but my mother wasn’t ever ready for that. Looking back I can’t blame her. But for the rest of my childhood, I had this obsession with getting that chance to care of someone like I had cared for Ben. And once I had grown up, I knew I wanted to be a father.” He looked at Beth. “But only with the right woman.”

  Beth’s usual sarcasm stayed dormant. She just squeezed his hand and they stayed like that, watching the water glide by from under the shade. She remembered her own teen years and how devastated she had been to learn she’d never be a mother. That sense of responsibility he was talking about, Beth knew it all too well from taking care of her own family. Inside, she was afraid of how human Stuart seemed to her now. The tormentor of before wasn’t really some beast and that put her in danger of being weak.

  After fifteen minutes or so, that concern had drifted away, however. All that was left was an amiable sense of companionship. She was actually relaxing.

  The silence wasn’t awkward between them. In fact, it seemed to bond them even more to each other. His hand was pleasantly warm in Beth’s. She hoped he had his kid one day. When he found the right girl. But that wasn’t her. She—

  Well, why not her? She wanted it didn’t she?

  They took lunch soon after. Stuart handed her a brown bag that turned out to be sandwiches made from the lobster and caviar left over from the night before. “Since you seemed so upset about wasting it,” Stuart said. They took a ten minute walk after that, circling the ‘island’ with the water lapping at their feet. When they were near their umbrella, Beth said, “Looks like the water’s on the way back up.”

  “Yeah. We’ve got about two hours.”

  “Too bad. It’s—”

  Stuart turned to face her and said, “Beth. I know I’ve gone about this all wrong, but you’re so beautiful and wonderful and I love you and— Look, I told you before, I don’t beg. Well, that’s still true, but today, I’m going to ask: Have my baby, Beth. Have my child and be mine forever.”