The room had gone quiet, save for the soft, rhythmic beep of the monitor beside the bed. White walls glead under the fluorescent lights, the sterile air of the hospital carrying a strange weight as though it, too, was holding its breath.
Roman sat hunched on the edge of the chair beside Tessy’s hospital bed, elbows resting on his thighs, hands loosely clasped. His tall fra looked strained, as if he was carrying more than just a physical weight. His usual commanding presence had dimd under the tension of not knowing what was wrong with his beloved.
He reached forward and brushed the back of his hand across her forehead again. His brows creased deeper as he felt the heat against her skin—she was still burning up.
Despite the dication the doctors had administered, her fever hadn’t subsided in the slightest. Her face was pale, strands of her damp hair sticking to her forehead, her lips slightly parted as she breathed shallowly. She looked as though she were sowhere far away, lost in a place he couldn’t reach.
The door gave a light knock.
Roman didn’t answer imdiately—his eyes were still fixed on Tessy, unwilling to pull away. Then ca a voice from outside, clear and tinged with urgency.
"Boss! Sir, Williams is on the phone and he wants to speak with you," Daniel announced, his tone pitched with importance.
Roman’s gaze didn’t flinch from Tessy’s face. His hand found hers on the bed, fingers gently curling around her smaller, cooler ones. His voice, when it ca, was low and firm.
"Tell him to make his way here without wasting any ti."
Daniel didn’t bother pushing the issue further. From the other side of the door, Roman heard the quiet shuffle of movent and then Daniel’s voice again, this ti speaking into the phone, relaying Roman’s order to Williams.
Roman sat back, but only slightly. His eyes never left Tessy. Sothing didn’t sit right with him, and the feeling had settled into his chest like a boulder. He wasn’t a dical expert, but this wasn’t just a typical fever. He could sense it in his bones—sothing more sinister, more complex, sothing... otherworldly. He just wasn’t sure.
And if there was anyone who could possibly understand or even begin to unravel this mystery, it was Williams.
Ti stretched thin. The hour that followed dragged like wet cloth. Roman stayed rooted to the spot, unmoving except for the occasional glance at the monitor beside the bed. The soft beeping was just another reassurance he had that she was still fighting, still alive. Her heartbeat in his ears was doing a perfect job.
When the knock finally ca, it was quieter this ti. asured. Almost hesitant.
"Co in," Roman said without turning.
The door eased open and Williams stepped inside. His steps were slow, deliberate. The mont he entered, he paused at the doorway. He took in the stillness—the too-quiet hum of dical machines, the way Roman sat beside the bed like a watchful guardian. Tessy lay beneath the white hospital sheets, her form still as glass.
Williams didn’t speak imdiately. He noticed how drawn Roman looked—his disheveled hair, the tight set of his jaw, the worry lurking in the corners of his eyes. It was rare to see Roman this way. Vulnerable.
"What’s going on, Ro?" Williams finally asked, voice low, breaking the silence.
Roman’s head slowly lifted, eyes eting Williams’. There was sothing dark there—confusion, worry, and a quiet, dangerous desperation.
"I should be asking you," Roman said, voice gravelly. "Tell , Liam... what is going on with my wife?"
Before Williams could respond, the door creaked again.
A doctor stepped in, his face calm, professional, a clipboard in hand. His white coat swayed slightly with his steps, and his clean-shaven face wore a polite smile.
"Good afternoon, gentlen," he greeted, his tone composed.
Roman sat upright at once, his posture stiffening like a soldier ready for orders. Williams took a step back and moved toward the window, arms folding across his chest, his gaze drifting out to the city beyond the glass.
"Yes?" Roman’s voice was sharp, cutting through the calm like a blade. The doctor hadn’t yet spoken another word, and the tension in the room was coiled tight.
The doctor quickly flipped through the file in his hand, clearly understanding the urgency pulsing from the two n in the room. "We ran all the necessary tests—her vitals are stable, no sign of trauma or infection. Nothing physically wrong."
Roman’s jaw tightened. The muscle there twitched. "Then what exactly is wrong with her? Why hasn’t she woken up yet?"
His tone held an edge, a rising panic that he could no longer suppress. The sterile words from the doctor weren’t enough. He needed sothing to hold on to. Sothing to reassure him Tessy would be alright.
The doctor gave a small, almost amused chuckle. "I think her body’s under mild stress, but that’s to be expected."
He looked up, and his smile grew.
"She’s three weeks pregnant."
Silence fell.
The words echoed around the room like a bell that refused to stop ringing.
Roman blinked. His mouth opened slightly, but nothing ca out for a mont. His eyes widened, then dropped to Tessy’s sleeping form. His lips parted again, and this ti a soft, breathless sound escaped him.
"Pregnant?"
He whispered the word aloud, not expecting an answer, still trying to absorb the shock. It ricocheted through his mind. He ran the numbers quickly, his mory flashing to their first encounter. That must be when it happened.
He was going to be a father.
Emotions crashed over him like a tide—shock, awe, confusion, joy. He didn’t know whether to leap from his chair or bury his head in his hands. Instead, he simply reached forward and wrapped his fingers gently around Tessy’s.
The doctor’s smile remained steady. "Congratulations. I assu you’re the father?"
Roman nodded slowly, almost dazed. "Yes... I am going to be a father."
His voice trembled slightly, disbelief laced into every word.
Williams, near the window, didn’t shift much. His usual unreadable expression remained firmly in place, but the slightest movent gave him away—the lift of a brow, the almost imperceptible curve of his lips. Behind his stoic eyes, though, flickered sothing raw.
Relief. And surprise.
He had done everything possible to get Roman to produce an heir—arranged won, matched him with powerful lineages, even introduced Saphira, who had gone as far as using magic. But none of it had worked. The curse was too deep. Roman had been unreachable, sealed off emotionally and magically from ever continuing his bloodline.
And now... this.
An heir, finally. At an unexpected ti and from an unexpected person. When he had all but abandoned hope, the universe had surprised him.
The doctor spoke again, flipping the file shut. "Everything looks good so far. No complications. She’s simply resting. She should wake up soon." He gave a polite nod. "We’ll check in on her later."
"Thank you," Roman murmured as the door clicked quietly behind the doctor.
For a long mont, neither man spoke.
The silence wasn’t empty—it was full. Full of disbelief, wonder, tension.
Then Williams broke it, his voice low, tinged with the smallest hint of smugness. "Congratulations. You finally decided to give us a baby. A legitimate one at that."
Roman glanced sideways at him, a small smile tugging at his lips, the first in hours. "You see why you didn’t have to go forcing Saphira and the others on ?" His voice was lighter, tinged with pride now. "I’m finally going to be a father. Get ready to be a good uncle."
Williams didn’t miss a beat. "Will you be a good uncle to my child?"
Roman’s smile widened slightly, the banter familiar between them. "You don’t have a child yet. When you get a wife, then we can start talking about that."
But then his expression sobered. He studied Williams carefully. "You look like you have sothing on your mind. What’s it?"
Williams turned slowly, stepping closer to the bed. His eyes were locked on Tessy now, the crease in his forehead deepening.
"She is pregnant alright," he began, voice even, "but that’s not the reason she is unconscious or hasn’t woken up."
Roman sat up straighter, alarm flashing in his eyes. "What do you an?"
Williams didn’t rush his words. His gaze remained steady on Tessy’s peaceful face. "There’s sothing else going on. Sothing the doctor can’t see."
He took another step forward, his voice dropping just slightly, now layered with a gravity that couldn’t be ignored.
"Your wife is currently in another dinsion, fighting for her life," he revealed, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. There was an invisible energy surrounding her that he also would have missed if he didn’t have the information he had already about her lineage.
Roman’s entire expression darkened. The light that had just begun to bloom in his eyes dimd again, worry and anger crashing back like a flood.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice low and threatening.
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