SIXTEEN
The show Akim was to appear on specifically dealt with issues regarding scientific progress. It was popular because Elbazzar was a country of innovation, filled to the brim with entrepreneurs and scientific innovators. When Maddy had arrived, she had been surprised to find a science interview show so popular; in the U.S., it seemed people barely watched much outside of reality TV anymore.
The handsome presenter spoke confidently from behind his desk. “I am joined today by one of our country’s leading entrepreneurs: CEO of Akhemical, Sheikh Akim Al-Farzi, who will be telling us all about the new drug he has been developing. I hear there should be some interesting advancements coming our way!”
Maddy’s heart continued to pound in her chest, and her babies began to squirm as her belly clenched with nervousness. This was the moment of truth, and she wasn’t sure that she was ready.
“Please welcome, Sheikh Akim Al-Farzi!” the host said, his dark hair shining under the camera lights.
Then he was there, on her television. It was so strange to see Akim like this—like a celebrity. Maddy wasn’t entirely sure she liked it; this was a part of who he was that she really hadn’t known. She liked knowing the man outside of the cameras.
Akim shook the host’s hand and took a seat, looking confident and ridiculously handsome as always.
“Welcome, welcome! Thank you for coming on today.”
Akim’s smile was warm and welcoming. He was a natural charmer, Maddy thought.
“Thank you for having me, Sirhan. It’s great to be here,” Akim replied.
“We’re very excited to hear about what Akhemical will be releasing in the coming months. Do tell us what you’ve been working on. The scientific community is waiting impatiently, you know!”
Akim continued to flash his perfect teeth in a way that made him look like a dashing Disney prince, and Maddy remembered in that moment why she had fallen for him so easily. Was he really hers, or was this just a part of who he was, playing the debonair gentleman while he got everything he wanted?
“Well,” he began, “we’ve been making some major advances in finding a new treatment for Alzheimer’s, and I expect those results to be coming out within the next few weeks.”
“Very well, but we already knew about that. What is the project you are most involved in right now?”
Akim hesitated, and the silence dragged on. The host chuckled uncomfortably.
“Akim, are you having a hard time thinking of just one? You’re usually not so quiet about the accomplishments of Akhemical!”
Akim glanced around the room, and Maddy imagined the audience looking back at him, confused.
He stood up abruptly. “I’m, sorry, I have to go.”
And with that, he strode out of sight.
The host didn’t miss a beat, turning to the camera with humor in his eyes. “I suppose the Sheikh must have forgotten to pick up a lab test result, eh?”
The audience laughed, but Maddy’s eyes were full of tears.
He hadn’t given up their secret. He’d kept it to himself. Maddy knew in that moment that Akim really had changed, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging emotions. The hormones certainly didn’t help.
***
Not twenty minutes later, as Maddy continued to watch the host scramble to fill time with the next guest, there was a knock at her door. She rose to answer it, and when she did, she found Akim standing in her hallway.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Maddy nodded and opened the door. He seemed so serious; it was clear he had something he needed to say.
He took her hands and stared at them before he looked into her eyes. “Maddy. I know when this all started, it was for reasons involving science and business. I believed, on the surface, that I could keep it that way; that you and I could change the world with our fertility drug, and not get involved with each other.”
Maddy stared into his eyes. It was as though she were meeting him for the first time. The man before her was nothing like the smiling spokesman she had just watched on television.
“When you accused me of caring more about profit than our children, I didn’t want to believe you, but after some time, after we saw them on the ultrasound, I knew that what you said was true. I wasn’t thinking about you all. I was thinking about progress. About innovation. About money.”
He sounded so ashamed. Maddy wanted to kiss him, to thank him for his honesty, but she held back, knowing he needed her to listen.
“The truth is, I love you, Maddy. I love you, and it scared me for a long time, but I’m not afraid of that feeling anymore. From this moment on, I swear that I will never do anything you don’t want me to do, and I will always put you and the children first, no matter what.”
Maddy let her tears flow freely at his words, squeezing his hands tight.
She grinned. “So does that mean you’ll be willing to trade in your sports car for a minivan?”
Akim smiled into her eyes as he wiped away a tear with his thumb, cradling her face. “Of course, my darling. Anything for you.”
As he said this his hand drifted to her belly, and his meaning was clear. Anything for them.
“Good. Because I love you, too.”
Akim wrapped Maddy in his arms and held her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and in that moment, Maddy knew her life would be a wonderful ever after.
SEVENTEEN
Maddy stood on Akim’s terrace, looking out at the ocean.
It had been several months since the couple had confessed their love for one another, and they had been some of the best of Maddy’s life. She had accepted Akim’s invitation to move into his place, and Akim had made quick business of assimilating her things with his. They’d had a builder come in and completely redesign one room into a four-crib nursery, and Maddy spent a good portion of her time there, decorating and imagining their babies playing, giggling and sleeping.
Being eight months pregnant, and the girlfriend of a very wealthy CEO, Maddy was fortunate enough to begin her maternity leave early, which was good, because she was enormous. Still, she was a woman who liked to be busy, and sitting around wasn’t something that came easy to her. Making her mind up, she stepped back inside and picked up the phone, calling the concierge.
“Uri, can you have a car ready in a few minutes? I’d like to go over to the lab.”
“Excuse me, miss, but the Sheikh has asked to us advise you not to do this. You need your rest.”
“Did the Sheikh explicitly say I couldn’t?”
“Well, no…”
“Good. Please have the car ready. I’m on my way down.”
“As you wish, miss.”
Maddy repressed a grin as she hung up the phone. The poor staff had done their best to follow Akim’s wishes, which involved finding creative ways to make her rest as the due date grew closer. Of course, she thwarted Akim at every turn, because she missed her lab and her staff.
And him.
Maddy waddled out of the penthouse suite, into the elevator and straight into a sleek black town car, which dropped her outside the Akhemical laboratories only minutes later.
When she walked in to her lab, her staff moaned, and Yousef was quick to force her into a seat.
“Maddy, for heaven’s sake, you need to be sitting somewhere with your feet up!”
“I can still work!” she insisted. “Now, what’s going on? How were the latest Chlomerol results?”
Yousef couldn’t help but grin. “You’ll be happy to hear that we have another successful pregnancy—only one fetus this time.”
Akim was staring at her with gentle reproach from the doorway. “I thought I heard your voice in here. Maddy, how can I get you to stop sneaking away and working? You need rest!”
Maddy glanced around the room. She was met with amused glances as her staff pretended not to be listening keenly to every word she said.
She pressed her hand against the lab counter, lifting herself up and
trying very hard not to topple over as she walked over to Akim, who held open the door for her.
“I just wanted to check in on the lab results. We’re making exceptional progress, Akim!”
“I believe you can do that by phone, can you not? Perhaps with a cool beverage in hand?”
“Maybe,” Maddy said, and Akim took her hand in his as they continued walking down the hallway.
“Well, fortunately for you, the day is nearly done, and I have every intention of dragging you back home and cooking you a lovely dinner. What do you feel like?”
“Steak,” Maddy said, with conviction. Her appetite had exploded in recent months, and she was doing her best to try and tamper her cravings, while failing atrociously. Red meat was the thing she craved above all. She imagined her four children needed much more iron that one child would.
“Steak it is,” Akim said, guiding her out of the building and back to the town car she had taken.
The driver was ready to go the minute Akim opened the door. Maddy cast a sidelong look at Akim, who shrugged.
“I might have seen you pull in and let the driver know to keep the car running.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, settling in and nearly purring as Akim placed an arm around her shoulders.
Then one of the babies kicked, and the whole team erupted in a series of wiggles. Maddy sat back and groaned as her belly rose and fell with tiny movements.
“Did I mention the third trimester sucks? Because the third trimester definitely sucks.”
“It would suck a little less if you could relax and take it easy.”
“You’re right,” Maddy sighed. “It’s becoming clear that I really can’t be doing this anymore.”
“Mhmm,” Akim agreed, taking her hand in his and stroking it gently with a thumb.
When they got home, Akim helped Maddy to a comfortable terrace sofa while he prepared the meat, seasoning it and placing it on the grill. The smell was delectable, and Maddy closed her eyes, breathing it in as a cool breeze caressed her face. This was where they’d spent their first night together, she thought. How long ago that seemed.
She turned to Akim, about to remind him of that night, and gasped as she took in the sight in front of her.
Akim was on a bended knee before her, his expression earnest. In his hand was a little black box housing a very large diamond ring.