Chapter 86: Anna during childbirth

8 months after Anna left London.

After Anna discussed her painting schedule with Susan, she got her brush tools, a new Canva, and her basic painting tool the next day. Just as she had hoped to, she’d paint for two hours after returning from the Bannados restaurant.

Every night and day was always stressful for Anna because her baby was growing day by day, and the pressure of working with envious colleagues was almost intolerable to her. Yet, Anna was determined to continue working until it was time for her break and had to grit her teeth every day in the restaurant to pass through the day.

Nights weren’t any less good because she would paint for two hours every night, even if she was bone tired. She wanted to make a masterpiece that could secure her baby's future or at least bring food to their table aside from the restaurant income.

Most women in the last few weeks of their third trimester would feel heavy and reluctant to work or even lift a foot, but it was different for Anna. Her eagerness to provide a suitable and comfortable life for her unborn child was out of this world. This enthusiasm had earned her respect, love, and affection, not just from some of her colleagues that had bullied her before but also from other staff and the restaurant manager.

Alone and exhausted in the restaurant's large kitchen, Anna sighed heavily as she pulled off her official apron. She was about to wash her hands and go get herself some ice cream before lunch break was over when Lucia appeared in the kitchen. A hateful scowl appeared on her face as she walked in.

She was beyond pissed that all day, she was only able to take only five meal orders, and Anna, who was heavily pregnant, had been given more than fifty orders. She couldn’t voice out her bitterness because all her minions were now supporting Anna, and she had stomached her bitterness all day, so she could get back to Anna after all their colleagues had left for their lunch break.

“I heard today is your last day at work.” Lucia muttered as she walked closer to Anna, her face showing every bit of hostility that she could mutter.

Anna, who hadn’t noticed she was around stiffened when she heard Lucia’s thin voice. If there was anyone she would like to avoid forever in all of Jersey, it would be Lucia.

“Yes. I will be back in a few weeks after my delivery.” She replied, a flat smile on her face because she was still very awkward talking to people, who she knew didn't like her.

Lucia frowned her face when she heard that Anna will be back soon. It was contrary to what she had heard and now she couldn’t even hide her displeasure to save her life.

“How about I pay you off and you don’t ever have to step your feet in Bannados again?” She snickered in contempt as she looked at Anna’s official apron which had every indication of how hard she had worked today.

“No, thank you,” Anna replied to Lucia. Not because the money wouldn’t come in handy but because she would like to have a stable job, and she cannot afford to stop working for the sake of her unborn child.

Lucia’s frown deepened when she heard Anna’s refusal. For the past few weeks, she had done her research about Anna and had found out that she wasn’t just poor, but also had no nothing to her name other than her income in the restaurant. This had made her pissed because she couldn’t accept that the chef that had replaced her was just a common poor pregnant girl.

“200 thousand pounds. It should be enough to fix your wretched life, don’t you think?” She blurted out an amount that she thought Anna wouldn’t refuse because it would be thrice their monthly salary.

Anna rolled her eyes in frustration when she heard her words, but she still gently pushed herself to stand upright, her hand behind her back, as she moved toward Lucia because she was along the way out of the kitchen.

Grabbing her pride from the locker beside Lucia, Anna pretends that she didn’t hear or see her at all. Her action irritates Lucia to the point of no return and instead of leaving, she attempts to grab Anna’s hand. Out of reflex, Anna jerked her hand out of her reach but it inadvertently hit Lucia’s face.

Fury flashed in Lucia’s eyes and she intentionally pushed Anna with her two hands. Anna’s eyes widened at her brutal actions and she tried to protect her stomach by holding her back with one hand and her tummy with another. While she struggled to protect her baby, Lucia stood shock-stricken, she couldn’t believe she had actually pushed Anna.

“Ahhh!” Anna cried out when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen as she fell over the long kitchen table. Her loud wail brought Lucia out of her trance and she was about to run to Anna to do anything to save the baby too when she saw fresh blood crawling down her thighs.

“My baby!”Anna groaned in pain, her eyes throwing daggers at Lucia as she breathed and panted.

The other chefs, who were just returning from their lunch break, rushed to the kitchen, alongside the manager when they all heard her scream.

“Why are you just standing here, help her up! She will lose her baby!” The manager screamed at Lucia, shaking her out of her daze again. She was shaking and trembling as she gazed at her hands.

A chef, who had seen Lucia dazed and horrific expression roughly added up what had happened and yelled at the remaining chefs. “Someone get Susan and let her know that Annabella is in critical condition.”

“-and we are taking her to the hospital to save her and her baby.” They all moved toward Anna to help her up and quickly take her down to the hospital before it was too late.

The last words of the chef rang in Anna’s ears and she quickly shook her head as she pants. “No, please, no hospital, no hospital.” She let out amidst tears, pushing and shoving them away as tried to help her up. “No hospital, no hospital.” She kept on saying.

Susan arrived just a minute after someone went to get her and she told everyone about Anna’s nosocomephobia while they tried everything to keep her conscious.

Inside the manager’s car, on their way to the popular midwife that had helped Susan deliver her last child, Anna felt her cervix opening, and she dug her finger into the skin of the person closest to her as she screamed out in pain.

“Ahh,”

“I think she's in labor!” The Bannados manager screamed from the driving seat. He was the only one that hadn’t witnessed childbirth and he was freaking out more than Susan and the other chef that had accompanied them.

“She’s having contractions.” The Chef, Mandy, who Anna had unintentionally hurt said to Susan. “Let's take her to the hospital.” She asserted as she raised her head to the minutes on the manager’s phone and how long it would take them to get to the midwife’s house.

“If we keep going, she might lose her baby before we get to the midwife.” Mandy seemed to be the only sane one at the moment, but she was losing it too because she was the only one that saw Anna falling unconscious and jerking back awake due to the constant pain from several contractions.

“My baby… is coming, ah, my baby..” Anna stuttered when she felt a tumbling motion in her lower belly.

The manager almost shitted his pants when he heard her faint and hyperventilating voice. His hand trembling on the wheels, he took a drastic turnabout, and sped his way to the nearest hospital. The only thing on his mind as he raced to the hospital was to save Anna and her baby.

Without a doubt, this little woman had gained the heart of so many staff in Bannados restaurant.

When Anna finally realized where she was, she was already pushed into the labor room, Susan and Maddy by her side with their eyes filled with worries. None of them had seen a stronger woman than Anna as she was still trying to stay conscious even after her loss of blood and repeated contractions.

“Annabella, dear, you gotta be strong. Your baby is already on its way, you have to be strong for him or her. You survived this long in a foreign land, I'm sure you will overcome this.” Susan wiped Anna’s sweat from her face, pulling her wet hair away from her face while Anna shook her head.

“No hospital, no hospital…” Anna whimpered faintly and Maddy squeezed her hand while the doctor checked her vitals to administer medications.

Anna screamed out in pain when she felt another contraception strike her. “My bab… Ah!” Her wails echoed all through the hospital as she grabbed onto Maddy’s hand.