Dear Ex Wife, Please take me back novel Chapter 67

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.

Minutes stretch into hours, and yet everything feels rushed. The contractions are still far apart, manageable but persistent, each one lasting about thirty to forty seconds. The pain starts in my lower back and spreads forward, a dull tightening that makes me grit my teeth.

I try to breathe through it, like the nurse suggests, but it’s exhausting. My legs feel restless, my body hot and uncomfortable.

Every position I try, sitting, lying down, and even pacing around the room, all feels wrong.

"Do you want to try the birthing ball?" the nurse offers.

I shake my head. I just want this to be over.

But I'm only four centimeters dilated.

God, this is going to take forever.

By the time I'm being told it's 7 centimeters, the pain has intensified.

The contractions come every four minutes, each one gripping my body with brutal force. I clutch the sheets, panting through clenched teeth as my belly tightens like a vise.

I cry out as another contraction rips through me, stronger than the last. My body tenses instinctively, fighting against it, but the nurse places a firm hand on my shoulder.

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

The nurse brushes damp hair from my face. "Breathe, Athena. You're stronger than this pain."

Am I?

The next contraction crashes over me like a tidal wave, and I nearly come off the bed with the force of it. My entire body locks up, the pain so overwhelming I can barely think.

Then, suddenly- an unbearable urge to push hits me.

I gasp, eyes wide.

"It's time," the doctor says, pulling on his gloves. "You're ten centimeters. Let's bring your baby into the world."

"Push, Athena! You're almost there!" the doctor urges, his voice barely reaching me through the haze of pain and exhaustion.

I bear down with everything I have left, gripping the sheets so tightly my knuckles turn white. The pressure is unbearable, fire and ice colliding within me, splitting me apart. My world narrows to this single moment, this final push that will change everything.

And then-

Relief.

A sudden, overwhelming release.

I see the baby in the doctor's hands, but there is no cry.

Aren't babies supposed to cry when they're just born?

I try to lift my head, to see him, to hold him, but my strength is gone. The exhaustion is too much, pressing down on me like a heavy fog.

“Something is wrong.” The doctor announces before my vision blurs, and the world tilts as darkness swallows me whole.