Labor ward

The door to the private ward burst open and when Eleanor turned, Kan was standing there, staring at her wide-eyed.

She stared at him, pissed, pissed beyond belief, but the contraction seized her again and she turned away from him, bending over. 

The nurse patted her back, “Breathe, breathe..” She said gently. 

Eleanor nodded, trying to breathe, trying to remember exactly how the woman had taught her to breathe. But it was difficult. It was so difficult.

“Is there nothing else? Is there nothing else for this pain?”

“Nitrogen mask.” She heard Kan’s voice as he walked into the room. “Nitrogen mask, that’s what Ariel used.”

She whirled around and faced him. “That is the last!” She yelled, and then stopped, exhaling heavily, “That is the last you will mention her name here.”

She saw his temple begin to beat, and she was tempted to ask the nurse to get security to kick him out. 

But she did not do it.

At least he came. He was here, and he was better than having her mother or worse, her sisters here. 

The nurse was watching her now.

“Do you need me to arrange for the nitrogen mask?” She asked, and Eleanor nodded, even though she did not know what it was and how it worked. 

She trusted Kan. Even now, she foolishly trusted him and if he said it was a good option, then it was. 

The nurse left and encouraged her to use the medicine ball as it would help with dilation.

Kan walked around her now, and he still looked shocked. He gently brought his hand and placed it on her flat belly. 

The disbelief in his eyes grew even more. 

She moved away, grabbed the ultrasound pictures from the bedside table and threw it at him. 

Then she sat on the bed, closing her eyes briefly to enjoy the few minutes of peaceful intervals between the painful contractions.

But not before she saw his eyes widen as he stared at the picture. 

She kept her eyes closed, till she felt him lifting the hospital gown she had on. 

Her eyes flew open, and she was already slapping his hand away.

“I want to see your belly,” he said gently but firmly.

“That’s not enough evidence for you chairman?” She pointed to the ultrasound images still in his hand. 

“I want to see your belly.” He repeated, and she gave him a long look before she stood up and raised her dress, and he placed his hand on it even as she felt the beginning of another contraction.

“Your belly is firm,” he said, and brought his hand down, “and a little curved here, how could you not have known?”

She walked away from him because she was tempted to hit him hard on the head. 

She had nothing to say to him yet. 

She just wanted this thing out of her. This thing she still had difficulty believing was hers.

As soon as it was out, she would give him a real piece of her mind.

The nurse finally arrived with the nitrogen mask and taught her how and when to place the mask against her face. 

She stayed with her over the next couple of contractions till she got the hang of it.

Eleanor was finally able to sit still, rolling on the medicine ball, and when Kan held her from behind, whispering quiet, consoling words to her, she did not push him away. 

She let him hold her arms and breathe with her even though all this still felt surreal.

The labor progressed quickly after that, but when she held the screeching naked boy in her arms, she knew something was wrong.

She knew nothing about babies, but the sound of his crying did not seem right. When she looked up at Kan, he was frowning too.

Their baby was taken away.

When the doctor came in later to tell them their son had respiratory problems, she burst into tears. 

This just had to be the crown of the night. 

She blamed herself. 

If she had had any idea that she was pregnant, she would have taken better care. She had drunk and worked non-stop, and there was still that day when Kan strangled her and nearly killed her.

If she had any idea that the baby was in her belly, she would have fought harder, she would have hurt him if she had to.

“He will be fine, Eleanor.” Kan sat beside her. “He came out a preemie, so it is not uncommon that he would have this kind of problem.”

She shook her head. 

She wanted him to stop talking. He was the cause of all this, but she blamed herself more for being too weak to stand up to him.

“You need to rest. How are you feeling now?”

She turned around on the bed to look at him, “What do you plan to do?” She asked even though her eyes were still burning from the tears.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you plan to do with us? What do you plan to do with our son?” She shivered even as she said that because it came out sounding strange. 

None of this made sense. 

But what was even more distressing was what would happen after now.

“He is my son, of course I would care for him.” Kan squinted now, looking offended.

“As your bastard?” She smiled sadly, and he dropped his hand from her.

“What do you mean?” he asked, “No one planned for this. Do you know how upsetting this still is for me?”

Eleanor squinted, watching him, thinking how much of a fool she was. 

Upsetting for him? She was the one who just had to labor and push a baby she had no idea existed when she woke up this morning.

She was the one who would take him home and care for him, and he said it was upsetting for him?

“I cannot tell Ariel this, if that is what you want to know,” he said. She will not be understanding. She already lost it after you sent her that video.”

She frowned at him. “What video?”

He paused, and then he frowned, “If you didn’t send it, who sent it?”

“What video?”

“The one you were crazy enough to make in my office,” Kan snapped.