AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With the next contraction, Loïc had Valor support my shoulders so I could get my chin to my chest. As much as it felt like this couldn’t possibly work—like it was a ridiculous, ineffectual design, I could feel the progress I was making.
“That’s it, Nymph. Work with the contractions and try to rest in between.”
But almost as soon as one finished another began. A lock of hair drooped into my eyes and Valor pushed it back as I watched the smile broaden on Loïc’s face.
“Lots of hair!” he said, delighted. “I can’t wait for you to see!”
“You can already see the head?” I demanded.
Valor craned his neck, then abandoned me for a moment so he could see, then came back, grinning. “Lots of hair.”
The pain was part of the process, inevitable. My mind surfed along the top of it, watching us in a strange state of unreality. Part of me felt bad for the woman who had developed a meticulous birth plan which had included pain management, but it was too late for all that. Even if the ambulance came, there was nothing they could offer me now.
“That’s right, Nymph. You’ve got this. Keep going.” Valor was in my ear, coaching me, less nervous now.
Why hadn’t I swallowed my pride and gone to the hospital to get checked again instead of coming to work? Being told to go home wouldn’t have been the end of the world, even if it had been a bit embarrassing the first time. If anything happened to the baby—
“Everything is going perfectly. Completely textbook,” Loïc reassured me, as though he could read my mind. “Two more pushes and their head will be out.”
My husbands would get me through this. They wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me and our baby. Loïc sounded so confident that I believed him, even though there was no way for him to know for sure.
Two pushes sounded doable. I was tiring, but everything had happened so fast that exhaustion wouldn’t have a chance to catch me.
Valor was encouraging me, kissing my forehead, whispering in my ear.
I tried to channel my inner Rose Red—tough, unafraid. If I’d rehearsed this for the show, there would have been more noise, maybe even screaming, but there was only a mixture between loud breathing and grunts of effort, none of the shrieking that movies and TV had prepared me for. Maybe that happened during other births, but if he could already see the baby’s head, it was probably too late for that to happen.
The next push brought a huge feeling of relief.
“The baby’s head is out,” Loïc said, stoic. “Don’t push.” His hands were busy, and I couldn’t see what he was doing.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded.
“Nothing’s wrong. You’re perfect. You’re a saint.” His face lit with wonder, and tears welled in his eyes. “Okay, with the next contraction, push.”
With the next push, the baby slid the rest of the way out. I laughed with the sheer relief.
Valor’s tears were hitting my ear, and my own were hot on my cheeks.
“Hello sweet baby,” Loïc said, lifting them so I could see. Rather than cry, our daughter peered around curiously. Amazed and completely in love, I took in her scrunched face and slate-colored eyes.
Valor tugged at the lacing of my chemise, and Loïc laid her against my chest.
“She looks like you,” Valor half laughed, half wept, running a reverent finger along the reddish hair plastered to her head.
“Welcome to the world, Jasper,” I murmured to her, gazing into her mysterious eyes. It was surreal to meet this baby who had been inside me only moments ago. I knew her, and yet I didn’t know anything about her. I couldn’t wait for us to find out who she was as a person, instead of just as a daydream.
Chapter Thirty: Loïc
Society lies to men.
Family isn't a trap.
Love has made me real.
Loïc Davenport, Journal 17
Whore Loïc, the stupid, reviled boy locked away in the kennels, had only wanted to belong. To be loved, even though everything inside him was twisted and wrong.
