Royalty Overnight

31: Every Step

Ever since that day, things went cold. They rarely saw each other; Maalik kept forcing himself to be busy. They rarely spoke to each other, and if they did, it was, of course, about the children.

Meanwhile, Nakita's pregnancy was taking a toll on her mental health. With Maalik's absence, it was getting difficult for her to go through the day without breaking down.

She wanted him here, with her. She wanted to talk to him and cuddle. She has lost count on how many times she stood by the door of his office, hoping to get some courage to enter, to say that she was sorry. She failed every time.

Nakita wanted him here, but she knew that wouldn't happen. She was the one that pushed him away, and he was just respecting that space.

And it got worse after he moved to a different room, far away from their once shared bedroom.

She was refusing to eat anything. Her loneliness was getting stronger every day, every week, every month. She was getting weaker; it was rare for her to be out of bed. Nakita had to force down the little food she could for the sake of the baby. And her being now 7 months pregnant wasn't making the situation better.

She stood up with great difficulty from her bed; she has been sitting there for a while. A second? A minute? An hour? Nakita wasn't sure anymore. Either way, it was already late in the evening.

Days and nights had no difference to her now. She walked out of the room and headed down the stairs to Maalik's study to just hear his voice during meetings and phone calls.

She pressed her ear to his door that was cool to touch; it was strangely soothing.

Maalik paced around the room at a slow speed, phone in hand. He was getting frustrated with the caller; it was already night time and he was sealing a deal. Well, trying to seal a deal, but the person was difficult to crack; but it wasn't something he could not do. Because in an hour, the meeting finally ended.

"Alright, Mr. Dean, thank you for your time. It is very late now, enjoy your rest." And with that, he cut the call.

An exhausted sigh left him. Things have been hectic; professional and personal. His thoughts went straight to Nakita, his wife. Should he start calling her soon to be wife? He was not ready for that yet, but it seemed to be inevitable that it was going to be the case.

Maalik has been avoiding her. He couldn't bear to see her. All the emotions he had been pressing down for these past few months would just come rushing out of him; he would want to know, he would want desperately to know how she was.

Was she eating?

Was there anything she was lacking?

Was the baby doing well?

Was it kicking too hard?

Was he allowed to touch her belly?

Should I see her now? He swallowed a lump in his throat; he had to respect her space. Watching her stomach grow each day, and her occasional scrunched-up face because of the baby kicking, made the patience of giving her space to wear thin.

Maalik went back to his desk to finish up a few folders. Just as he was about to take a seat, a weak tap caught his hearing. It was so subtle that he thought he was imagining things. But he heard it again, this time more persistent.

He stood and strained his ear for the sound.

The quiet pat echoed in the room, his gaze moved to the door. When the soft shuffling of feet came to life again, he walked up to the door to open it. Were the children awake? Did they have a nightmare and couldn't sleep?

Maalik opened the door and was shocked when he saw his wife there, shaking like a leaf.

She was caught.

"Nakita? What is it?"

"I...I-I..."

He watched her as she was struck by nerves and struggled to finish her sentence, her fingers clenched her skirt. She was trembling, hair strands brushed her flushed cheeks.

He would have found it endearing whenever she shuddered to his presence, especially beneath him in bed. But she didn't look well, she looked...sickly even.

Maalik came closer to her and gently placed a hand to her cheek. He expected her to pull away, but she had caught him off guard once again by grabbing his hand and leaning to his touch like she was craving it. She soon stopped trembling and softened, her eyes fluttered closed. A quiet sigh escaped her.

She was warm, searing hot; in fact, she was burning up. Before he could ask her what was wrong, he managed to catch her body as she almost crumbled to the floor.

Nakita had fainted.

•••

Maalik leaned against the wall, waiting patiently outside the bedroom as the doctor went inside to assess her. This gave him time to think about what had transpired this evening. Why did she come to his study? What made her so unwell that it caused her to faint while being nearly 8 months pregnant? Perhaps she knew she was ill and sought him out as a last resort. That seemed to make more sense.

Eventually, the doctor stepped out. The duke pushed himself off of the wall and stood upright. "How is she, Dr. Florence?"

"Your grace, let's speak more discreetly."

He nodded and led her to a different room, away from prying ears. "What seems to be the issue?"

"Please, answer honestly. Have you been present during her pregnancy?"

"No, I was not." There was no point lying about it as it wouldn't fix the problem and it would mostly repeat itself.

"The reason I asked you this is that her grace is in a delicate state emotionally. She's going through hormonal changes because of the pregnancy and she needs all the support. And since she has no support, it gave her stress that led to her not eating; and therefore, dizziness and even fainting can occur."

Maalik complied. He would be more attentive and take care to make sure she ate and never felt lonely. Once he walked the doctor out of his home, he headed to Nakita's room.

She was laying in bed, her eyes shut. He took a seat beside her and observed her. He noticed how tired she looked, and even skinny. There were dark under eyes, her cheeks were hollow and she was pale white in complexion.

"Nakita."

Slowly, she opened her eyes, looking around before landing on him.

"Why aren't you eating, Nakita?"

She stayed silent and looked down at her lap.

"From now on, I'll make sure you eat. If I have to feed you the food, I will. Understood?"

She nodded, her gaze still lowered. Nakita didn't like his tone of voice, it was almost unrecognisable. He was always affectionate and concerned for her well being, but he was only worried for her as it would affect the child. She only had herself to blame for his emotional distance towards her.

"Look at me and use words here."

Her eyes jerked up to his. "Yes, I understand." There was no point fighting; she shouldn't be selfish and feel entitled to any kind of love from him, she lost it a while ago.

Maalik gave her a curt nod. "Good."