Stuck in The Marriage Pact
Chapter 71: who is the real husband

Chapter 71: who is the real husband

Hunter approached immediately. "Honey ..."

"Don’t come near her!" Joe quickly blocked him.

Hunter clenched his jaw, glaring at Joe standing so close. "Don’t test my patience; I want my wife!" he hissed.

Joe simply smirked. "Your wife? Did I hear that right?"

Hunter frowned, while Joe turned his gaze back to Isabella. "Honey, look at this delusional man. He claims you’re his wife, yet you’re my wife. This is insane!"

"My wife?" Hunter’s heart pounded as he looked between Isabella and Joe.

"Yes, we just got married!" Joe showed the ring on the ring finger of his right hand.

Hunter felt a sudden tightness in his chest as he noticed Isabella still wearing a wedding dress. He swallowed hard, shaking his head.

"Honey, is that true? How could you do this?" he asked, bewildered.

"I... I don’t know," Isabella whispered anxiously. "I don’t even know who you are!"

"Hey!" Hunter shoved Joe aside and stumbled toward Isabella. "What do you mean you don’t know me? What happened?"

Isabella remained silent, her face reflecting confusion.

"Hey!" Joe grabbed Hunter’s arm. "You know she’s still unwell. Don’t force her to answer your ridiculous questions!"

Hunter immediately pushed Joe away. "Stay out of this! This is between me and my wife!"

Joe fell but quickly got back up, while Hunter turned to look at Isabella again. ’I won’t let him take Isabella away from me!’

"Honey, what happened to you? Did the accident cause this? How could you not remember me?" Hunter asked with a sorrowful gaze. "I’m your husband! I’m the only man you’ve ever loved. And I’m like this because of the accident—our accident—on our way to the hospital to check on your pregnancy!"

Isabella squinted. "So... You know I’m pregnant?"

"Nonsense!" Joe yanked Hunter’s arm forcefully, causing him to lose balance and fall.

Isabella immediately looked at Hunter with concern.

"Aghh!" Hunter groaned in pain, trying to get up using his cane for support.

Joe moved closer to Isabella, blocking her view of Hunter.

"Don’t listen to anything he says. He’s just a madman, a sick man!" he exclaimed. "Besides, he has no proof of what he’s claiming. Clearly, I’m your husband. I’ve shown you all the evidence. You have to believe me!" he insisted, pleading.

"But... But he knows I’m pregnant!" Isabella whispered.

"I’m sure he eavesdropped on my conversation with the doctor, which is how he found out. He’s using that to manipulate you into believing him!" Joe argued firmly.

"That’s a lie!" Hunter, now standing again, shouted.

Isabella looked at Hunter, whose face was tense with anger.

"Don’t lie just to win her back! Even when you had her, you didn’t know how to protect her!" Hunter yelled, pointing at Joe. "Remember how you treated her! You abandoned her in her struggles and didn’t help her at all. She married me just to survive financially. And now you’re taking her from me while she doesn’t even remember what a jerk you are. You’re shameless!" he added angrily.

"Stop making things up!" Joe approached Hunter and grabbed his shirt, staring him down. "It’s useless for you to say all this to her. It won’t change anything. She doesn’t remember you, and we’re legally married now... She’ll never believe you!" he whispered harshly.

Hunter said nothing but quickly shoved Joe aside and approached Isabella, who continued to look confused with tear-filled eyes.

"Please... Trust me," he whispered softly. "You did have a relationship with him, but then we got married. You chose to be with me forever. You have to believe me... I’m your husband, the one who always stood by you, helped you rise from your struggles. I never let you suffer alone. Then the accident happened, and I fell into a coma for a month... I don’t know what happened after that!"

"Hey, stop making things up!" Joe pulled Hunter away.

"Stop!" Isabella screamed.

Both Joe and Hunter froze, startled by her outburst.

Isabella sighed, then glanced at the diamond on the ring finger of her right hand before looking back at Hunter, who smiled faintly.

"That’s our wedding ring," Hunter said, lifting his right hand. "Look, I have the same wedding ring. We’re husband and wife, and I’m the father of the baby you’re carrying!"

"No!" Joe shoved Hunter, nearly causing him to fall again. "Stop lying! All your stories are fake. You have no proof you were ever with her!"

"I’ll prove it!" Hunter retorted.

"You’ll probably just make fake evidence!" Joe accused, then turned back to Isabella. "Honey, you have to trust me. I love you so much. You’ve seen how I’ve treated you all this time. Besides, if I were lying and you were his wife, the marriage department wouldn’t have allowed us to get married. But they did because I’m not lying. You’ve never been married—except today, to me!" he said, pounding his chest for emphasis.

"That’s a lie!" Hunter growled with a cold glare, then grabbed Joe’s shirt. "You must’ve done something to manipulate the marriage department into letting you marry her!"

"I’m not lying!"

"Enough! I don’t want to hear any more from you two!" Isabella cried out in frustration. "You’re both just making my head hurt. I don’t know who to believe... Oh my God!" She leaned back, clutching her head in distress, as hazy memories began haunting her. "It hurts so much! Damn it..."

"Isabella..." Hunter brushed Joe aside and limped toward Isabella. "What’s wrong? Hey..."

"My head feels like it’s going to explode!" Isabella groaned, grabbing a pillow to cover her head. "Oh my God... I’m so dizzy!"

"I’ll call the doctor!" Joe ran out of the room.

Hunter stood there, helpless, until Isabella suddenly stopped groaning and went still. He removed the pillow from her head, only to find her unconscious, blood dripping from her nose.

"Oh my God..." he whispered, trembling as he cupped her face, his eyes welling up. "Honey... What happened to you? Is this because of the accident? You don’t even know me... You must be suffering... Please trust me. I’ll save you. I promise I will!" He turned to the door, seeing a doctor and nurse enter.

"Doctor... Please save her!" he pleaded.

The doctor nodded, quickly attending to Isabella while Hunter stepped out. He saw Joe standing still, staring at him, and rage flared inside him.

"You idiot!" Hunter shouted, hitting Joe with his cane.

"Hey!" Joe grabbed the cane. "What? Did I hear you right? You’re the idiot! You couldn’t even protect her from your mother’s cruelty!" he shot back, shoving the cane aside.

Hunter nearly fell but leaned against the wall behind him for support, gripping the cane tightly as he glared at Joe.

"You know, you’re weak. Your mother called me and threatened to kill Isabella if I didn’t take her away from the hospital. She took advantage of Isabella’s amnesia, and of course, I did too. It’s better for her to forget her past than to suffer because you couldn’t protect her!" Joe accused, pointing at Hunter. "And now, if you bring her back to you, she’ll face the same situation again. Your mother won’t stop trying to get rid of her!"

Hunter froze.

"If you love her, let her go. You’ll never be able to protect her, especially now that your leg is crippled!" Joe pointed at Hunter’s leg.

Hunter clenched his fists, his breathing quickening as he looked down.

"I can make her happy. For the past month, she’s been so happy with me that she agreed to marry me. You haven’t even crossed her mind. You’re nothing to her now... She’s mine!" Joe declared, showing the ring on his right hand. "Look... She’s my wife now! I won’t let anyone take her from me!" he continued before his attention shifted to the doctor exiting the room.

"This is urgent," the doctor announced.

Joe quickly approached the doctor. "What’s happening?"

"We need to operate to remove the blood clot in her brain before it causes further complications," the doctor explained.

Hunter furrowed his brows, glancing at Joe with a tense expression. ’He... He’s the reason Isabella’s condition has worsened. He didn’t give her proper care!’ His fists clenched.

"Do whatever it takes to save her!" Joe pleaded.

The doctor nodded. "Understood. We’ll prepare for surgery," he said before leaving.

Joe sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"You bastard!" Hunter suddenly lunged at Joe, knocking him to the ground. He straddled Joe’s chest, gripping his neck tightly.

"Hey!" Joe gasped. Hunter’s grip tightened. "You... You’re going to kill me!"

"Yes, I will kill you if anything worse happens to Isabella!" Hunter asserted firmly. "You said you were taking good care of her, but you didn’t do it at all. You didn’t provide her with proper treatment; you just kept trying to keep her away from me without considering her safety. You fool, I’ll kill you!" he continued furiously, tightening his grip on Joe’s neck.

"Sir..." Collin suddenly appeared, trying to stop Hunter. "If you kill him, things will only get worse. Please, let him go!" he pleaded, pulling Hunter back by wrapping his arms around him.

Hunter slowly stood up with Collin’s assistance, his eyes still filled with hatred as he glared at Joe.