Forced Marriage: My Wife, My Redemption-Chapter 228: Top priority...

"Boom!" It was like a detonation in Davis’s head. The floor beneath him seemed to dip, his vision tilted. His hand trembled lightly, his eyes widening as the words continued to echo in his ears. Yet, one word resonated drowning out everything else.

"Pregnant."

It felt foreign and unfamiliar as it struck him like a thunderclap tearing through a calm sky, the sound of lightning slicing across his thoughts.

For a moment, he stood frozen, rooted to the spot,—paralyzed, staring, breath shallow, lips parted but unable to form words.

Jessica, watching his stunned silence, felt her heart race with growing trepidation. His reaction was far from what she had imagined. She didn’t know whether to fear it or brace for impact. She didn’t want to imagine his next action. She feared what he might say. freewebnσvel.cѳm

She stared at the man who had just moments ago been full of life, now turned to stone by a single sentence. Under any other circumstance, it might have been amusing. But not now. Not with something so life-altering. Perhaps she’d laugh about it later—but not now.

As Davis remained silent, unmoving, just staring at her, her nerves which had only just begun to settle after she worked hard to calm them frayed all over again.

Her pulse jumped violently. Her heart thudded in her chest, loud and fast, threatening to burst free. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She slid toward the edge of the bed and stood up slowly. His body remained still, but his eyes followed her, silently. Tentatively, she reached out and took his hand in hers, her fingers caressing the back of his palm.

"Dav, can you say something? You’re scaring me." Her voice was barely above a whisper, as if she were mumbling to herself.

Davis withdrew his gaze on her briefly as his eyes landed instead on the pregnancy test strips she’d left on the bed—their red lines glaring back at them as if daring anyone to question their truth.

Like a robot, he turned his head toward her. His lips parted, but no words came. Emotion clamped tightly around his throat.

Jessica let out a long sigh. She had been shocked when she first discovered it, but compared to Davis, she realized she had been too calm. But now she wasn’t so sure if she was right.

"Hubby, did you hear what I said?" she asked again, her tone gentle and her voice steadier now.

Davis nodded slowly. Then, without a word, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Jessica gasped, her eyes wide, caught completely off guard. She froze, unsure where to place her hands, stunned by the sudden closeness. His arms tightened around her, almost desperate, as though he wanted to fuse her into his very being.

She struggled for breath. "Dav... I can’t breathe," she whispered.

But then she heard him murmur, voice shaky and thick with emotion, "Baby, thank you. I’m proud of you."

Jessica pulled back, blinking rapidly. "Did you just say ’thank you’?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

His smile answered her, soft and sincere, before he pulled her into another embrace and kissed her forehead gently.

"Yes," he said. "I’m really grateful... for everything."

Jessica stared at him, speechless. She had prepared herself for rejection, confusion, denial even for anger—but not this. Not gratitude.

Davis slowly released her, gazing at her with awe, as though seeing her for the first time. Then he guided her gently to sit on the bed, crouching before her, his eyes searching her face as if trying to imprint it in his heart for a memento.

She remained quiet. Her emotions were all tangled together, too complex to put into words.

Taking a deep breath, "I didn’t think I’d ever hear those words," he said quietly. "To think that in such a short time, I’d be called a father..."

Jessica swallowed hard and overwhelmed. "So...Do... does that mean you’re not angry?" she stammered.

Davis shook his head, firm and resolute. "Angry? How could I be angry when you’ve just given me a reason to lift my head high again? Angry? When I had just been handed a miracle?" He asked in a whisper.

His thoughts drifted to Desmond’s mocking words from not long ago: "Getting a wife is the best you can do now, considering your condition. People like you don’t always perform. Your wife will be nothing more than a decorative vase. But at least she can take care of you. Why not cherish her?"

That day, Davis had clenched his jaw and said nothing yet had burned with anger. The sting of those words bit deep but he couldn’t entirely deny it because back then, a part of him had feared they might be true.

After the accident, that part of him had been dead or so he thought. Even hope. But in just a few short weeks of being with Jessica, things had changed. She had awakened something in him again.

He hadn’t told her, but the first time she kissed him, it had shaken him. He responded just to test if his body still could or if truly he had lost everything. But gradually, the connection grew stronger. Still, he never dared dream of this.

But now, this. Proof. Life.

"How could I be angry," he said softly, "when you’ve just shown the world how capable I am? When you’ve given people one less reason to mock me?"

Jessica’s eyes flicked toward the test strips again, her breath releasing in a soft sigh, almost laughing with relief.Maybe this wasn’t as bad as she feared. "But I mean... I only used test strips. What if it’s not real?" She murmured. "It might not be accurate..."

Davis raised a brow, amused. "Really? A doctor doubts the result of three consecutive positive strips?" His tone was laced with teasing mischief.

Jessica didn’t respond. Why was she doubting it? Was it fear? Shock? Disbelief? Or a cautious hope?

Seeing the conflict play across her face, Davis smiled. "Alright, no more overthinking. We’ll go to the hospital tomorrow morning for confirmation."

Jessica shook her head quickly. "I can’t. I have an interview to conduct with Ethan tomorrow."

Davis tilted his head and gave her a look, "Madam, do you realize you’re not allowed to do everything like before?"

Jessica blinked. Had she just... placed a limitation on herself?

"Let’s postpone the hospital visit then," he said gently, brushing hair from her face.

"But you have to eat since you haven’t had any meal due to nausea. Also, from now on, everything you take in has to be good for you and the baby. That’s our top priority."