All Chapters of The Price Of Us: Chapter 131 - Chapter 136

ANNA POV.Hospitals smelled like lemon disinfectant and quiet dread.Even after months of prenatal visits, I still found myself nervously rubbing circles on my belly every time we stepped into the OB wing. It wasn’t fear, not exactly. Just… heightened awareness. Like my body knew this was a place where life-altering news happened.Jace walked beside me, fingers laced through mine, whistling under his breath like we were heading to brunch and not a third-trimester checkup.“Stop that,” I muttered, elbowing him lightly. “You’re way too chipper for someone about to witness me waddle onto an exam table.”He grinned. “It’s part of my charm. And I brought snacks.”That earned him a smile.Inside the dimly lit ultrasound room, the technician—Elena, a woman with a voice like chamomile—greeted us warmly. The gel was cold, as always. The screen flickered to life.“There they are,” she said softly, angling the wand. “Your little duo.”I exhaled slowly, eyes locked on the grainy blobs of life wr

JACE POV.The bedside clock glowed 2:17 a.m. when the third contraction slammed into Anna—this one a freight train. She folded in half, a raw cry tearing from her throat.“Start—timing,” she panted.“Already on it.” My thumb hit the stopwatch on my phone. Two minutes since the last one. Too close, too fast. I shoved my own panic down where she couldn’t see it.“Bag’s in the car, coats by the door,” I said, grabbing her robe and draping it over her trembling shoulders. “We leave now.”Another contraction rolled through. She clutched my T-shirt, knuckles white. “I—can’t—breathe—”“Yes, you can. In… four counts. Out… four.” I breathed with her until the grip on my shirt loosened.2:32 a.m. — DrivewayCold mist clung to the windshield as I helped her into the passenger seat. She hissed when she sat.“Seat warmers on,” I muttered, buckling her in. “You squeeze my arm when one hits. I’ll watch the road and the clock.”She managed a nod, sweat beading at her hairline.Halfway down the coasta

JACE POVIt had been six hours.Six hours of sterile walls closing in. Of shoes scuffing the linoleum as I paced up and down the same damn stretch of corridor, counting the cracks in the floor tiles, listening to the second hand of the wall clock stab its way through time.Every time the door to the operating room swung open, my breath caught.Every time it wasn’t the doctor, I nearly lost my mind.My fists clenched, then opened, then clenched again. I couldn't sit. I couldn't breathe properly. My shirt stuck to my back with sweat. My heart hadn’t stopped racing since Anna's body started thrashing in that hospital bed.God. Why didn’t I listen to her?She told me. She said she saw Sophie—clear as day. And I... I brushed it off. Told her maybe she imagined it. Hell, I even said it wasn't our business.I’d failed her.I leaned against the wall, dragging both hands through my hair. My palms trembled.If anything happens to her… If anything happens to those babies…The image of her—barel