Taming the Tyrant (Book Boyfriends For the Holidays)

Chapter 4

I turned to watch his handsome face while he slept. How should I tell him? I wondered. Should I wake him up with a kiss and whisper it in his ear? Or I just give him the test stick I’ve been saving? Wait… I slipped out of bed and tip toed to the dressing table where I pulled out the top right drawer. I stared in the drawer for a moment before reaching down and gingerly picking up a pair of white knitted baby boots. I’d bought them as soon as I learned I was pregnant and saw them in the shop window. They were exquisite and I was told they were one of a kind.

I took them back to the bed and placed them on my pillow, leaving them there and heading to the bathroom. I hadn’t shaved in a week, so I did just that and took a quick shower. I did my skin care, put on fresh PJs and returned to the bedroom. When I returned Zakhar was awake and sitting up in bed. He was holding the shoes, turning them over in his hand with a confused expression.

“What are these?” he asked, a furrow in his brow.

“It’s a gift,” I replied with a coy smile. “You like them?”

“What are they?”

At first, I thought he was confused because he didn’t know I was pregnant. However, it seemed like he genuinely had no idea what they were.

“Can’t you tell?”

He seemed more confused. “No.”

I climbed onto the bed and knelt in front of him, took the shoes and put them on the pillow where I had left them. Then I took his hand and placed it on my stomach.

“Can you tell now?”

It took him a few seconds to realize what I was talking about. His eyes widened, then he grabbed my shoulders.

“Are you sure?”

I smiled. “Yes, we’re pregnant!”

Grabbing me, he pulled me down into a bear hug and we rolled around on the bed for a few seconds. He then kissed me deeply, before planting hot kisses on my face and neck. His look of adoration gave me butterflies and made me reluctant to tell him what was happening to me. But that would be short lived as my phone rang and he reached for it on the nightstand. He handed the phone to me, and I answered it on speaker mode.

“Hello?”

“Tabitha, it’s Donicia.”

“It’s the wedding planner,” I whispered to Zakhar. “Hi Donicia, how are you?”

“I got the report back on the tea.”

At that moment I regretted not answering the phone privately. I tried to hide my discomfort from my husband, but he saw my face and frowned.

“The lab guy worked on it all night. I think we need to report it to the authorities. I’ll send you a screenshot and drop off the official report later. But don’t have anything in that house.” I closed my eyes as she continued talking, her voice angry. “I think someone if trying to poison you slowly without leaving much evidence.”

“Okay, I will do as the doctor said and eat outside for the next few days.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she apologized. “I’m just angry.”

“No, you didn’t upset me. We knew something was wrong. It’s just disappointing to know we were right.”

“I’ll see you at noon?”

Zakhar was making a sign to me to invite her to lunch. I smiled, but deep down I knew that his intention was getting to the bottom of what she just said.

“How about lunch?” I asked her. “At the Italian restaurant we went the other day.”

“That sounds delicious. I’ll see you then.”

As soon as I hung up the phone Zakhar was ready for answers. “Speak,” he ordered, his face serious.

Not knowing where to start, I hesitated, not wanting to sound accusatory. The staff had been with the family for years, and I was new here. It didn’t bode well for me to accuse them even though the report was real. It could be something with the water … maybe.

“Do I have to call the wedding planner to get some answers?” he reached for my phone.

“No, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to do anything until a full investigation happens.”

“That is a given. I will leave no stones unturned. Now tell me everything.”

“Since you’ve been away, I noticed that my food has been tasting quite different than usual. I found out I was pregnant just about the same time, so I thought it was my hormone changes. I had my first stomach cramp when I was in the US with Linda. We went to see a doctor and she said it could be gas, which is normal for pregnant women.”

“Is the baby alright?” he asked, touching my stomach. “I’m sorry I was unreachable but the storm in Indonesia took out all the towers. But tell me what happened next.”

“I started to notice my food was different outside. I still thought it was hormones because sometime the food here tasted good and other times it was like I was eating chemicals, especially the tea. I stopped having coffee and was having mostly herbal teas. I told Donicia my concerns after another attack, and she had some of the tea tested. Oh, and she took me to see another doctor who suggested I eat away from home for a few days.”

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll get to the bottom if it.”

“Please don’t …”

“I will investigate thoroughly, I promise.”

“And discreetly,” I added. “Please.”

He nodded, “And discreetly. I’ll take a shower and then take you to breakfast.”

“Out?” I asked, because he just came back last night. He must be tired.

“Yes. Out and we can have a great day just you and me.”

“Okay, I’ll get ready.”

He took me to the restaurant of a close friend, and we had some great Chinese-Russian fusion dishes. Then we spent a few hours at the mall picking out jewelry and then we went Christmas gift shopping. Our wedding was two weeks after the new year. Zakhar had wanted a Christmas wedding, but I wanted to enjoy the holidays without the stress.

We met Donicia for lunch later and I was surprised that I was so hungry. Zakhar seemed to like her, and they talked while I went to the washroom to relieve a full bladder. I was glad to be away from the situation which was being discussed as I realized it was beginning to traumatize me. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if my husband hadn’t returned when he did.

He told me how devastating the storm was for many of the Indonesian residents and that he was organizing food and blankets for some residents in the community where he’d stayed. He’d already organized a team to assist with getting the towers back on track so that they could communicate with the outside world.

After we parted ways from Donicia, we picked up fried chicken, fried wontons, and spring rolls. It was my fried food cravings that made me want all the greasy stuff. I was happy with a healthy appetite which seemed to have returned full force. Or was it because Zakhar was back?

While he drove us back home, I read the toxicology report that Donicia had given to us. The technician had apparently run several chemical screens to find the right fit, and found there was a high concentration of sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) in the tea.

Unscented bleach was common, and it would be easy mask the taste with spices. That was why it was undetected for so long. I didn’t smell anything, and the taste was just weird in the food. The amount wasn’t enough to make me sick quickly. It was design to make me sick over time and that was the part that made me mad. This was premeditated.

“The fucking bastard!” I shouted, startling the man who wasn’t easily scared.

“Tabby, what’s wrong?” He braked the car and unbuckled his seat belt, leaning over to me.

I was close to tears, and he saw it. “This!” I held up the report. “They hate me so much that they want to kill me. This is premeditated murder Zakky, it’s all planned.”

“I will kill the bastard who did this, I swear on my baby’s life.”

“No, please don’t swear on the baby like that. I am scared for this baby. He would have been the first to go if we didn’t detect this. I felt so many times like I was about to miscarry but he’s such a fighter, like his daddy. Zakky, I don’t wanna lose this baby, I can’t lose him,” I sobbed, leaning into him. “I can’t lose him.”

“We won’t lose him, I wont allow it to happen. I will take care of you and our baby.”