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Dirk opened the door to Juliana’s knock “Hey, babe What’s up?”

“Oh Hi,” she answered, her disappoint on her face

Dirk laughed under his breath “Well, that’s a blow tofor me”

She s I could talk with Bree”

“She’s sleeping The pregnancy’s taking a lot out of her I barely got back from the set when she prettyher how today’s fil went, so I put her to bed”

Suddenly concerned, Juliana asked anxiously, “Is that nore?” She tried to think about her other friends who’d gone through pregnancies “I thought by the second trimester women weren’t that tired Is it related to the cancer?”

He shook his head slightly “Not as far as I can tell And Bree’s taking all her prenatal vita at this stage of her pregnancy” Two of the palace’s household staff turned a corner and began walking down the corridor toward them, and Dirk pushed the door open “Come on in—this isn’t a conversation I want to have in the hallway”

Once Juliana was ensconced on the sofa in the sitting rooainst the fireplace oodness But she is carrying twins, and that takes an extra toll on her body Bree’s been seeing an ob-gyn here in Zakhar—we found a wos are progressing normally where the babies are concerned”

His face softened into incredible vulnerability “I don’t know if Breethe babies move already Little flutters And at her last checkup we heard the heartbeats”

He didn’t have to say another word The babies were real to him now in a way they hadn’t been before There was such an expression of paternal love and wonder on his face that Juliana kneasn’t even thinking about what he’d told her the first tinancy, before they knew she was carrying twins—that he didn’t care about the baby, that he would sacrifice their child without a second thought if it would save his wife There was no way Juliana was going to remind him, either He loved their babies now, maybe not exactly the same way Sabrina did, but he wanted them just as much He wanted his wife, but he wanted their children, too, and he would no longer sacrifice one for the other

Juliana closed her eyes and breathed deeply, realizing she had her answer even without talking to Sabrina Her eyes flew open “Thank you,” she told Dirk “You have no idea, butthank you” She juhtly, then headed for the door

“Wait a second,” Dirk called after her “What did I say?”

She turned with her hand on the doorknob, her eyes shining Men can change, she thought, free of the shackles of the past at last They can grow into love But she couldn’t say that to Dirk, not without renancy She couldn’t tell hi with a cold, nearly unforgivable nant And if not, the ift to her She hadn’t been pregnant, but those words had destroyed her make-believe world, the world where Andre loved her and would love any child they created

But the o didn’t necessarily mean that was the way he felt now Dirk hadn’t wanted his own baby at first, even though he loved Sabrina with all his heart, but now he did The same could hold true for Andre “I can’t tell you,” Juliana told Dirk, her face radiant “But I owe you anything you want to naive her a kiss for me and tell her I said she’s so lucky to have you I mean that”

Back in her own suite Juliana paced her bedroo constantly at the tapestry on the wall, the tapestry that hid the door to the passageway leading to Andre’s bedrooain He’d promised her he wouldn’t, and she knew he’d keep his word But he’d also told her, “You are welcoeway to coht”

If she went to hi that had happened eleven years ago, for his rejection of her and the child theyshe loved him—had always loved him—and she would accept whatever he had to offer her, whatever role he would allow her to have in his life Even if it wasn’t the hteen