Chapter 1

Heather’s POV

The pain didn’t come in waves anymore.

I gasped as another contraction tore through me, my fingers digging painfully into Vivianne’s hand. I didn’t even realize how hard I was squeezing until she winced slightly but she didn’t pull away.

“Hang in there, Heather… we’re almost there” she murmured, her voice soft and steady.

I clung to that voice like it was the only thing keeping me grounded.

While Adrian drove like a man possessed.

The city blurred past us.. it’s lights streaking, horns blaring, people shouting but none of it mattered. My world had narrowed down to pain… and the life fighting its way out of me.

“It hurts…” I breathed, my voice breaking as another contraction hit. “Adrian.. ”

“I know, baby. We’re almost there,” he said quickly, his grip tightening on the wheel.

He sounded… nervous.

Of course he was, we had prayed for this in two years of marriage. Almost even lost hope buy now, it was finally here…

***

The car barely came to a full stop before the hospital glass doors slid open automatically to reveal nurses rushed out with a stretcher.

“Sir, we’ve got her!” one of them said as they quickly helped me out.

Everything blurred after that.

I could feel hands everywhere.

Voices overlapping.

“Prepare the delivery room!”

“We need to check dilation first!”

“Her blood pressure is rising.. we need to stabilize it!”

I was barely aware of anything as they laid me flat and started wheeling me inside. 

The ceiling lights passed above me in rapid flashes, each one making my head spin.

Machines beeped.

Hurried footsteps echoed.

Orders were barked.

Through it all, I still held onto Vivianne’s hand like my life depended on it.

She stayed close, helping me stay grounded amidst the contractions.

Adrian was right beside us, moving quickly, his face tight with tension.

Then… Her hand slipped from mine.

I blinked.. dazed, trying to hold on but she was already stepping back.

Both of them were.

Their figures slowly retreated as the stretcher rolled past the delivery doors.

“No..wait..” I tried to say, but another contraction slammed into me, stealing the words right out of my mouth.

The doors swung shut.

And just like that, they were gone.

Inside, everything changed.

It was less rowdy and focused.

“Mrs. Cole, can you hear me?” The midwife said, leaning over me.

I nodded weakly, my breathing uneven.

“Good. Stay with us,” she said. “Your contractions are already a minute apart. You’re fully dilated.”

My heart raced.

This was it.

“Okay,” another voice said firmly. “When the next contraction comes, I need you to push.”

I nodded again, my body trembling.

Then it hit.

Hard.

“Push!” they urged.

I screamed.

Pain ripped through me like my body was being torn in half, but I pushed anyway.. again.. and again. 

My fingers curled into the sheets, my throat raw from screaming.

Time lost meaning as minutes stretched into hours.

This was the longest… most painful experience of my life.

But I didn’t stop… I couldn’t.

Because at the end of it… the sharp and loud cry that came next made every pain worth it..

Tears blurred my vision instantly as I looked up.

“My baby…” I whispered.

They placed him onto my chest.. and just like that, nothing else mattered.

He was so small and warm. He was simply perfect

A tiny cry escaped him as I held him against my chest, my hands shaking as I tried to take him in… his face, his fingers, his everything.

“I… I did it…” I breathed, tears slipping down my cheeks. “You’re finally here my little miracle..”

The pain and exhaustion all faded away.

This was worth it.

Every single second.

But I had barely had him for a moment before the midwife stepped forward.

“Alright, that’s enough,” she said.

My heart skipped.

She gently but firmly lifted him out of my arms.

“We need to clean him up and take him to the nursery so his parents can see him.”

Her words echoed in my head

“…his parents?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.

Confusion flooded me instantly.

“I’m… I’m his mother,” I said, trying to push myself up.

But another nurse pressed me down gently.

“No, please don’t move,” she said. “You’re still sore and the placenta hasn’t fully been delivered yet.”

I didn’t care.

Panic surged through me, sharp and sudden.

“Wait.. where are you taking him?” I demanded, my voice rising. “That’s my baby!”

The midwife who had taken him didn’t answer me.

She simply handed him off to another nurse, who began walking toward the door.

Something inside me snapped.

“No!” I cried, struggling harder now. “That’s my child.. give him back!”

My heart pounded violently against my chest, my breathing turning erratic.

“I’m his mother!” I shouted. “Call my husband.. call Adrian!”

The machines beside me started beeping rapidly.

“Her blood pressure is spiking,” someone said quickly.

“I said call my husband!” I screamed.

But no one listened.

Instead..

“Prepare the sedative,” a voice ordered.

My blood ran cold.

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head weakly. “No, don’t..”

I knew those types of medication, it didn’t just calm you. It puts you under.

“Wait..please..” I tried again, my voice breaking as panic took over completely. “What’s going on.. someone call my husband.. please!”

Hands grabbed me firmly, holding me down.

“No! Let go of me!” I struggled, my body weak but desperate. “ADRIAN! HELP!”

But the room stayed the same.

A syringe appeared in the nurse’s hand.

My eyes widened in terror.

“Please..!” I screamed.

The needle slid into the cannula.

And just like that… everything started fading.

“No… no… no…” I whispered, my voice slurring as the drug spread through my system.

My limbs grew heavy, vision blurred and the room began to tilt.

I tried to fight it, to hold on even a little but I was losing faster than I had imagined.

Voices became distant and muffled.

And then..

I heard it clearly.

“Go ahead and inform Mr. and Mrs. Cole their son has been born.”

My mind stuttered.

Mr… and Mrs… Cole?

That was..

That was me and Adrian…

Right?

Then why?

But darkness swallowed me whole before the answer could come.