He needed to marry someone who could provide the next generation of Alessandros. At the moment she wasn’t completely convinced she could do that.
A sharp pain lanced through her and she winced. Her cramps had been a dull ache all through the morning, but now they gained in strength.
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “It’s been a hectic morning and I’ve done too much. I should probably take something and lie down for a while. Can we continue later this afternoon?”
She barely waited for his agreement before heading toward the bathroom and the bottle of pain medication she hadn’t needed earlier in the day. She shut the bathroom door, hoping that Gabriel wouldn’t come to check on her, and braced her hands on the vanity top. The woman in the mirror had dark circles beneath her eyes and white around her mouth.
The pain in her body was vivid and icy, very unlike her usual cramps. The difference scared her.
Forcing herself to take deep, even breaths, she fought back nausea and swallowed her medication. Within minutes, the sharp edges came off the ache in her pelvis and she was able to return to the bedroom. There she found Libby waiting for her with the queen. Helpless tears filled Olivia’s eyes. She blinked them away.
“Have you tried pineapple juice?”
The queen’s suggestion confused Olivia. “No.”
“There’s something in it that will help with your cramps.”
Olivia clasped her hands as her stomach flipped sickeningly. Why was the queen being nice, given the news?
“Thank you. I’ll try pineapple juice.”
“You aren’t the first woman in this palace to grapple with reproductive issues. I was young when I came to marry the king and eager to give him the heir he needed. Unlike Gabriel, Matteo had no male siblings to take over the throne if something happened to him.”
“You had trouble getting pregnant?”
“There’s a good reason why Gabriel has two brothers so close in age.” The queen gave a fond smile. “I wasn’t able to get pregnant without help. We did in vitro fertilization twice before the procedure was successful. Gabriel, Nicolas and Christian are the result.”
“And Ariana?” The princess was six years younger than her brothers, close to Olivia’s own age.
“My miracle baby.”
Olivia liked the sound of that. She hoped her own miracle baby was on the horizon. Because the way she felt at the moment, a miracle might be exactly what she needed.
“Do you love my son?”
She rolled the engagement ring around and around on her finger. “Yes.”
“Good, then you’ll do what’s best for him.”
And leaving Olivia to ponder what that was, the queen took her leave.
When the door opened a short time later, Olivia looked up, expecting Libby, and saw a maid instead. “I really don’t need anything right now. Perhaps you could check back in later this evening.”
“I thought you’d like me to pack your things. I’m sure you’ll be heading back to England now that the prince knows you can’t have children.”
The woman’s snide tone wasn’t at all what Olivia was expecting and she sat up straighter, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Of average height and appearance with brown hair and hazel eyes, the woman looked like any of a dozen palace maids. But there was a frantic energy to her movement that made Olivia apprehensive.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, feeling at a disadvantage as the maid stalked toward her. “I’m not leaving.”
Olivia pushed to her feet. The sudden movement sent pain stabbing through her. She swayed and caught the back of the chair. Her breath came in labored gasps. Something was very wrong.
“Of course you are.” The woman’s hazel eyes burned with a crazy zeal. “The prince won’t marry you now that he knows you’re damaged.”
“That’s for him to decide.” It was hard to keep her mind on the conversation when it felt as if hot pokers were being driven into her lower abdomen. “Get out.”
“What makes you think you can order me around?” the woman spat. “Because you have a title and your father has money?”