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She slackened against the wall “Then we have a problem”

“I do not see one”

Her stohtened into a knot He was too cal her nerves “I live in New York, you live here I’d call that a major problem”

“Your life in New York is over”

His as like an i away at it, because the alternative was unthinkable “You can’t dictate what my life is, force me to turn it upside down I’m not one of your minions”

His gaze became hard, his tone relentlessly resolute “If you want to be a mother to my child, you do it in Behraat”

“You’ve got to be” But no, he was not joking Lauren’s gut knotted so hard she couldn’t speak for a few seconds “I don’t see you prepared to give up anything How about it, Zafir?”

He sh to cut her

She could see the axis of her world tilting, every preconception she’d ever harbored about Zafir crushed by the autocraticcivil or kind about him anymore

There was nothing but a chilling frost

“Can you give the baby the best care by yourself in New York, living in that little dingy studio while working night shifts six days a week? You have no fale women ork just as hard as you do

“Who atch the baby while you work round-the-clock shifts? Who will help you when you walk in the door barely able to stand on your own feet?”

His words rang with logic, piercing holes in her plans, shredding her arree?”

He shrugged and she fisted her hands, filled with the urge to hit hi that it frightened her “Then you will be free to leave Behraat once you give birth, to your hassle-free life”