Yarick felt depressed because he was being blamed.
However, he genuinely thought that it was delicious.
Clarissa did take a bite of the barbeque meat before she threw up.
What followed next was utter chaos. Matthew carried Clarissa inside and even called for a doctor. He became a nervous wreck as if something terrible had happened.
Yarick was shocked. Matthew’s reaction made it look like he had poisoned the food.
He quickly explained. “I didn’t do anything. It’s just grilled meat, and nothing else was added yet…”
When they saw how anxious Yarick was, everyone else couldn’t resist laughing.
Feeling exasperated, Yarick grabbed Jeremy’s collar and threatened, “What are you laughing at? What?”
Pushing him away, Jeremy replied with a smile, “Yarick, can you stop making a fool of yourself? This has nothing to do with you. It’s just Clarissa’s stomach acting up.”
“What do you mean her stomach? That…”
Suddenly, Yarick froze when the answer dawned upon him.
He roared, “Damn it! Clarissa’s pregnant? Sigh, why didn’t Matt tell me? I was all worked up for nothing. It’s wonderful news after all.”
“Don’t be stupid. The baby is still in its first trimester.”
“So why can’t he share it?”
Everyone rolled their eyes.
Having learned his lesson, Yarick tsk-tsked before concluding, “Matt, well done!”
“Haha…”
Ellie couldn’t help but laugh, causing everyone else to join her. They were simply amused by Yarick’s antics.
Meanwhile, Clarissa’s morning sickness was triggered, and she was unable to stop vomiting.
Everything she ate was thrown out. Any strong smells in the house would generate a similar reaction, be it detergent, shampoo, body wash…
She couldn’t tolerate any fragrance at all, including those from food.
Even if the food was tasteless, she would also puke.
Every day, Matthew would watch her go through the same routine. He was shocked as to how torturous it was to bear a child.
In fact, he couldn’t imagine the extent of how painful it could be.
Regardless of how much time he spent on theory, nothing could beat the stimulation of the actual experience.
Once again, Clarissa puked till she almost lost consciousness. Without any strength left, Matthew quickly hugged her in support.
With his eyes reddened, Matthew could hardly hold back his tears when he saw how much she was suffering.
Holding her tightly, he fed her some water. After he put down the cup, she was already asleep in his arms.
Even then, her brows were knitted as if she was still in discomfort.
Matthew kissed her on her forehead, sympathizing and feeling heartbroken at the same time.
Perhaps, she can only get some proper rest in her sleep.
Given the circumstances, he sought help from all sorts of doctors. Unfortunately, no one could provide him with a solution for morning sickness.
Everyone reassured him that it was normal. Once Clarissa got through the period, she would be fine. However, no one knew how long it would last would be.
However, Matthew no longer had the patience to see her suffer for another day.
In fact, when he saw how she hugged him while crying in discomfort the other day, he had the urge to abort the child instead.
Unfortunately, aborting the child would cause greater damage to her health.
Hence, Matthew regretted ever wanting a second child.
He felt that he should have been the one to suffer.
Usually, mornings were the worst for Clarissa. She would puke the moment she woke up. During meals, she would vomit a few more times. After meals, she would continue to throw up. If there was nothing to stimulate her, she would largely be fine for the rest of the day. At night, she would go to bed early to avoid any discomfort.
One morning, she suddenly felt nauseous the moment she opened her eyes. Out of habit, she got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Matthew quickly carried her as he was well trained by now. Inside the bathroom, she threw up…
Blaargh…
Just when Clarissa was retching, she suddenly heard sounds of barfing beside her.
Stunned, she turned and saw Matthew retching at the same time. He looked miserable and seemed to be suffering. In fact, he didn’t appear to be pretending at all.
Staring at him in shock, she felt her nausea disappear.
“Hubby, a-are you alright? Is there something wrong with your stomach?”
Matthew felt terrible after vomiting. His stomach churned while his throat was contracting, making him nauseous.
Waving his hands, he smiled at Clarissa to reassure her.
“I’m fine. Are you not feeling well? Wait for a while. Stay here while I pour you a cup of water. I… blaargh…”
Before he could finish, Matthew continued puking.
Half an hour later…
Matthew and Clarissa were both slumped on the sofa, feeling drained and miserable.
Looking at Clarissa, he noticed that some color had returned to her face even though she still looked pale.
The doctor smiled at them both. “Couvade… in other words, Mr. Tyson is… erm, hehe… pregnant…”
While Clarissa was stunned by the doctor’s words, Matthew’s expression darkened.
Snort…
The moment she snickered, Clarissa quickly covered her mouth. She then gave Matthew a comforting smile.
“I understand that you’re worried about me, Hubby. It’s all for my sake. I’m not laughing at you, really… I know… snort…”
Despite what she said, Clarissa couldn’t suppress her snicker.
And then, she simply burst into unrestrained laughter.
Feeling awkward, the doctor hurried away after leaving them some instructions.
As for Matthew, he continued vomiting till he was seeing stars.
Instead, Clarissa was feeling a lot better. Enjoying a fruit platter, she comforted Matthew when she saw how sickly he looked. After that, she called everyone to share the hilarious development.
“Hahaha… Uncle Matt, congratulations on getting pregnant.”
“Hahaha… Congratulations, Matt, looks like you hit the jackpot!”
Within a few days, many of their friends came over to gloat by congratulating Matthew on his “pregnancy”.
As for Clarissa, her morning sickness was gone after being shocked by Matthew.
While she feeling better, Matthew was losing a lot of weight instead.
Consequently, he had to take some time off from work.
Meanwhile, Donnie had to keep the secret. There was no way he could tell the staff that the president was “pregnant” and on maternity leave.
Obviously, he was equally amused. Nevertheless, he had to draw on his amazing acting skills to act normally in front of Matthew.
With that, Matthew began his “maternity leave”.
Every morning, Clarissa was woken up by the sound of Matthew’s retching. She would enjoy delicious food while watching him suffer from drinking a glass of water. In the evenings, he would endure his discomfort while reading to her…
Hence, Clarissa appreciated everything he had done.
At night, she put her arms around him and stroked his chest to give him comfort.
“Hubby, the doctor told us that the cause is psychological. You must have been too stressed out by my condition. Hence, you have to calm down and not worry too much. Look, have I not fully recovered? So, you have to get well soon. Even if you carry the baby on my behalf, I will feel bad too.”
Matthew replied softly. “Mmm-hmm. I should be well soon. The doctor said that it usually lasts three months. I expect to recover very soon.”
Reaching out to stroke his face, Clarissa could feel that his cheeks had sunken in.
“You have lost weight.”
Moving her hand down, she realized that his six-pack was gone.
“Even here. At this rate, you won’t look as attractive anymore…”
She continued moving her hands down…
When Matthew froze suddenly, she giggled. “Can this slim down too?”
Matthew’s gaze darkened as he grabbed onto her cheeky hand.
He warned her with a raspy voice, “Stop fooling around.”
Clarissa snorted. “I’m being serious. You should stop losing weight. It’s bad for you and it makes me feel terrible. Furthermore, it would be troublesome if your manhood slims down too.”
She maintained a straight face throughout.
Taking a deep breath, Matthew grabbed her hand and hugged her tight.
“If not for the fact that we can’t make love, I really do want you to check out if I have really lost weight down there.”
“In that case, you should recover as soon as possible.”
Matthew grunted in acknowledgment. “Sure, I’ll try my best.”
Despite his promise, it would still be some time before Matthew’s torture would end.
Meanwhile, Ellie came by with Shawn to report that Hilary’s murder was solved. And that was when Matthew’s reputation was ruined in front of Shawn.
The situation was made worse by Ryler’s arrival. He too saw Matthew in his condition.
When Ryler couldn’t hide his amusement, Matthew simply let it slide.
“Zach is the murderer.”
Ellie sneered, “I had assumed it was Shermaine.”
Clarissa furrowed her eyebrows.
“The motive?”
“Hilary had evidence of Zach’s wrongdoings, which included tax evasion. She used it to blackmail Zach into transferring the shares of the company to her. In a fit of rage, he strangled her to death. After that, he made it look like she committed suicide and refused an autopsy, hoping to cover up the matter. However, there is no escape for the guilty.”
After a long silence, Clarissa sighed.
She didn’t want to hear about the details.
Regaining her composure, she said to Ellie, “Justice doesn’t serve itself. Shawn has been amazing, don’t you think?”
Squirming her lips, Ellie replied, “Well, you could say that.”
Everyone laughed in response.
After Ellie and Shawn had left Zen Highlands, Ellie was still upset.
“Even if Shermaine didn’t kill anyone, doesn’t she bear some responsibility? I’m pissed that she misled your investigations on purpose and even refused to admit it. Can you arrest her and charge her with something?”
Ellie felt indignant over Shermaine’s behavior.
Although it was obvious to them, there was nothing much they could do about it. Hence, Ellie didn’t see the need to tell Clarissa.
After all, knowing about it would only intensify her anger.
