The day before, they’d both gone into the office at the dockyard. Yasmin had wanted a quiet moment to herself away from the non-stop wedding planning and the constant chatter between the mothers. The two women were either in perfect agreement and crowing about their accomplishments when it came to the wedding, or they hated something the other had suggested and were actively trying to gain allies from among the household staff and family members. Henry had eagerly offered to accompany Yasmin to the office to escape her mother’s persistent pushing that he choose her side in an argument with Narin over whether they should get a DJ or a live band. Yasmin had escaped with Henry before finding out which it would be.

She’d worked until lunch, expecting that Volkan would collect her when he was ready to eat, when a wave of nausea had her diving for her wastebasket. She’d vomited two more times before collapsing weakly on the floor with her back against her desk.

Zeynep found her there when she’d come to find out if Yasmin wanted to have lunch with her. She’d rushed to Yasmin’s side, pressing the back of her hand to Yasmin’s forehead, her nose wrinkling as the smell from the garbage can made itself obvious.

“Yasmin, are you alright?” She seemed genuinely concerned as she helped Yasmin to her feet. “I’ll go get Volkan.”

“No, please don’t,” Yasmin rushed to say. “It’s nothing. I just got a little dizzy, that’s all.”

“From what? You looked perfectly healthy this morning at breakfast.” Zeynep narrowed her eyes as she studied Yasmin, then asked bluntly, “Is it possible that you might be pregnant?”

Yasmin opened her mouth to deny it, but her head flew with the calculations. She’d been with Volkan for over a month and they’d been sexually active almost from the start. When was her last period? Six… no seven weeks ago. Oh no.

“This is bad,” she whispered.

Then denial started to set in. What were the odds of getting pregnant that quickly? Stress could cause periods to be late. Hers was just late. She was definitely one hundred percent not pregnant. She couldn’t be.

As panic set in, Zeynep said, “You stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll send Janie in to clean up.” Zeynep helped her to the couch and then took off. A few minutes later, a bustling Janie let herself in. She checked on Yasmin before leaving with the wastebasket. Yasmin was worried either Janie or Zeynep would tell Volkan, but when he didn’t bust into her office to demand an explanation, she decided they were being discreet.

Twenty minutes later, Zeynep returned with a pregnancy test. Feeling better, Yasmin felt slightly ridiculous taking it. As she unwrapped the test, she was convinced her period was just late.