Chapter 431 At a Loss
Hope couldn't help but sigh. "Given the current situation, Mrs. Peterson is definitely going to use her health issues to pressure them into breaking up. If Francis cuts ties with his family for Elissa, it'll just make her feel worse."
Jerry lifted her chin again. "Let me see, any wrinkles yet?"
Hope pushed him away. "When are you going to stop joking around?"
Jerry chuckled. "Is it wrong to try and cheer you up?"
"Depends on the timing."
"Anytime. Making my wife happy is the most important thing."
Hope couldn't help but smile at him.
Jerry raised his hand and lightly patted her cheek with the back of it. "Let Francis handle his family's issues. Worrying yourself sick here won't solve anything."
Hope felt a bit clearer after hearing his words. "You and Francis have a plan, don't you?"
Jerry looked at her brightening eyes and let out a deep laugh. "Guess."
"I'm not guessing."
Just then, the porridge arrived. Hope took it inside to Elissa. "I avoided the ones you don't like. See if you want to eat this."
Elissa opened it; it was her least favorite porridge. Seeing her frown, Hope asked, "Still don't want to eat?"
Elissa tried a sip. "It's okay."
"That's good." Hope breathed a sigh of relief. "If there's anything you want to eat, just let me know. I'll find a way to get it for you."
"Take a break," Coralie spoke up. "She'll wake up around noon. Let her fiancé handle it."
They were somewhat familiar with Coralie. Coralie knew them well, but they knew nothing about her.
Elissa couldn't help but ask, "Your medical skills are impressive. Who did you study under?"
Coralie paused her chicken nugget munching, then said, "A family of doctors."
Elissa sensed her evasiveness, felt curious but didn't press further. She quietly finished the porridge. It was quite surprising; the thing she hated most didn't make her nauseous.
After the meal, there wasn't much to do except wait for Francis to wake up. Elissa sat by the hospital bed, Brielle eating a lollipop, keeping her company.
She chatted casually with Hope. "If it weren't for setting you up with a family, I'd want a cute daughter too."
Hope said, "That's just talk. You don't have to take it seriously. Whatever you have is fine. The main thing is to keep your spirits up."
Suddenly, Brielle shouted, "He moved! I saw his fingers move."
Elissa's gaze fell on Francis's left hand. She slightly lifted her lashes and met a pair of dark eyes. Before she could say anything, Brielle jumped over, her voice crisp and loud. "Daddy!"
Elissa saw Francis's obvious shock, the heart monitor beside him showing fluctuating lines. Jerry, always enjoying the drama, walked over and raised Francis's bed.
Francis was still in a daze. He stared at Elissa without blinking. After being unconscious for so long, his voice was hoarse. "I... you... what's this?"
Elissa felt bad about deceiving him. He had taken a bullet for her, almost meeting death. But before she could explain, Brielle called out again, "Daddy!"
Francis was utterly speechless. Jerry leaned against the foot of the bed, starting to spin a tale. "You've been in a coma for five years. This is your daughter, she's four."
Francis was momentarily confused but not gullible. "This isn't my daughter, stop it."
Jerry found it boring and didn't continue. Hope asked, "Wouldn't you be happy to have such a cute daughter?"
Francis glanced at Brielle. Brielle's smile revealed two dimples, her big eyes shining like gems. She was as delicate as a doll. Having such a cute daughter with Elissa would certainly make him happy. But the girl in front of him clearly wasn't. She didn't resemble either of them. Neither of them had dimples. At the very least, she should inherit a snaggletooth. Brielle didn't have that either.
Francis said softly, "I will have a cute daughter with Elissa."
Hope moved aside, taking Brielle with her, giving them space. Momentarily forgetting Jerry, she heard him speak slowly. "Congratulations, you might be having a daughter."
Francis was stunned. "What?"
Hope chimed in, "This kind of surprise needs to come from Elissa herself."
Jerry loved teasing Francis.
He forgot that girls adore these little rituals.
He looked at Francis and said, "That's what I expect from you."
Hope scolded softly, "Can you shut up?"
Jerry leaned in with a smile and said, "Then you'll have to silence me. But I only accept one way."
Brielle squeezed between them, her big eyes full of curiosity, "What way, sir?"
Coralie pulled Brielle away and walked to Francis's bedside, giving him a quick check-up.
Then she said to Elissa, "He's fine now. He just needs a couple of days of rest before he can go home. I have to take a call, so I'll be leaving."
Hope chimed in, "Jerry and I will see you off. You guys chat."
As they left, Hope thoughtfully closed the door behind them.
Before putting Coralie in the car, Hope handed her some snacks she had bought, "Eat this on the way."
Coralie smiled, "Thanks."
As soon as the car drove off, Jerry pulled Hope into his arms.
Hope glared at him. "You talk too much."
Jerry chuckled and leaned closer to her, "Then I won't talk. I'll kiss you."
In the hospital room.
Francis reached out to Elissa.
Elissa sat by the bed, holding his hand and placing it on her belly.
Francis's eyes showed clear surprise and a hint of disbelief.
The heart monitor beside them started beeping wildly, the lines on the screen jumping erratically.
Francis immediately removed the clip from his finger and pulled Elissa into a tight embrace.
But after the initial shock, his mind began to clear.
He hesitantly asked, "Didn't we take precautions?"
Elissa pulled away from his embrace, mimicking his cold and indifferent look, "What do you mean?"
Francis panicked, his usual calm and composed demeanor vanished, replaced by a childlike anxiety. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, I just... It was my mistake. Precautions aren't foolproof. I shouldn't have asked. You can scold me."
Elissa couldn't bear to scold him.
She explained, "Last month, right after my period, we were together for a few days. I felt something was off once, but I was too tired to mention it, and then I forgot. It must have been that time."
Francis tightened his grip on her hand, his dry lips pressed together, cold sweat forming on his back.
He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had arrived a little later.
The baby might not survive, and her health could be at risk.
Aiden would pay for this a thousand times over.
Elissa could guess some of his thoughts from his expression.
She changed the subject, "Your mom is sick."
On the plane, Francis called home to check on things.
Jerry, sitting next to him, briefly explained what had happened while Francis was unconscious.
After a moment of thought, Francis grabbed a blanket and returned to Elissa, covering her with it.
Her table was filled with a tablet, fruit, hot water, and other essentials.
Even so, Francis felt he wasn't taking good enough care of her.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"I heard your check-up results weren't great."
"If it harms your health, we could..."
Elissa stuffed an orange into his mouth.
The orange was incredibly sour, just the way she liked it, but it made his handsome face scrunch up.
"Is it good?" she asked, her face full of triumphant joy.
Francis swallowed it whole. "Anything you feed me is good."
Hope, sitting across from them, couldn't help but notice how sweet they were together.
Jerry appeared at the right moment, putting a candy in her mouth. "Is it sweet?"
Hope didn't think much. "Yes."
Then she asked, "Did you steal this from Brielle?"
Jerry looked at her, his voice sincere, "Not as sweet as you."
Elissa and Hope teamed up to chase the two men away. "Don't interrupt our show. You guys go focus on your careers."
The two men were pushed aside.
Jerry saw Francis take out a cigarette, then seemed to remember something and put it away.
Finally, he threw away the remaining cigarettes.
"Quitting smoking?" Jerry raised his eyebrows and gave a thumbs up. "That's some willpower."
Francis ignored his sarcasm and talked about serious matters.
When Jerry heard about the wedding, he became serious. "You can keep the wedding a secret from your family, but without a marriage certificate, no matter how many weddings you have, it's not legal. Your child will be born without an identity. People will call them illegitimate."
Francis's expression darkened.
He thought about getting the marriage certificate.
When they returned, Elissa and Hope were asleep in their seats.
They each sat beside their partners, adjusting their positions to make them more comfortable.
Before the plane landed, Elissa suddenly woke up and rushed to the bathroom.
Francis didn't have time to help her.
Seeing her trip, his heart jumped to his throat. "Slow down..." he called out.
He didn't finish his sentence and quickly fetched warm water.
He gently patted her back.
Watching her vomit, he felt helpless and anxious.
Hope woke up and ran over, "Did you take your medicine today?"
"I did," Elissa replied hoarsely, taking the water cup from Francis and rinsing her mouth.
Hope said, "Then it's motion sickness."
Elissa loved traveling and had never been motion sick before.
It must be because of the pregnancy.
Francis, usually so composed, was now at a loss. "What do we do?"
"There's no solution." Hope said, "Ms. Bishop said it will pass after a while."
Francis had heard of Coralie's medical skills.
She was particularly knowledgeable about women's health issues.
If even she couldn't help, finding another doctor would be difficult.
"Why are you sweating so much?" Elissa asked, standing up and seeing his forehead covered in sweat.
"He's nervous," Jerry explained for him.
Elissa felt helpless and amused but held back her laughter, wiping his sweat.
"Why are your hands so cold?" Francis asked.
He became more nervous, immediately wrapping her in a blanket and asking the flight attendant to raise the temperature.
Elissa smiled. "It's not that cold."
It was spring, and Elissa was wrapped up so much she might get a heat rash.
She replied, "I just washed my hands."
Francis brought her a hand warmer. "Washing your hands shouldn't make them this cold. Trust me."
Elissa could only say, "It's normal to vomit during pregnancy. There might be other symptoms later..."
"No, there won't be any."
Elissa wanted to educate him, to prepare him mentally.
When Hope was pregnant, she read many books. If he was this nervous now, how would he handle the later stages?
But he refused to listen.
Hope looked at Jerry, "You weren't this nervous, were you?"
Jerry held her hand, "Do you want me to show you the footage from back then?"
Hope glared at him, "It's been so long, it's probably overwritten."
"I saved it, just in case someone thinks I wasn't worried."
Francis spoke up, "This baby is being difficult. We shouldn't..."
Elissa quickly covered his mouth, "Don't say that."
"You weren't..." Francis removed her hand, "When Hope was pregnant, you said you were scared and didn't want to have the baby. It's my fault. I should have been more careful so you wouldn't suffer."
Elissa didn't want to have a baby before, but now that she was pregnant, she couldn't bear to terminate it—even if it meant suffering.
Elissa said, "Don't let me hear that again. It makes me feel worse."
"Okay." Francis didn't know what to do, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "As long as you're happy and not suffering, I'll do anything."
Elissa was sweating, "I'm not cold. I'll get a heat rash, and I can't use medicine now. I have to tough it out."
Francis removed one blanket.
Until the plane landed, he didn't stop moving.
He squatted beside her, doing everything he could—even unnecessary things—as long as he wasn't idle.
When the plane landed, the flight attendant reminded him to sit and fasten his seatbelt, he sat for a moment.
As soon as the plane stopped, he stood up.
He carried Elissa in his arms.
Elissa hugged her and pouted at Hope behind her.
Hope smiled back, silently mouthing, "Good luck."
Their car was already waiting.
They headed straight to the hospital.
In Rainey's room.
Jacob, Elysia, and Wesley were there.
Elysia's gaze fell on Elissa's belly as she entered.
After a few seconds, she looked away.
It seemed they all knew.
Rainey had undergone bypass surgery. With proper care, she would be fine. But if she got too emotional, she would eventually need a heart transplant.
Jacob quietly explained this to Francis, hinting clearly.
Elissa took the initiative to apologize, "Mrs. Peterson, I was only worried about Francis at the time. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry for my impulsiveness."
Rainey didn't respond, just kept looking at Francis, especially at the spot where he was shot.
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