Chapter 370 The Child Can Only Be Yours
It was winter in Maple Valley.
The hallway window was cracked open, letting in a stream of cold air that split the indoors and outdoors into two different worlds—one warm, one freezing.
But Francis wasn't feeling the chill; in fact, he was practically buzzing with excitement.
He'd been worried Elissa might get cold, so he only opened the door a smidge at first. Then, in a burst of energy, he flung it wide open, only to shut it again right after.
Francis moved in and planted a kiss on Elissa's cheek.
Elissa felt the heat from his hand and pulled back a bit.
"Why are you so hot?" she asked, trying to push him away.
Francis scooped her up, kicked off his shoes, and carried her into the bedroom, his kisses trailing his words, "It's all because of you."
Elissa liked him, and Francis knew it well.
But for some reason, hearing those words from her hit him hard.
Elissa laughed and cried, "Stop messing around, go take care of your stuff."
Francis was already stripping off his clothes.
Elissa was about to yell, "Get out!"
Francis leaned in closer, "I'll be quick."
"Get lost!"
Over at the Peterson Mansion, Jacob had been home for a while.
He kept checking his watch and asked Rainey, "Are you sure he said he'd come back?"
It had been two hours since Rainey called Francis.
They knew Elissa's place was pretty far from the Peterson Mansion, but it shouldn't take two hours to drive there.
Plus, the whole family was waiting. Since Francis promised to come back, they hadn't started dinner. Who knew they'd end up waiting so long?
Jacob stood up, "Mom, Dad, let's eat and wait afterward."
Just then, they heard an engine outside.
Jacob quickly sat back down, and the others didn't even have time to stand up.
Francis walked in, and a servant came up to take his coat, but he waved them off and walked straight in.
The sofa was packed, so Francis grabbed a chair and sat across the table, his long legs casually crossed, looking at everyone with a calm expression, waiting for them to speak.
Jacob spoke first, "Do you know we've all been waiting for you to eat? Your mom and I can wait, but you let your grandparents wait for you hungry?"
Francis replied with a blank expression, "It's six ten now, isn't that just dinner time?"
Francis had cooked at Elissa's place, planning to let her sleep for a bit and wake up at six for dinner.
He'd been watching the time, either arriving at the Peterson Mansion now or a bit later, after they had finished dinner.
He had planned to come a bit later, but Elissa had kicked him out.
Francis said coldly, "You could have started eating; I would have waited."
At this point, no one was in the mood to eat. Jacob said, "Jessa is pregnant."
Jacob wasn't thrilled about Elissa, but he hadn't expected Jessa to be pregnant with Francis's child.
But compared to Francis insisting on marrying Elissa, Jacob didn't think Jessa's pregnancy was a bad thing.
It could be used to separate Francis and Elissa.
Francis listened without any reaction.
Jacob, holding back his anger, continued, "Aren't you going to say something?"
Francis nodded, "Right, I guess I'm the uncle of the child. I'll buy a gift when the time comes."
Jacob really wanted to kick him.
But no matter how angry he was, Francis was his only son, and he didn't want to ruin their relationship after investing so much in him since childhood.
Jacob shouted, "The Peterson family's child cannot be left outside."
Jacob glanced at Jessa, paused, and then said straight up, "We don't expect you to marry Jessa, but you still have to take responsibility for her and the baby."
Jessa knew this was coming.
But it didn't matter; what mattered was keeping Francis away from Elissa.
"How could I have a kid with her?" Francis didn't even look at Jessa, "You believe everything she says, but you don't believe a word I say."
The Peterson family wasn't dumb enough to just believe anyone.
They believed Jessa because it could drive a wedge between Francis and Elissa.
"Jessa wouldn't lie about something like this." After Jacob finished, Rainey added, "We can believe you too, but do you have any proof the kid isn't yours?"
Francis replied coolly, "We'll wait for the DNA test."
The Peterson family got the hint, and Rainey said, "We can wait, but we have to wait until the fetus is stable, around four or five months. So during this time, you have to take responsibility. If it turns out not to be yours, we won't force you to take responsibility."
Francis suddenly got it.
Jessa's pregnancy was probably planned from that night.
If it weren't for this baby, Francis could have found a way to make Jessa spill the truth about that night.
Efren's side was even simpler; as long as it matched Jessa's story, it wouldn't matter if the surveillance wasn't restored.
But now Jessa was pregnant.
It wasn't that Francis cared about the baby, but if the baby was lost on his watch, it would be hard for him to prove his innocence.
It was a solid plan; Francis shouldn't have had any pity from the start.
Jessa grew up in the Peterson family; how could she be purely kind?
Francis retorted, "The baby isn't even confirmed to be mine, so why should I take responsibility? I'll take responsibility if the DNA test in four or five months shows it's mine."
Francis said, standing up, smoothing the wrinkles on his coat, his voice indifferent, "I won't disturb your dinner; I have things to do."
"Francis." Jessa, who had been quiet, chased after him.
Before Francis could open the car door, she hugged him from behind.
"Let go!" Francis's voice was as cold as the winter.
Jessa tightened her arms, burying her face in his back and crying.
Francis tried to pull her away but couldn't push too hard. In the end, he couldn't pull her off, and his expression turned cold and irritable.
"Jessa, don't exhaust all my brotherly feelings for you. I'm not completely helpless against you," Francis warned.
Jessa still didn't let go, her voice trembling with grievance.
Jessa said, "Francis, the baby in my belly is really yours. If you don't believe me, I have the video. That night, I recorded a video."
Elissa finished eating and washed the dishes.
She never used to do these things, but now she felt it was fine to do them once in a while.
Being with the one you loved made everything enjoyable.
Just as Elissa was about to have a chat with Hope, her phone buzzed with a new email notification.
Elissa opened it while walking towards the sofa.
But because of the suggestive sounds coming from her phone, she didn't notice and tripped over the table.
Her phone flew out, and she fell to the ground.
Instinctively, she tried to brace herself against the sofa to avoid getting hurt, but her hand slipped off the edge.
Due to inertia, Elissa's head hit the table, and she instantly felt dizzy.
To make matters worse, she knocked over a glass and cut her hand.
Elissa was furious, her already dizzy head spinning even more. She cursed and tried to stay conscious to get her phone.
She dialed Francis's number, but no one answered.
Elissa's vision was already blurry. She tried to call Hope from memory, but just then, another call came in.
The instinct to survive made Elissa utter, "Help me," before she fainted.
At The Peterson Mansion, it seemed as if dark clouds had gathered.
While the sky elsewhere was beautifully lit by stars and the moon, The Peterson Mansion was shrouded in gloom.
Jessa's video wasn't just shown to Francis; that wouldn't achieve her desired effect.
After the Peterson family watched it, they restrained Francis, and his phone was taken.
Francis, after watching the video, had a very dark expression.
At this moment, Francis looked coldly at Jessa and said word by word, "I underestimated you, Jessa."
Francis hadn't noticed his phone's situation yet.
Rainey took the opportunity to turn off his phone, and before doing so, she saw Elissa's call.
No wonder Jessa said she could make Francis and Elissa break up and that they shouldn't provoke Francis's rebelliousness. She had this trick up her sleeve.
This also reminded Rainey of what Francis had said before: no matter how well she treated Jessa, it wouldn't matter. Because of the incident of sending her abroad, there was already a rift between them, and Jessa wouldn't remember her kindness. Now, thinking about it, it made a lot of sense.
It's a pity Jessa's background wasn't good; otherwise, with such scheming, she would be great at assisting Francis.
"You wanted evidence, right?" Jacob pointed to the phone on the table, "This video is clear; you forced Jessa. The timing of the video matches the conception of the child. The child can only be yours."
Francis's thin lips pressed into a sharp line, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone, and then he suddenly laughed. "So what if it's mine?"
Francis stood under the light, but it couldn't dispel the shadow on his face. His voice was colder than winter. "Abort it."
"What nonsense!" Rainey was the first to object. "We can afford to raise the child; I don't agree!"
Elysia echoed, "I don't agree either."
Francis said nothing, just glanced back, and Simon immediately appeared. "Check if the video is doctored."
Simon immediately went to check, but Rainey had taken the phone.
"Francis, is this what we taught you?" Rainey said disapprovingly, "When faced with a problem, you solve it. If you can't solve it, you don't run away. At least come up with a suitable solution."
Francis laughed, full of sarcasm, "I didn't solve it?"
Rainey didn't know what to say.
Elysia spoke up, "Aborting the child is your solution? You need to come up with another one."
Francis's sarcasm deepened, "You've already made your decision; you just want to hear it from me."
When it came to the Peterson family's interests and reputation, they were decisive.
If it were Elissa who was pregnant and kept quiet, the child wouldn't be kept.
But with Jessa, they pretended to be kind.
Because this didn't harm the Peterson family and could calm the turmoil caused by Francis being with Elissa.
"Jessa, you better hope the surveillance of that night can't be restored, or I'll make you regret scheming against me," Francis warned.
Jessa sat quietly on the single sofa, silently crying.
When Francis spoke to her, she shook her head, trembling, looking pitiful as if the whole world had bullied her.
Especially Francis, who bullied her the most.
"Don't make things difficult for Jessa," Rainey said, "The video clearly shows you pulling her into the room. Jessa's voice was hoarse from shouting for you to stop, but you didn't listen."
Francis couldn't be bothered to argue, just extended his hand, "Give me the phone."
Rainey didn't comply.
Francis's patience was exhausted, "If you don't let me check the video's authenticity, don't expect me to take responsibility. If I tell the world that Jessa got pregnant with my child before I marry her, do you think your plan to have me marry a suitable girl will succeed?"
Rainey hesitated, and Jacob said, "Give it to him."
Rainey then handed over the phone.
Francis gave it to Simon.
Simon immediately connected it to a computer to check, but the result showed the video was real.
Simon said, "Mr. Peterson, it's real."
Francis's expression didn't change, still dark, but his pupils contracted slightly when he heard Simon's words.
"You'll stay at the Peterson Mansion during this time," said Wesley, the head of the family, "until the child is born."
He added, "Go explain to your girlfriend that she doesn't meet the requirements to marry you, but we can't hurt two girls at the same time."
Francis's hands clenched into a fist at his side, but he didn't respond.
Just as Rainey was about to say something, the door was forcefully pushed open.
The Peterson family could only think of one person who could enter the Peterson Mansion like this.
Jerry walked in and said, "Everyone, long time no see. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered. I said I'd come in myself, but the security tried to stop me. I had no choice but to handle him. Please forgive me."
It was indeed Jerry.
Jerry entered with the cold air from outside, his lips curved, but his words were full of displeasure.
Jerry was definitely here to stand up for Francis.
Jerry always acted without any scruples; no one could threaten him, nor would they dare.
Jerry's methods were ruthless and vicious; no one would benefit from falling into his hands.
"Look at you, what're you talking about? This is your home too," Wesley said with a kind smile, "You can come in anytime without notifying anyone."
The Peterson family was powerful, but they also needed the support of the Hammer family.
However, Jerry was here today on a mission from Hope, which had to be completed urgently.
Jerry said, "I'll chat with you all next time. I have urgent business with Francis, so we'll be leaving."
Rainey wanted to stop him, but Jacob's look stopped her.
She could only watch as Jerry took Francis away.
At that moment, Jessa got up, ran a few steps, and sat on the ground, hugging Francis's leg.
Jessa sobbed, "Francis, my stomach hurts. Please don't go."
Jerry's eyes narrowed, ready to pull her away, but Francis stopped him. He bent down and helped Jessa up.
Jerry raised an eyebrow, wondering if he should record this and send it to Hope.
Francis's hand tightened.
Jessa cried out in pain, "Francis, you're hurting me."
"Jessa," Francis's eyes were bloodshot, looking terrifying.
Jessa was pregnant but still somewhat scared.
When Francis went crazy, he was no better than Jerry.
He shouted, "Jessa, don't provoke me again."
With that, Francis let go and walked away.
Jerry followed, and once in the car, he couldn't help but say, "I thought you still had feelings for her."
Francis coldly replied, "She is pregnant."
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