Chapter 56: Fever(1)

Janice winced as she came awake. She rolled to her side and noticed Jules was at the other side of the room with a notebook in his hand.

She recognised the book instantly because it was part of the books the doctor had given her to read about childbirth.

Janice moaned as she attempted to lift herself to a sitting position.

Jules's eyes flitted to her when he heard her moan, and he stood from the chair he had been on for almost two hours since she was out.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I just ate something sour." Janice winced.

Jules nodded, "That is because you have a fever."

"A fever?" She asked. She couldn't remember the last time she had a fever.

Even when she began suffering from morning sickness the first time, she had thought it was the flu she was suffering from until Jules forced her to go to the doctor.

"It's been a while since I had that." She groaned, rolling to her side.

"It's my fault," Jules mumbled.

Janice stared at him, "How is it your fault?"

"I let you exert too much pressure on yourself. I shouldn't let you do some things. But, I let you have your way because I can't refuse you..."

"You didn't do any…."

"I know you are stubborn," Jules continued as if she hadn't interrupted him. "I shouldn't let you jeopardise your health."

"I'm not jeopardising my health." She said, "I don't know why you are blaming yourself, but this is an ordinary flu and not something that should be taken seriously."

Jules's eyes narrowed at her assertion, and Janice kicked herself mentally as soon as the words came out of her mouth.

She wished she hadn't said it, but she couldn't take it back.

Janice shrugged, staring at him as he continued to glare.

"Perhaps, if you aren't here anymore, it might not be something important to you," Jules grunted, then added. "I'll be right back."

When he left the room, she kept thinking about what he had said.

If she wasn't here anymore… Was he trying to chase her out of the house?

Had he gotten tired of her and wanted her out of his life sooner?

Janice kept thinking the same thing over again but got no answer.

Janice wondered if she was as insensitive as Jules claimed because of the words she had said.

She believed it was a normal thing every woman was to undergo, and he was only being protective because of his child that was on the way.

Jules didn't feel anything whatsoever about her.

He didn't care about her. That was why he had talked about wanting to chase her out.

Maybe she was overthinking and reading too many meanings into his words.

Still, Janice couldn't ask him what he had meant by saying those words.

Jules stepped into the room some minutes later with a tray.

He placed it before her, and Janice's eyes flickered from the closed plate on the tray to his.

She furrowed her brows, "I'm not hungry."

"Of course, you are not." He agreed.

"Why then do you bring this?" She nodded towards the plate.

She gripped the handle of the lid and retracted her hand immediately. She scowled, cussing as it burnt her hand.

"I'm sorry, darling. I should have warned you I brought it out of the stove as soon as it finished cooking."

He gripped her hands and grimaced as he noticed the already purple mark forming on the skin due to the burn.

"It's fine. I should have asked before trying to open it. What is in it anyway?"

Jules opened the top drawers on the nightstand and brought out an ointment. He applied it on the tip of each of her hands before kissing it slightly.

"I hope that makes it feel better." He said, winking.

Janice giggled. She hadn't seen him this way, and it warmed her heart. He was acting somewhat mushy, which was what she wanted.

He had been acting that way a lot lately, and then he would switch back to his normal, jerky self, making her wonder if he was suffering from any disorder.

His feelings for her weren't very clear, but she had learnt to live with it.

It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. She had come to love living in the palace. Also, the baby in her womb had become a part of her.

Even if he tried to send her packing after everything, she wasn't sure she would leave her child with him.

Janice knew at the side of the world she was in now, the fathers were the ones that owned the children.

No number of lawsuits filed against them would make them lose a case.

Nevertheless, it was unlikely. Janice believed she was reading too much meaning into what he had said earlier, and he didn't clarify it, too.

"It's chicken soup, madame, and it's very good for fever."

Janice inhaled as he opened the plate.

A delicious scent drifted into her nostrils, and her mouth watered as she eyed the mouthwatering food in front of her.

She had taken chicken soup before. It was her favourite sickness remedy. But, the ones she had been taking hadn't been decorated this way, nor did they have the number of ingredients present.

"Open, darling."

"But I don't even have a fever yet." Janice asserted, glaring at the spoon filled with food in front of her mouth.

"Come on." Jules urged.

Janice opened her mouth, and he placed the spoon at the entrance.

Her stomach grumbled as she chewed slowly on the chicken.

"You see? you are hungry." Jules chuckled, lifting the spoon yet again.

"I ate some hours ago. I think my tummy grumbled reflexively." She defended.

"And I think you are a terrible liar," Jules said. "Open." He ordered, and she did as he said.

She attempted to feed herself, but he refused.

Jules stayed with her until after the meal, and he left soon after when she grew fatigued.