She felt it in the way he looked at her, and she felt it in the touch of his hand, and she even felt it in the growing weight in her belly from her unborn child, and what about that child?

How could she go to Ghana with Mr. Kofi k.u.mi when she was pregnant with Jacob's child? How could she raise one man's baby in another man's household, halfway across the world from her son or daughter's father? Even if Jacob didn't want her once the month was up, at least she would be in the United States with her family.

Even if he wanted the annulment, even if it meant facing her parents' disappointment and judgment, she that their unwed daughter was carrying a child. Even if she never ever told Jacob about it for fear of burdening him... at least she wouldn't have to be lost and alone in another country, on another continent so far away from home.

Almasi walked with her confused thoughts for hours and hours, visiting every corner of the garden, walking all the way out past the pond, the orchard, the big berry bushes, and the hundreds and hundreds of flowerbeds. Eventually she looped around and began to make her way back. There were tears on her face when she got to the gate, and she wiped them away with a shaky hand. She sighed. It was time to get back to the mansion. Yifeng had promised to meet her in her dressing room at five thirty, and she didn't want to miss her.

When Almasi got up the many flights of stairs to the rooms, she sat down in the dressing chair and looked at her reflection in the makeup mirror. She didn't expect any difference from the previous day, so she didn't inspect her appearance so much as look at herself and wonder. What had she become? Who was this woman-this tired, sad woman looking back at her?

She had experienced so much joy since coming to the mansion, and Jacob's presence in her life had been a gift; a blessing, something that had filled her days with so much happiness. So why was she so, so exhausted and full of this aching feeling in her heart? Was this the trade-off for falling in love?

There was a soft knock at the door, and Almasi got up to let Yifeng in. The younger woman smiled, hugged her, and then went right in to chattering about dresses and accessories and all the frivolous things that they discussed. Almasi allowed herself to get lost in the lighthearted conversation for a little while.

Eventually, though, Yifeng turned the topic to a more pressing issue. With a glance at the closed door, she lowered her tone a little bit and said, "I have the thing I promised you." She moved away from the closet and went to fetch the pregnancy test from her purse, which was sitting across the room with the bags of makeup and accessories she had brought. She handed it to Almasi. "Here you go."

Almasi took the pregnancy test in her hands. Even though she was already certain she knew what the results would be, she might as well try the test and make her suspicions official. "Thank you, Yifeng," she said, looking up at the girl, who smiled a little nervously. "I'll be right back."

"Here," said Yifeng. She handed Almasi a purple shawl. "You can wrap it up in this, just in case someone sees you in the hall." Almasi smiled. Yifeng really did think of everything. She thanked her again, and after carefully hiding the pregnancy test in the shawl, she made her way across the hall and to the bathroom.

Sitting on the toilet, Almasi suddenly felt more nervous than she had before. This was silly, she knew, since she had already accepted that she was pregnant, but somehow the tangibility of having the pregnancy test there in that little drugstore box made her heart race. Well, she might as well get this done Almasi took a deep breath and opened the blue cardboard package. Inside was a little plastic stick and an instruction pamphlet. After reading it carefully, she positioned the stick between her legs and peed. After waiting a minute, she looked at the test. Two pink lines had appeared. She was pregnant.

Almasi almost felt calmer now that it was certain. Of course, there was always the possibility of a false positive, but she just knew it, even before she had taken the test. There was a tiny life growing inside her. She looked down at her belly. "What am I going to name you?" she whispered aloud. She shook her head. That was silly. She had more pressing issues to deal with than coming up with a name for her unborn baby whose gender she didn't even know yet.

She stood up and put the test and its packaging in the garbage, making sure to cover it in tissues so that n.o.body would come in and see it. Then she washed her hands, dried them off, and opened the door to go back to the dressing room. It was time to tell Yifeng.

"Oh. My. G.o.d!" Yifeng cried when she saw the expression on Almasi's face. "It's for real! You're-" The excited young woman caught herself before revealing Almasi's secret to the entire household in one screech. "You're pregnant!" she whispered, smiling widely.

"Yes," said Almasi, and she allowed the young woman to hug her excitedly. "Yes, I guess I really am."

"Well, there's just so much to do," exclaimed Yifeng. "When are you going to tell the father?"

Almasi's heart sank. Yifeng understood, or thought she understood, the expression. She patted her sympathetically on the shoulder. "It's daunting, I know it is. When my older sister got pregnant, she cried about it for nearly a week before she told anyone. She refused to even tell me! She just locked herself up in her room while we wondered at why she was so moody and sad!"

Yifeng's eyes were wide. "In the end, she was happy to have the baby, and it ended up working out with her and her boyfriend, you know. They're married now and everything, but you have none of those worries to think about! You have the most wonderful husband in the world!" Yifeng smiled, and she looked so deeply sincere that Almasi couldn't help but play along.

"Yes. Yes, I do," said Almasi, and it wasn't even a lie. It was true, Jacob really was wonderful. For all of her indecision, Almasi knew that none of it was a reflection of Jacob. Jacob... Jacob was perfect. It was just their situation that happened to be a complicated and horrible challenge.

If Yifeng noticed a hint of melancholy in Almasi's facial expression, she either chalked it up to the emotions of the pregnancy, or she knew enough not to lead on that she knew something was up. It was probably the latter, since Yifeng was a very observant person, as much as she was chatty, and sometimes came across as a little bit vapid. Almasi knew that she used that bubbly persona to conceal how much she really knew about serious matters. In any case, Yifeng said nothing about it, choosing instead to focus on matters of fashion.

"So, Almasi, I went out yesterday and got some new fabrics and some dress samples," said Yifeng. "Since you're not showing too much yet, you can keep wearing the same clothing, and maybe we will just take out a few of the seams, but eventually you will need something for your maternity wardrobe!" She clapped her hands a little in excitement.

"This is going to be so lovely! Anyway, I picked out some flowing and stretchy materials that will flatter your body and keep you comfortable, as you and the little baby inside grow bigger. I can take more measurements of you and use those to estimate what sizes you will need as the months go on."

Almasi stopped herself from objecting, knowing that there would be no explanation that would sound reasonable for her to tell Yifeng not to plan on her being around for much longer without arousing suspicion. "But for now, which fabrics do you like best?" She held up a roll of soft purple material in a light lilac shade. "I love this one, and I think it would look beautiful on you, and this," she picked up a silky material in a deep burgundy color, "this will be so nice for evening wear! It flows nicely, and you can match it with a lipstick color so easily!"

She got out another roll of fabric. Had she bought out an entire store? Almasi shook her head and smiled a little in amus.e.m.e.nt. "This one is a little brighter, for some happy color!" said Yifeng. It was a bright yellow, like the sunflowers in the garden.

Almasi grinned. This material was perfect. She tested it between her fingers. It was soft, too. She could imagine how lovely it would be to feel that fabric against her skin, especially as her body was becoming more sensitive and tender. A fabric like this would be a little piece of heaven on earth while she grew big like a mother G.o.ddess. "Thank you," she said a little breathlessly, smiling widely at Yifeng. "They're all beautiful, but I love this one especially. It's divine."

Yifeng beamed. "That's so perfect!" she exclaimed. "I have so many ideas for items and outfits to make out of this material. We could make you an empire waist dress, or a nice long skirt, or even a beautiful scarf. I know, a dress and a matching headband! It would be so perfect. It will be so perfect. Oh, Almasi, I have never been more excited to a.s.semble an outfit in my life!"

Almasi laughed. Leave it to Yifeng to use hyperbole like that and to make everything into such an exciting opportunity. She was always such an energetic young person, but Almasi was excited, too, more so than she had been before. If this was pregnancy, with new soft outfits and fun, beautiful things, then she was more than happy to be pregnant.

Almasi and Yifeng spent a little over an hour making plans for outfits and taking measurements, telling stories and jokes, and laughing all the while as they so often did when Almasi had dress fittings and the like. Eventually, Yifeng had to leave, and she bid Almasi goodbye with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, promising to be back soon with more fabric and some new dress patterns sewn up.

Almasi thanked her and gave her a generous tip, as she always did. She made a point of tipping all of the serving staff, but it was Yifeng whom she loved especially, so she always gave her a little extra money.

The girl deserved it for her work, for the dedication she gave to her mistress and the joy and light she brought to all of their fittings. Almasi smiled as Yifeng left. She was so happy to have Yifeng's friendship, even though in many ways it was something she paid for just like all of the other luxuries in her life.

After slipping into a comfortable green cotton dress to go downstairs for dinner, Almasi put on her shoes and headed down to the dining room. She realized when she got there that the cook would be serving the meal al fresco tonight, so she went on her way outside.

She was a little early, and Jacob was not even home yet, but she might as well enjoy the sunlight on the patio in the half hour or so before the rest of them gathered. She sat down in a cushioned patio chair and closed her eyes for a moment. Ah, the fresh air was so lovely, and she could hear birds singing, and...

Was that the sound of footsteps? It must be one of the servants who had come to prepare the table, but when Almasi opened her eyes, she saw that the person standing on the deck was none other than Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. Almasi froze. Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no...

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi smiled. "Almasi," he said lightly. "How are you on this fine evening?" The even tone of his voice was betrayed by the feral intensity of his gaze, as his dark eyes looked Almasi up and down.

Almasi suddenly wished that she hadn't worn such a revealing dress. She felt dirty with this man's eyes on her. She stood up. She had to stand her ground. She couldn't let this man think that he could walk all over her, and she refused to let him think that he would win her affections by blackmailing her. She squared her shoulders and frowned at him.

"What do you want?" she asked, although she knew what he wanted.

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi chuckled. "Now, now," he began, "is that the way to speak to your future husband?" He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled away. The audacity of this man!

"You know very well that I have no intention of leaving Jacob for you," said Almasi, but the shaking of her voice betrayed her. She was scared.

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi drew back his hand, but he stepped closer to Almasi. "That is an admirable sentiment, and yet..." he smiled, and his grin looked predatory, like a wolf about to devour a sheep. " We both know that that's not quite true."

Almasi couldn't think of anything to say. Her heart was racing, and her throat felt like it was closing in on her.

Seeing that she couldn't find any words to speak for herself, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi continued. "Your sense of duty to Mr. Adamson is honorable, Almasi, but is it really what you feel in your heart?" he asked. d.a.m.n him for using her first name so much when he talked to her. It felt intimate, like a violation. I should be Mrs. Adamson to him, she thought, but acknowledging her marital status was not what Mr. Kofi k.u.mi had in mind, and Almasi knew it well. The thought gave her the shivers, and clearly, this was the topic he had cornered her to discuss.

"It is," said Almasi. "I love my husband, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to keep me apart from him." Her bravado was false, and her voice shook, but she stood her ground. Almasi was not going to lose this.

"Does he know that?" asked Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, with an expression that would have seemed sympathetic if Almasi had not known better. "Or does Mr. Adamson think that you only see him as a business a.s.sociate?" Almasi's stomach sank, and Mr. Kofi k.u.mi continued. "You don't really think that he'll want you to stay after the month is over, do you? I saw what you wrote in that silly little diary of yours.

You have a contract with him, nothing else, and once my brother finds out that your marriage to your husband is a sham, you will have nothing. Not the money Mr. Adamson promised you, not the loving marriage you so foolishly want with him... not even the respect of the man to whom you promised discretion in your fake marriage contract. What options do you have?"

Almasi was fighting back tears now. As much as she hated Mr. Kofi k.u.mi, his words were convincing, and she couldn't help but think that he was right about everything. He was right about the diamond deal and the danger of Mr. Arko k.u.mi finding out about the marriage. He was right about the marriage itself being under false pretenses and not meant to last. He was probably even right about what would happen if Jacob found out that she had been so careless in allowing her diary to be read.

Mr. Kofi k.u.mi stepped closer to her. "You have one option, and it's a good and viable one. I'm a very rich man, and I will provide for you. You can come live in Ghana with me, in my mansion in Accra. It's bigger than this place. Do you think that twenty servants is a lot? My home has a hundred.

All the luxury that you have here is nothing compared to what you have with me, and most importantly," he said, stepping even closer still and putting a hand on her cheek, "You will save yourself from the agony of letting Mr. Adamson know that you have failed him."

Almasi's heart was racing, and just as she was about to step back, to flinch away, Mr. Kofi k.u.mi grabbed her other hand and pulled her close to him, forcing her into a harsh kiss. His lips were soft, and his breath tasted of spiced oranges, but his grip on her arm was harsh, and he moved his other hand to her waist to keep her from wrenching away.

She struggled with him for a moment, trying to force him off her, trying to make this horrible invasion stop, but Mr. Kofi k.u.mi was a strong man, and his strength overbore hers, and so after a few moments she gave up and waited for it to be over.

After another moment, she heard footsteps coming from the mansion and the gla.s.s door to the patio opening. Mr. Kofi k.u.mi seemed to hear the sound too, as his grip finally relaxed enough for her to wriggle away from him. She turned toward the door, and her face immediately fell. Standing directly across from her with a look of utter betrayal on his face was none other than Jacob Adamson.

Chapter7.

Jacob's breath caught in his throat, and he found himself standing there, paralyzed in the entrance between the mansion and the patio. He stared at Almasi, who had just hastily pulled apart from an intimate embrace with Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. His eyes darted between their faces. Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's expression was one of surprise and mild guilt, and Almasi...

Almasi looked terrified. Horrified at being caught kissing a man who was not her husband. Jacob felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere. He could hardly form a coherent thought, but rage was boiling up inside his belly. He had never suspected... What a fool he was... and Almasi... How, how could she?

But of course. Their marriage had never been for love. Maybe he'd had those feelings grow out of it, but it had never been her obligation to feel the same way. Love was not in the job description, but surely cheating-and with the brother of her husband's business partner, of all people!-surely that went against their agreement? Jacob's mind swam with thoughts, none adding up into a coherent picture.

Of course, she could never have fallen in love with him. They hadn't known even each other for an entire day before they had signed the contract, and the affectionate glances, the terms of endearment, the kisses-even the s.e.x-it must have all been play acting. Just the theatrics of a clever woman doing her job and making herself some good money off a rich jewelry company owner.

It felt so real, though, thought Jacob, feeling hurt and angry. He was a fool. He had let his heart get involved, and now everything was blowing up in his face. This was what came of trusting people. This was what came of letting people make you vulnerable. Jacob blinked back tears, and forced the pain he was feeling to manifest itself as anger instead. He would deal with this emptiness later. For now, he filled himself up with unadulterated rage.

As these thoughts went whirring through Jacob's head, Almasi opened and closed her mouth multiple times, and eventually she spoke. "Jacob-" she began plaintively. "Jacob, I-"

As if he would let that conniving woman speak. As if he would let her explain this away, allowing her to turn the story around in her favor. No.

"Shut up," he said forcefully. "Just-don't talk to me." He shook his head, glaring, and turned to walk away before embarra.s.sing himself further in front of Mr. Kofi k.u.mi. In front of his wife's... his wife's lover.

"No, Jacob, listen!" Almasi begged, tears forming in her eyes and beginning to stream down her face. "Please, you don't understand!"

Jacob would hear nothing of it. He turned on his heel and walked off into the mansion. He dodged into a side corridor as he saw Mr. Arko k.u.mi walking around the corner to go outside. d.a.m.n it, it was dinner soon.

Would he have to face his cheating wife in front of his business partner? Would he have to pretend to make small talk while he sat at the table, eating whatever delicacy was on the menu while the rage he felt ate away at him? No. He had to find a way out. Stepping into an empty room, Jacob pulled his phone out of his pocket. There was only one person to call to help him get out of this situation.

Almasi ran after Jacob, but couldn't find him when she got inside. Instead, she found Mr. Arko k.u.mi walking down the hall toward the door to the patio. Oh no, she thought. Of course, she had to behave as if everything was normal. Continue to entertain the guests. She couldn't afford to let on to what was happening. So she quickly wiped the tears off her face, straightened her back, and walked toward Mr. Arko k.u.mi with a smile.

"Good evening, Mrs. Adamson," said Mr. Arko k.u.mi evenly, his face completely expressionless as usual.

"Good evening, Mr. k.u.mi," Almasi replied. "Dinner will be served in a couple of minutes. I just need to talk to the cook for a moment, if you will excuse me," she said, darting away as quickly as possible without seeming rude.

Mr. Arko k.u.mi nodded and made his way out to the patio. No doubt, his brother was sitting on one of the patio chairs now, enjoying taking in the fresh summer breeze and playing completely innocent. Almasi felt sick to her stomach. As soon as Mr. Arko k.u.mi was gone, she ran up the stairs to find Jacob.

He was not in their bedroom, nor was he in his study. Almasi called his name frantically as she went from room to room, trying to find him. She needed to explain what had happened. She felt so guilty for having hurt him like that. She knew that it wasn't her fault, and that Mr. Kofi k.u.mi was completely to blame for the horrible violation of a kiss that Jacob had misperceived as an act of adultery, but it was Almasi's fault for not having dealt with this situation sooner.

How silly I've been, she thought, for thinking that everything would work itself out. She wanted to cry some more, but she knew that she had to at least keep up a dignified appearance, and where was Jacob? She searched every room upstairs, but eventually she gave up. The mansion was enormous, and since Jacob had grown up there, he must know every secret pa.s.sage and hidden corner by heart. There was no use in searching for him. Almasi bit her lip. What would she tell the others at the dinner table? How could she cover for this?

As Almasi made her way down the stairs, an answer presented itself in the form of Mrs. Nettle. The crotchety old woman, seeing Almasi approaching, addressed her first.

"Mrs. Adamson," she began, "I've just had a call from Mr. Adamson's a.s.sistant, Mr. Sanchez. It seems that Mr. Adamson has had a sudden... situation to attend to, and he will not be available for dinner." It was impossible to tell from the neutral expression in Mrs. Nettle's pale blue eyes whether or not she knew what had happened.

She looked disapproving, but that was always the expression she had on her face when she spoke to Almasi. Almasi decided to go along with the story Mrs. Nettle had given her. Trust Jeremy to come up with something, she thought.

"What is the nature of this... situation?" Almasi ventured. If she was going to be complicit in another lie, she might as well get her story aligned with everyone else's.

"Mr. Adamson has received an urgent call from one of his stores and needs to meet with the manager immediately," said Mrs. Nettle. She sounded like she was reciting a line in a play. "Because it's company business, he is not at a liberty to provide further details.

It's one of the locations in the next state over, so he will not be back in time to take dinner with you and the guests." Mrs. Nettle's tone became a little more pointed now, and she added, "I trust that you will manage to be an appropriate and a genteel hostess for the night."

The last comment stung, but Almasi ignored it. "Thank you, Mrs. Nettle," she said. "I will be on my way outside, then."

"You had better be," said Mrs. Nettle, looking at the clock. "It's two minutes past the start of dinner, and you know how Mr. Arko k.u.mi doesn't like for things to be late." And with that last snide remark, Mrs. Nettle turned and left, probably to go bother some maid about the dress code or the folding technique of bed sheets, or something equally menial.

Almasi rolled her eyes once Mrs. Nettle was out of the room. She didn't know why Mrs. Nettle was so grumpy and vindictive all the time, but Almasi had bigger fish to fry.

After making a quick stop to wash her face of the residual tears, Almasi made her way outside gracefully and greeted Mr. Arko k.u.mi and Mr. Kofi k.u.mi in a kind and polite manner.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that nothing was wrong, and although it was impossible to ever get a good read of Mr. Arko k.u.mi's facial expression, Almasi figured that it was safe to a.s.sume that he didn't suspect anything.

When the typical "h.e.l.los" and "how are yous" were said, Almasi cleared her throat delicately and repeated the excuse that Mrs. Nettle had given her for Jacob's absence. "I am afraid that my husband will be unable to attend dinner tonight," she began, and she could see the amus.e.m.e.nt in Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's eyes.

She chose not to make eye contact with him, instead, turning to Mr. Arko k.u.mi to explain the situation. Mr. Arko k.u.mi nodded thoughtfully, and dinner was served. The small talk was somewhat awkward, but at least for once Almasi was being included in the conversation.

She couldn't help but feel a little resentful that it took until her husband was away and there were no other men to converse with, for Mr. Arko k.u.mi to finally willingly engage in a conversation with her. At least Mr. Kofi k.u.mi had always talked to her when she was being ignored. Not that Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's behavior toward her was exactly a shining example of how one should treat the wives of one's business a.s.sociates, she thought wryly.

She realized as she had this thought that Mr. Kofi k.u.mi's friendliness all along had probably been a part of his ploy to get into her pants. She felt sick. She'd been so stupid! To think that anyone would ever want to engage with her in any way other than to use her for something.

She suddenly felt very bitter about the whole situation with Jacob. She would be able to explain the situation to him when he came back, but she resented that he had refused to listen to her, instead choosing to run away and to let Jeremy and Mrs. Nettle deal with his problems.

Well, they would talk it out later. Almasi realized that she had become so lost in her thoughts that she had not been listening to the dinner conversation, and now Mr. Kofi k.u.mi was halfway through an anecdote to which she had missed the beginning. She forced a charming smile, playing along so that he wouldn't become angry or be provoked to do something bad again.

That unwanted kiss had resulted in her husband thinking she was a cheater and running away, albeit, hopefully temporarily. What would happen if she crossed Mr. Kofi k.u.mi again?

Meanwhile as Almasi was suffering through the uncomfortable dinner at the Adamson mansion, Jacob was sitting in his limousine, waiting through the rush hour traffic to get into the city. He had texted Jeremy with the name of a bar, and they were going to meet up and talk about it. Then, with any luck, Jacob would either find some sort of resolution for this situation, or he would get too drunk to care.

Either option seemed equally feasible at this point. Jacob leaned against the side window. He probably looked melodramatic. He probably seemed like a poor little rich boy who had never faced any sort of hardship, but who cared? Jacob was sad, hurt, and lonelier than he had felt in a long time. He was allowed to be miserable.

Eventually, the limo got off the highway and onto the main streets, and Jacob told the driver where to drop him. He would have the car parked in his s.p.a.ce at the penthouse so that the driver could pick him up once he had either drowned his sorrows or come to some sort of conclusive decision. He would either go back to the mansion or stay at the penthouse that night. Either way, he would not have to drive drunk.

The driver stopped, and Jacob didn't bother to thank him as he got out. (That would have annoyed Almasi, he thought bitterly. She was always harping on him about respecting the servants better.) The bar was a fairly low-key place, not somewhere where he would be noticed and recognized for who he was, but not too seedy that he could be putting himself in danger.

Jacob entered morosely and looked around. He found Jeremy sitting up at the bar, drinking a gin and tonic, and doing some sort cross word puzzle or a Sudoku or something. What a nerd. He walked up to Jeremy and sat down at the bar stool next to him without saying a word.

"Hey," said Jeremy, looking up from his word search.

It was a word search. Jesus Christ. Jacob would have made fun of him if he had any energy for jokes. As it was, he was feeling exhausted and grumpy, so he just looked back at Jeremy and said "Hey," frowning a little at the sympathetic look his a.s.sistant was giving him.

He was upset, yeah, but Jacob Adamson was not a sick puppy. He straightened himself up a little in order to seem less pathetic, but he could tell from the way Jeremy was looking at him that he wasn't buying it. He had, after all, heard the tone of Jacob's voice on the phone an hour before when he had called him in a panic. Jeremy had to calm him down until his words were coherent, and even then, Jacob had sounded completely distraught and more than a little melodramatic. Meeting him at the bar would be a good way to get Jacob out of the mansion and away from Almasi and also to let him cool down before he did or said anything rash.

Jacob appreciated Jeremy's planning and quick thinking. However, right now he felt a little inclined to throttle his a.s.sistant for having been the one who had come up with the whole stupid fake marriage idea in the first place.

Jeremy could see Jacob brooding, and he hid a small smile. a.s.suming a serious and sympathetic tone, he looked back down at his word search and asked Jacob if he wanted to talk. He knew he would be in for a long venting session, but that was his job. He was not just the a.s.sistant-he also played the role of the best friend. "So," he said. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah," said Jacob. "Well, yeah and no. I mean," he clarified, "I kind of want to tell you everything that happened, but... I also kind of really want to get super hammered and just forget my own name."