Marie intended to exchange pleasantries with the couple, but as she watched Estre dash to the
restroom with a hand mped over her mouth, she hurried after her in a
fluster.
“What’s the matter, Ms. Estre?” Marie asked, just as Estre retched, suggesting, “Maybe it’s food
poisoning!” No sooner had she spoken than she was bent over the toilet,
vomiting.
Jason soon appeared with a ss of warm water. After Estre rinsed her mouth, she felt a smidgeon
better.
Jason was at her side, gently rubbing her back while Marie muttered, “The grub from outside just ain’t
reliable. We should have Mr. Lee deliver lunch to you guys.”
Estre managed to nod in agreement, attempting to stand, only to be hit with another wave of nausea.
As Estre staggered back to the toilet, Marie’s eyes sparkled with realization. Shel nced at Jason,
then back at Estre, her mind racing. Mr. Jason had been around more oftentely, and the lovebirds
seemed pretty cozy, often all lovey-dovey in front of
others.
Connecting the dots, Marie asked with a hint of excitement, “Ms. Estre, are you by any chance
expecting?”
The question caught both Jason and Estre off guard.
After a recent all-clear from the doctor and a previous bout with food poisoning, pregnancy was thest
thing on Estre’s mind. Given her rtionship with Jason, it wasn’t something she had considered
likely.
Jason, momentarily stunned, turned to Estre. He had assumed it was just a stomach bug, having no
prior experience and never having yed the role of a dad. Watching Estre, Jason’s grip on her arm
unconsciously tightened, his gaze filled with unspoken.
concern.
Estre, half-amused, reminded him, “Jason, you’re hurting my hand.” Upon her words, Jason quickly
let go.
Marie couldn’t help butugh. “Mr. Jason is just over the moon at the thought of bing a daddy,”
she teased. “I’m pretty sure this is it. I’ll apany Ms. Estre to the clinic tomorrow to check.”
Without hesitation, Jason blurted out, “I’ll take Estre.”
Marie’s smile widened. “If you can take Ms. Estre, that would be perfect.
Congrattions to you both,” she said, offering her support to Estre’s other arm.
10:40
Jason, noticing Estre’s pallor, asked, “Are you feeling unwell anywhere else?”
“Just a bit nauseous,” Estre replied.
“That settles it then. You’re definitely pregnant,” Marie concluded confidently. Hearing this, Jason held
Estre even closer as if afraid she might fall or stumble.
Back in their room, Estre noticed that Jason wouldn’t let her do anything, even something as simple
as fetching clothes from the wardrobe. He insisted on doing it for
her.
When it came time for her shower, Jason insisted on joining her, citing his worry that she might slip and
fall alone.
Estre, finding it impossible to argue, reluctantly agreed to let him help her bathe. She found it
amusing that Jason had be uncharacteristically anxious since Marie’s pregnancy suggestion. She
had known him for years and had never seen him so on edge, so careful with her as he was now, even
while helping her bathe.
After her shower, Estre sat at herputer desk, and Jason’s mood darkened. “Who said you could
turn on theputer? Get back to bed, now.”
Feeling a mix of amusement and frustration, Estre turned to him. “Jason, we don’t even know for
sure what’s going on. Don’t be so tense. Besides, even if I am pregnant, working women still go to their
jobs.”
“You are my wife,” Jason stated firmly.
His deration of “my wife” silenced Estre.
Then, Jason approached and, with a tenderness she wasn’t ustomed to, lifted her from the chair as
if she were a precious gem and ced her gently on the bed.
As he tucked her in and brought her a warm ss of milk, Estre reminisced about the time she fell ill
in eighth grade. Jason had watched over her for 72 hours. He did not leave her side except for
bathroom breaks, and he even missed school to care for her.
As she watched him fussing over her, Estre teased, “Jason, you’re making me feel guilty. If I’m not
pregnant, I’ll feel like I’ve let you down, let down the entire Nelson family ancestry.” Jason, normally so
self-assured, was attending to Estre’s every need, and it made her feel guilty.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reassured her, “If you’re not, then you’re not. It’ll happen eventually.”
She smiled at his words. “I thought you didn’t want kids.” After nearly three years of marriage, his rare
visits home, his avoidance of her touch, and his secretive contraception use had convinced her that
Jason never wanted to be a father.
The room fell into afortable silence as Jason stroked her face gently, “I never said!
didn’t want kids.”
10 40
Jason had just finished speaking when Estre turned to face him and said, “Jason, I need to discuss
something with you.”
“What is it?” Jason asked, his tone open and approachable.
Estre’s hand emerged from theforter, reaching out to gently sp his. “My court date is next
Monday, and I was thinking of postponing the hospital check-up until after this whole Lexi case is
wrapped up.”
The uing trial was weighing heavily on Estre’s mind, and thest thing she wanted was an
additional distraction. Plus, she knew that if the pregnancy test came back positive, Jason would
probably insist on her taking leave from work immediately.
She also preferred to handle the hospital visit on her own, without Jason’spany.
Predictably, Jason was not on board with her n. “No, we’re going to get that check-up
done tomorrow.”
“Okay, okay, we’ll do the check-up tomorrow,” Estre conceded, not one to pick unnecessary fights.
She snuggled deeper into the covers and closed her eyes, signaling her intention to sleep.
“You haven’t finished your milk,” Jason reminded her.
“You drink it,” Estre replied, her voice muffled by the nket.
This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.
“Estre,” Jason said, his hand sneaking under the covers.
Estre had always been ticklish, a vulnerability Jason was well aware of. So the moment his hand
crept in, she wriggled out of bed like a startled rabbit,ughter, and protest mingling in the cozy twilight
of their room.