Dear Ex Wife Please take me back by The Every Woman

Chapter 67 ~ Cry in the room?

ATHENA

I don't know how we get to the hospital or how I find myself in the VIP room. But all I know is I'm suddenly on the bed with an IV on my hand.

Those G****e searches I did about how labor occurs didn't prepare me enough for this.

I groan as the world spins while the contractions come in waves, slow at first, like an approaching storm.

I grip the bedsheets, my breathing uneven as the dull ache in my lower back sharpens. The nurse moves around the room, checking the monitors, speaking in a calm voice, but her words blur into the background.

"You're only three centimeters dilated," she says, offering me an encouraging smile. "We still have a long way to go."

How encouraging. I grimace.

Three.

I exhale sharply, frustration mixing with the discomfort. Every second feels like an eternity.

Alex stands by the bed, watching me, his arms crossed. The usual arrogance in his expression is gone, replaced by something unreadable. Concern? Guilt? I don't care. I don't want him here.

I feel a different kind of rage inside me. I love this baby, but I can't help feeling like he is the one causing this pain.

"Get out," I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut as another contraction rolls through me, the pressure intensifying.

He frowns. "Athena -"

"Out," I snap, my voice hoarse but loud enough, despite the pain twisting in my belly. "I don't want you here, Alex."

His jaw clenches, his green eyes darkening, but after a moment, he nods.

"I'll be outside."

Without another word, he turns and strides out of the room, closing the door behind him.

The second he's gone, I release a shaky breath, my body slumping against the pillows.

Time moves strangely slow.

persistent, each one lasting about thirty to forty seconds. The pain starts in my lower back

to breathe through it, like the nurse suggests, but it's exhausting.

and even pacing around the room, all

want to try the birthing ball?"

I just want this

I'm only

this is going to

time I'm being told it's 7 centimeters,

brutal force. I clutch the sheets, panting

the last. My body tenses instinctively, fighting

Athena," she says gently. "Tensing up makes it

am I supposed to relax when it feels like my insides are

the nape of my neck. The pressure in my pelvis grows unbearable, like

another contraction, gripping the bedside

much longer?"

"You're

Eight.

I've never hated counting so badly. But knowing what will come out of this. How i'll be holding my precious little angel, it makes

like I've been in labor for a lifetime, yet I still have a long way to

great, Athena," the

feel like

passes when the pressure becomes unbearable now. It feels like my bones are being pried open, my pelvis stretching beyond its limit. A raw

arching off the bed.

sob, my vision

you can," the nurse says firmly, gripping

Almost.

the

"One more to go."

my face. "Breathe, Athena. You're stronger than this

Am I?