Chasing His Rejected Wife

Aiden

Jessica must have sensed my distress because she stirred and looked at me worried. "Is something wrong?"

"You're running a slight temperature," I replied, smoothing away the frown on my face so as not to distress her further. "And you're shivering as well, it could be a fever."

"What? No, I..." She brought a hand to her forehead to confirm. "I don't feel anything and it's cold in the cabin, a huge difference from the heat outside, that's why I'm cold. It can't possibly be a fever, I feel fine, just a little tired after the stressful day."

I couldn't help a fleeting indulgent smile as she tried to feel her forehead again. "Your entire body is warm, so you can't tell if you're hotter than usual." I paused to adjust the edges of the blanket that had slid off when she moved. "Yeah, you're tired and hungry, but I don't like the symptoms I'm seeing. I want to have you checked out by a doctor before we take off."

She gaped at me like I had just said something absurd. "A doctor? Like right now? That'll take ages and delay our flight."

I shrugged nonchalantly, already pulling out my phone while I motioned to the attendant. "Then it's delayed. I'm not about to take any chances with your health."

The attendant approached, a ready smile on her face. "Sir?"

"Tell the pilot to hold on with the takeoff procedure," I instructed briskly, opening a map app to look up nearby hospitals.

"Aiden, wait." Jessica reached out and placed a hand hesitantly on my elbow, the touch enough to make me lose track of what I was doing. When I looked down at her, she had a quiet pleading look in her eyes. "Please, there's no need for all that. It's only a couple of hours to New York, we can stop by the hospital when we arrive."

I hesitated, unwilling to take any risks. I'd done enough reading and research to know that fever during pregnancy wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially with a high-risk pregnancy like ours. Plus, What if things got worse while we were in the air and far from able to make an emergency landing? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Jessica while she was in my care.

Jessica noticed my hesitation and added, "I have some mild Tylenol in my purse, that should help keep the fever down for a while. I'll be alright, it's probably just my brain signaling me to rest and eat something." The pilot approached at that moment, looking puzzled. "Is there a problem, Sir?"

I felt Jess tug at my elbow again, silently pleading and I caved in. "No, I just wanted to know how soon we can be on our way."

The pilot's face cleared at that. "We've just gotten the all-clear from the tower, so in the next couple of minutes, five tops."

"And what's our ETA?"

"We have clear skies all the way, so I would say about five hours from now, barring any unforeseen delays."

I nodded brusquely, then glanced once more at Jess. She met my eyes with that same pleading look that I was fast becoming weak to, so I glanced away, my pulse running just a little faster than normal. "See if we can cut it down, we need to be in New York sooner."

The man looked surprised at that but merely nodded. "I'll see what we can do. If that's all?"

Jessica let out an audible sigh of relief and settled back in the seat. I turned to help her get comfortable, dismissing the pilot with a wave of my hand.

"Thank you," Jessica said softly as I tucked the blanket around her once more. "And I'm sorry to trouble you."

I shook my head, my heart-wrenching at the sadness in her tone. I raised my eyes to meet hers, so she could see the sincerity of my next words. "There's no need for gratitude or apologies between us, especially from you. You did nothing wrong, you owe me nothing, not now, and certainly not for anything that transpired in the past.”

Her eyes fell as she studied her hands resting on her lap. "How can you say that, Aiden? I owe you a huge apology for letting my selfishness dictate your life. If... if...I hadn't forced myself on you, you and Elisa would have been together..." Dammit! I had never wanted to punish myself for the decisions I'd made in the past than I did at this moment, confronted with the evidence of how much damage my actions had inflicted on my wife. The misery, pain, and grief she had been harboring inside bled out like a freshly inflicted wound.

The cabin hummed with the distant sound of the plane's engines as Jessica's words hung in the air, a heavy weight between us. I took a deep breath, the tension in my chest tightening. Regret gnawed at me, but I couldn't change the past. All I could do now was be there for Jessica and make amends in whatever way I could and that included being open and honest.

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But was now a good time to tell her about Elisa and I? I took one look at her and decided to wait until she was better.

"Jessica," I began, my voice steady despite the storm of emotions inside me. "I'm going to be completely honest. There are still a few important things I'm yet to tell you, but because of your fragile state, I'll hold off until you're feeling better..."

She started to protest but I held out a hand, palm up. "It's only until you've been looked over by a doctor and gotten some sleep and rest. I give you my word. I don't want to overwhelm you too much, not while you're like this." Head tilted to one side, she studied me and I could read the doubt and fear etched deeply in her eyes and it amplified my guilt. "Aiden..."

The pilot's voice came on the overhead speakers announcing intent to begin take off. I sighed, torn between relief and trepidation, settled the seat next to Jess, and strapped in. Beside me, Jessica was distracted as she followed suit, but soon I felt her watching me again.

Fortunately, she was soon distracted again as went airborne, and soon after, the attendant served the meal and I fussed over Jess, making sure she ate enough, then took the Tylenol. She kept giving me those searching looks throughout but otherwise didn't pry further, though I could sense her withdrawing back into herself, talking less and less until we both went silent, each lost to their own thoughts.

I could tell she was mentally and emotionally bracing herself for another bout of bad news and I was bracing myself to be the deliverer of said bad news.

******

It was way past midnight when Martin pulled up in front of Jessica's apartment. I looked towards Jess, fast asleep, oblivious to everything. I was reluctant to wake her up, having spent the past four hours since arriving in the hospital, first checked out by Vincent, who I'd called to meet us at White Memorial, and then Dr. Strand. Both of them had chastised Jessica for putting herself through so much stress as to endanger her health and Dr. Strand had recommended a three-day bed rest in the hospital.

Jess, however, hadn't wanted to spend the night there and had managed to persuade Dr. Strand to let her go home and come back in the morning. The doctor had agreed on the assurance that she didn't stay alone. So, I offered to stay with her.

Just for the night. And this time, I would remain firmly on the couch.

Martin got out and went to deal with our luggage in the trunk while I leaned over and gently smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen across her face, then gave in to temptation and lightly combed my fingers through the silky waves, a faint scent of citrus wafting in the air.

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"Shall I wake her up, Sir?" Martin's face appeared at Jess' window.

"No," I replied, my voice soft and low. "Open the door, I'll carry her inside." I opened my door as I spoke and climbed out, going round to the other side.

"Yes, sir." Martin nodded briskly and opened the door, admitting the smells of the city as I carefully lifted her into my arms.

Jessica stirred and mumbled something unintelligible, but didn't wake up, her head falling onto my chest. I cradled her close to my body, taking care to ensure she was comfortable then headed into the building, with Martin leading the way. At her door, I realized we needed her keycard and passcode. "Find her keys. It should be in her purse."

While Martin searched for the key, I tried to wake Jess up. Jostling her as gently as I could, I murmured, "Hey, we're at your place. Can you wake up? I need your code."

A frown creased her forehead and she moved restlessly against me, snuggled closer to bury her face into my jacket, one hand grabbing hold of my collar as she went right back to sleep.

I braced myself on the wall and tried again, this time, I brought my mouth close to her ear, the soft skin brushing against my lips. It sent a bolt of desire through me and I tamped down the urge to run my lips over the delicate part. "Baby," I whispered into her ear, "wake up."

A small shiver ran down her spine in response but she didn't pull away, rather arched into the point of contact, as a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"No code...keys" she mumbled sleepily. I frowned at this answer, unhappy to know she'd neglected to secure her apartment despite the upgraded security system I'd installed. I made a mental note to talk about this later when she was fully awake, then motioned to Martin, who had thankfully found the keys, to open the door.

I carried her into the bedroom and placed her in bed, then stood, contemplating if I should leave her like this or try to make her a bit more comfortable.

I hesitated because to do that, I would have to undress her, and I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. What if she woke up while I was doing it and got the wrong idea?