The Heiress's Comeback
Chapter 247: [ Volume 1] Chaper 247-pregnant

Chapter 247: [ Volume 1] Chaper 247-pregnant

Esme shook her head, sighing but nodding in reluctant agreement. She leaned down, attempting to lift Ray’s limp form. "You brothers," she muttered under her breath, straining as she shifted his weight. "You’re built like bulls and somehow always end up relying on me to haul you around."

Ryan arched an eyebrow at her, a glint of amusement crossing his face. "And remind me, who was it that declared she wanted to marry four husbands, hmm? Take responsibility, Esme, if you’re going to go around collecting us," he teased, his voice mockingly serious.

Esme rolled her eyes but didn’t argue, instead tightening her grip on Ray and bracing herself for the climb up the stairs. With every step, her muscles burned, and she cursed under her breath, but finally, she managed to get Ray into his bed, gently lowering him onto the mattress. As she straightened, catching her breath, she turned to see Ryan already seated beside Ray, his face focused and unreadable.

Ryan leaned in, his hand wrapping around Ray’s wrist, fingers pressing to check his pulse. After a tense moment, his shoulders eased, and he turned to Esme with a calm expression. But then, without a word, he stood up, closed the distance between them, and swung a fist directly into her stomach.

Esme gasped, the shock and pain stealing her breath as she doubled over, clutching her abdomen, her face twisted in pain. "What... was that for?" she managed, her voice a strained whisper as she glared up at him, confusion and betrayal flashing in her eyes.

Just then, Kai and Jay burst into the room, their faces a mixture of worry and alarm. They had rushed back after Esme’s earlier call about Ray possibly being poisoned, only to arrive and witness Ryan, their normally stoic, composed brother, lashing out at Esme. Their eyes widened in shock, and they froze for a heartbeat, trying to process the surreal scene before them.

Kai took a step forward, his gaze hardening. "Ryan, what the hell is going on? Why are you...?"

Esme straightened up, wincing but managing to look up at Ryan with defiance. "Yeah, Ryan, care to explain that?" Her voice was steady, but her expression was filled with simmering anger and confusion.

Esme’s gaze bore into Ryan, her fists clenched at her sides, a fiery mix of pain and fury sparking in her eyes. "What the hell do you mean, blaming me?" Her voice trembled with indignation, each word sharp and laced with anger. "How would I know what’s going on? I’m not the one who poisoned him! And I’m not crazy enough to even try!"

Ryan’s face hardened, his own patience breaking. His voice, usually calm and controlled, now boomed through the room. "Crazy? You’re more than capable of it, Esme!" He paused, his eyes narrowing with intensity before he let out the revelation he had been holding back, each word landing like a shockwave. "Ray... he’s pregnant, Esme."

The words hit her like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of her. Her face contorted with confusion, anger dissolving into shock, her lips forming soundless words as her mind grappled with what he’d just said. "I... I said I wasn’t..." Her voice faltered, trailing off into silence, her gaze unfocused, distant, as if she’d been swept into some surreal, impossible dream. "What?" she finally whispered, her voice barely audible, her mind spinning in disbelief. She felt as though the entire world had tilted, everything she knew uprooted in an instant.

Jay and Kai, standing just behind her, froze in place. They exchanged stunned glances, their expressions a mirror of each other—wide eyes, brows raised, mouths slightly open as they processed the news. Kai broke the silence first, his voice a hushed murmur filled with both awe and disbelief. "Wait, wait... does this mean I’m gonna be an uncle?"

Esme snapped out of her stupor just enough to give him a dazed, playful smack on the shoulder. "No, you idiot," she muttered, though her voice wavered, still reeling from the shock. "It means... it means you’re going to be a father... second and third fathers, not uncles!"

Jay and Kai’s jaws dropped even further as they let the reality sink in, looking at each other as if they’d just been handed the most incredible, unbelievable gift. Their faces softened, and slowly, slowly, a giddy, almost childlike excitement started to spread across their features. "A father," they echoed in unison, the words slipping out in breathless awe. They both nodded like fools, the enormity of it all settling into their minds with a mixture of fear and joy.

Meanwhile, Esme’s hands had risen to her temples, pressing against her forehead as if to steady the dizzying whirl of emotions swirling through her. The room felt unsteady, tilting, her heart racing in her chest as her mind tried to grapple with the impossible. "This... this has to be some kind of joke," she whispered, her breathing shallow as she searched Ryan’s face for any hint of humor, any indication that he was pulling a cruel prank.

But Ryan’s expression remained serious, his jaw set and his eyes never leaving hers. His gaze was sharp and unyielding, daring her to challenge the truth he’d just revealed. He raised a brow, his lips twitching in the faintest hint of amusement as he watched her struggling to process it. "Do you need another punch to bring you back to reality?" he asked, his voice cutting through her daze, yet laced with a dark humor that only deepened her disbelief.

Esme blinked, lowering her hands from her head as she took a shaky breath, a strange mix of incredulity and hesitant wonder stirring within her. She looked back at Ryan, her heart pounding as a slow, tentative smile began to pull at the corners of her lips, breaking through the storm of shock and confusion.

As she looked around the room, at Ray resting peacefully on the bed, at the sheer awe on Kai and Jay’s faces, and the quiet, knowing smirk in Ryan’s eyes, a surge of warmth filled her, softening the edges of her disbelief.