Chapter 433 Didn't Treat Me as a Husband
Elissa splashed some water on her face, took a deep breath, and then stood up to give him a hug. "Seriously, stop apologizing. It's driving me nuts."
That did the trick; he didn't apologize again.
"I could go for some oranges. Can you peel them for me?"
Francis immediately carried her to the couch, tucked her in with a blanket, and sat down next to her to peel the oranges. He made sure to get rid of every bit of the white pith.
Elissa watched him, resting her chin on her hand, feeling a bit envious. "You're treating me better now that I'm pregnant. Do you love the baby more?"
Without missing a beat, Francis said, "It's because you're going through a lot with the pregnancy. If you hadn't agreed to have the baby, I wouldn't have..."
Elissa kicked him before he could finish. He fed her a piece of the peeled orange.
Elissa stopped thinking about anything else and focused on eating the orange.
Francis watched her and poured her some water.
She shook her head. "I'm not thirsty."
Francis looked confused. "Are you sure it's okay to eat so much sour stuff?"
"It helps with the nausea. Eating something sour makes me feel better."
Francis made a mental note of that.
After two oranges, Elissa started to feel sleepy.
Francis got up to carry her, but she refused. "I'll just sleep on the couch."
Francis let her be and fetched a lighter blanket to cover her.
Elissa chuckled, "It's spring now. The blanket is too warm. A throw will do."
Francis felt her hand, which was quite cold, but remembered Coralie saying that pregnant women tend to feel hotter than usual. He realized he had a lot to learn.
While Elissa slept, he started reading up on pregnancy, becoming more and more alarmed.
When Elissa woke up needing to use the bathroom, she couldn't find Francis. She searched the bedroom, the study, and even the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found.
She was about to call him when the doorbell rang. The display showed Felix's face, and she opened the door.
Felix pointed towards the emergency exit. "Mr. Peterson is smoking like crazy."
Elissa opened the emergency exit door and was hit by a strong smell of smoke. She quickly closed the door and coughed a couple of times. She was about to ask Felix to bring Francis out when the door opened again.
She stepped back. Francis used to have a clean, pleasant tobacco scent, which she didn't mind since she smoked too. But now, even a little bit made her nauseous.
Francis couldn't come near her, so Felix took care of him, and he went to a nearby hotel to clean up before returning.
He wanted to apologize, but Elissa started gagging, so he kept quiet.
He had been thinking about quitting smoking, but after reading so many books, watching videos, and documentaries, he realized how dangerous childbirth could be. His mother had hemorrhaged during his birth, and the Peterson family often talked about it. That was why, even when his mother did something wrong, he would beg her but never take any drastic action.
When Elissa left him, he didn't plan on getting her pregnant to keep her with him. Especially after seeing Hope give birth, he knew how tough it was. Elissa had clearly expressed her desire not to have children. But accidents happened.
Seeing Elissa pale and suffering from nausea, he felt helpless. His hands clenched tightly, veins bulging on his forearms.
Elissa noticed his distress and tried to comfort him after rinsing her mouth. But as she straightened up, she saw him rush to the toilet and vomit.
Thinking he had a stomach issue, she quickly called Felix to take him to the hospital. But the tests showed nothing wrong. Despite being unconscious for a while, he had been on IV nutrition, and his health was generally good. His stomach issues wouldn't flare up unless he drank excessively or ate something irritating, and it wouldn't be this severe.
Yet Francis's vomiting was more intense than her pregnancy nausea.
It didn't seem like he was healthy at all.
She contacted Coralie.
After hearing her description, Coralie chuckled. Elissa felt she was almost enjoying this.
Coralie chuckled, "Isn't it great? He's vomiting for you, so you can feel better."
Elissa was stunned.
She hadn't felt uncomfortable while taking Francis to the doctor, thinking it was because she hadn't eaten much.
"Ms. Bishop, are you joking? How can he vomit instead of me?"
Coralie explained, "It's possible. If a husband is overly worried about his wife and stressed about her pregnancy, especially with your severe nausea, it's normal for him to experience this."
Elissa didn't understand, but she trusted the doctor.
She asked, "Is there any way to alleviate this?"
"No, it's caused by his feelings for you. I can't treat that."
Elissa thanked her and considered finding a psychologist.
Francis stopped her. "No need. I felt bad for not being able to do anything for you. Now, it's okay. I can handle the discomfort as long as you're not nauseous."
Elissa frowned slightly. "But seeing you like this makes me feel bad too."
"I feel worse seeing you suffer."
"But I..."
"No matter what you say, I feel a thousand times worse."
This conversation was going nowhere.
Elissa pondered all the way home and suddenly had an epiphany. "Did you study parenting while I was asleep?"
Otherwise, why would he smoke so much?
He usually only smoked one or two occasionally.
Only when he was really stressed did he smoke excessively.
Francis asked her, "Are you hungry?"
Elissa swallowed, "Maybe not... We still have to take Anne out for a late-night snack."
"That's still a while away. They won't land for another two and a half hours."
"Then... how about some noodles?"
Francis, despite his upset stomach, relaxed his expression, "What kind of noodles?"
"Instant noodles."
Before sending someone to buy them, Francis still asked.
After all, it was junk food.
Coralie, annoyed by their constant questions, gave Francis a list with notes.
"The most important thing is the mood of the pregnant woman. The first three months are unstable, so avoid any stress."
"If she really wants to eat something, let her have a little. Don't upset her."
"Lastly, I'm very busy. You can ask any regular OB-GYN these questions. Mr. Peterson, with your resources, you must know some top professionals. Goodbye!"
Alright then.
At least Francis got the answers he needed.
Felix came back with a variety of instant noodles.
Francis let Elissa choose.
Elissa picked the seafood flavor, which she didn't particularly like.
Francis went to cook it, adding a soft-boiled egg and some vegetables.
Elissa couldn't wait and came over, adding a sausage.
She grinned, "Instant noodles aren't complete without sausage."
Francis was helpless but doting. "You can have it, but not too much. Just to satisfy your craving, as Ms. Bishop said."
Elissa leaned in to smell it. "Smells so good."
Francis's worries were unnecessary; she only took a few bites before losing interest. He ate the rest.
Elissa waited for him to finish rinsing his mouth and peeled an orange for him, "Try this, see if it helps?"
Francis ate the orange from her hand.
It was so sour it made his teeth ache.
But it did help a little.
Elissa poured him some water. "You don't have to take care of me. I can do it myself."
Francis replied, "Well, I can do things myself too."
Elissa retorted, "Why do you always do everything for me?"
Francis replied, "It's different. You're pregnant. I'm just throwing up a bit."
He still drank the water, since she poured it.
Elissa had been through it before.
Constant vomiting without anything coming up was a terrible feeling.
His voice was hoarse, showing how bad it was.
It might damage his throat.
"Maybe you should see a therapist."
"No need. Coralie said it would get better after you give birth."
Elissa counted on her fingers. "I'm just over a month in. We still have about nine months to go. If you keep throwing up, you'll lose your voice."
Francis hugged her, asking softly, "If I lose my voice, will you still love me?"
Elissa patted his head and teased, "You're almost like a mute already."
Francis nuzzled her neck, and Elissa ruffled his hair. "Your hair's gotten long. You could almost tie it up."
Francis immediately let go. "I just remembered, I have a work call. You go ahead and play."
Elissa laughed, "You're just afraid I'll tie your hair up."
Francis didn't stop, heading out the door.
If Jerry and the others saw a picture of him with tied-up hair, it would be too embarrassing.
Elissa was just trying to distract him.
When he was with her, he was more anxious.
She sat on the couch and picked up her phone, seeing a message from Anne.
Anne: [Just landed]
Elissa checked the time and replied: [Check into the hotel first. I'll pick you up soon]
Anne: [OK]
Elissa messaged Hope: [Do you need a ride?]
Hope replied after a while: [Give me the address. We'll get there ourselves]
Anne hadn't mentioned where to eat yet, so Elissa went to find Francis.
But when she opened the door, he wasn't on the phone.
Felix was eating noodles. He had bought a cup for himself too, adding three sausages. He found it delicious.
Felix paused mid-bite when he noticed Elissa, trying to swallow quickly before speaking, "Mr. Wilson, Mr. Francis Peterson went out for a bit. He said to let you know if you were looking for him."
Elissa closed the door and went back inside.
She had a good idea of what Francis was doing.
Sure enough, when he returned, his hair was neatly cut.
Elissa gave him a sideways glance.
Francis smiled and took her hand, trying to be endearing.
Elissa put on her coat.
Francis's face changed, panicking, "Don't go... How about this, I'll grow my hair out and let you tie it up..."
Elissa burst out laughing, tears streaming down her face.
Francis pursed his lips, looking helpless.
It took a while for her to stop laughing.
She said, "I'm going out for a late-night snack. Forgot about that, didn't you!"
Francis bent down to help her with her shoes.
Elissa thought he was making a big deal out of it. "I can do it myself now."
"Why?" he asked, "I'm here, why not let me?"
"Don't you see me as your husband?"
Elissa smiled and gave in.
At the hospital.
Rainey listened to Teddy's report.
Hearing that Francis came to see a doctor, she got anxious. "I knew that woman was bad luck. Ever since Francis got with her, he's been plagued with all sorts of misfortunes and illnesses."
Jacob hesitated, "Francis came because of morning sickness?"
"What?" Rainey couldn't believe her ears. "Does that even make sense?"
Teddy confirmed, "It does."
Rainey was speechless.
Teddy explained, "I consulted an expert. This situation is rare but can happen. If a husband loves his wife very much, seeing her suffer during pregnancy can trigger a sympathetic reaction."
Rainey felt like her ears were buzzing.
It took a while for her to recover, then she sneered, "He's such a good husband. I nearly died giving birth to him, and he never showed any gratitude. He's always opposing me."
Elysia suddenly spoke up, "He didn't show gratitude? Think about how he treats others. If anyone bullied Elissa, he'd deal with them without a word. Besides, you decided to have him—we can't keep holding that over him."
Rainey clenched the blanket. "Mom, why don't you seem to be on my side anymore?"
Jacob held Rainey's shoulder. "You're upset. Rest and don't get angry."
Rainey sneered, "You just don't want me to fight with your mom. What can I rely on you for?"
Jacob retorted, "What do you want me to do?"
Rainey snapped, "I told you to be decisive, but you wanted to wait. Now I'm the bad guy, and you've all accepted it." She then pushed Jacob hard. "If you accept Elissa marrying Francis, then let's get divorced."
Jacob's face darkened. "Don't talk nonsense!"
After so many years of shared interests, their relationship wasn't just a business alliance; there were feelings too.
Jacob added, "I don't want her to marry Francis."
Rainey turned away from him.
Jacob looked at Elysia.
Elysia fiddled with her prayer beads before speaking, "Getting angry won't help. Francis marrying her is beyond our control. You should think it through. Divorce isn't the best outcome for you or your family."
Wesley, who rarely spoke since Francis took over, finally said, "If you get too angry, you'll just give them what they want."
Rainey calmed down immediately. "But I still don't agree. As long as I'm alive, I'll stop them from getting married. I have Francis's passport. They can't register."
Teddy smiled. "Mrs. Peterson, a passport is no longer required for marriage registration."
"What?" Rainey was stunned.
"Mr. Peterson should know." Jacob said, "It's true, but if they register in Maple Valley, I'll get notified."
Teddy maintained a fake smile. "If Mr. Peterson wants to avoid you, registering elsewhere isn't hard. After all, Maple Valley isn't the only place to register."
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