Spice of Love - Completed

Chapter 4

Two weeks later

His threat to come after her had not been something Cat had taken lightly. Even so, she had done as Jace advised and ended it with Sadiq. A single message tapped into her phone to wipe out all other messages. One, oddly enough, hard to do, despite having no emotional involvements with the man. None besides lust, of course. Who knew that would be the one emotion hardest to defend against? Was it even healthy to deny her body the access to him it obviously needs? Or was that just the lust talking, confounding reason from her normally sensible mind?

Cat didn't know anymore, but her eyes went to her last message to the prince, again and again, ever since she sent it to him.

Cat: I'm sorry, but we can't do this anymore. I am underaged. Sorry.

It had seemed a simple enough message, stating only what they both knew. Factually correct, and yet Cat felt as though she had placed herself in a vulnerable position because of it. Did she really need to point out her age in that way? Or was that, again, just lust finding a way to admonish her actions in terminating any alliance with the prince? The prince had not responded to her messages. And that was exactly right. He should never have messaged her to begin with; he should not have sought her out, knowing that her age put her out of limits. So why had he? It made no sense, unless he knew. Knew and pretended he didn't? Why would he not have known anyway? He'd found out her name, her age, where she lived, and her mobile number, so why wouldn't he have also found out that she was pregnant with his baby?

He knew.

It was why he had stayed in contact with her.

Would he have gone on messaging her for the nine months to come? Then what? Would he take her baby away from her when the time came? Or paid for its upkeep? Or did he intend to sweet-talk her into an abortion right away?

Abortion was the one thing she would never do. Not because she wanted a child, but because she valued life too much. It was the real reason she had wanted to become a doctor. All her years of reading, studying the science and discoveries of mankind, it only made her value nature and the creations around her even more. She couldn't quite explain it; she couldn't pin the exact emotion or event that led her to this infatuation with life, but if the emotion of love did truly exist, then for her it would be a love for life. There was just so much to marvel in creation to not devote her life to preserving it. That left her choices to be a nature conservationist, a vet, or a doctor. Of the three, the latter provided the most challenge, simply for the sheer volume of research and study materials that had amassed over time. And Cat loved nothing more than to study. Even now, she stepped out of the local library with her bag filled to the brim with more study materials.

The council library near her home closed late on Wednesdays, and that became her favourite day to visit. It wasn't vast, but the librarians there were as much a family to her as her own. She had been visiting the place ever since she discovered libraries existed, and because of her unique nature when it came to her penchant for reading, the librarians at Heatherton were more than happy to keep the books in her favoured section of the premises recent and expansive.

Cat huddled into her coat as the unexpected chill to the summer night air blew into her face. She hurried her pace, needing to return home soonest and get started with her latest pile of books.

The sound of steady footsteps threading deliberately after her sent Cat's heart thudding with sudden fear. The feeling of being followed wouldn't leave her, even though all common sense told her otherwise. She was not rich. She was passably acceptable in appearance, and with some effort she may even be quite stunning, but either cause was no reason for someone to doggedly trail after her. But that was exactly what had been happening. Especially of late. Ever since her sister Lucy returned from her New Year's Eve weekend trip to the country, to be exact. She wasn't sure why, but her life seemed a lot more crowded now than before.