Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Time flies, and another week has passed.

The baby came a few days earlier than the due date the doctor had given them.

Early that morning, Sophia was pulled out of sleep by a dull ache.

It wasn't intense — just a faint twist deep in her belly, and then it let go.

She opened her eyes in a daze. Outside the window, the sky had barely begun to lighten.

She figured the baby had just kicked her, so she rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

But a second later, another wave of pain came.

This one was a little stronger than the last — a sore, heavy feeling that spread from her lower belly all the way to her lower back.

Sophia instinctively reached down and touched her stomach. It was hard. She could feel the contraction through her skin against her palm.

Her hand went still.

Sophia closed her eyes, took a few slow, deep breaths, and gently nudged Nicholas beside her.

"Nicholas."

Nicholas had always been a light sleeper, even more so since Sophia got pregnant.

At night, whenever she turned over or got up, he'd wake up too.

The moment her voice landed, he was already turning toward her.

"What's wrong?"

"I think the baby's coming."

Nicholas froze for two or three seconds, then shot straight up in bed.

He moved too fast. His injured leg gave out for a moment, and he lurched sideways, nearly falling off the bed.

He grabbed the nightstand to steady himself, then asked in a loud, flustered voice.

"Right now? When did it start? Is it bad? I'll call the hospital, I'll —"

"Nicholas." Sophia reached out and caught his hand. "Don't panic. I can still handle it. Go wake Eloise first, then get Chase to come drive us."

Nicholas quickly looked Sophia over, making sure she was really okay, and let out a small breath of relief.

"Go," she said.

Nicholas nodded, picked up his crutch, and headed out.

Eloise was still sound asleep. Nicholas sat down on the edge of her bed and gently touched her face.

"Eloise, wake up."

Eloise made a little sound, rolled over, and pulled the blanket up around her belly.

"Eloise," Nicholas called again. "Mommy's about to have your little sister. We need to go to the hospital."

Eloise's eyes flew open.

"Mommy's having the baby?"

Nicholas nodded.

Eloise jumped out of bed barefoot and took off running. Nicholas followed behind on his crutch, but there was no keeping up with her.

By the time she reached the master bedroom doorway, Sophia was holding onto the nightstand, trying to stand, hunched over from the pain.

Eloise stopped in her tracks.

She stood in the doorway, and all the excitement drained from her little face, replaced by worry.

"Mommy… does it hurt a lot?"

Sophia straightened up and smiled at her. "I'm okay. Be a good girl, Eloise — can you go get Mommy's hospital bag?"

Eloise nodded hard and ran off.

Nicholas caught up and took hold of Sophia's arm. With his other hand, he called the hospital, gave them a quick rundown of the situation, then hung up and called Chase to come right away.

He'd barely ended the call when Eloise came stumbling out of the nursery, dragging a hospital bag nearly as big as she was. She set it down in the hallway and looked up at Sophia.

Sophia made her way slowly along the wall toward the door. Eloise stayed right by her side, her little hand reaching out now and then, wanting to help but afraid of hurting her, so it just hovered in the air.

Nicholas walked on her other side, holding Sophia's arm carefully, his brow deeply furrowed — clearly a nervous wreck.

Sophia squeezed his hand. "It's going to be fine."

Nicholas's eyes went red in an instant. Not wanting to upset her, he quickly turned his head away.

The family shuffled slowly to the front door. Chase had already pulled the car up.

Nicholas got Eloise buckled into her car seat in the back first, then turned to help Sophia.

Just as she was getting in, another contraction hit.

Sophia bit down and let out a muffled groan, freezing in the doorway of the car.

So this was what a natural labor felt like.

Nothing like when she'd had Eloise — but the pain was just as relentless, in its own way.

Nicholas had gone pale with fear, but everything he'd learned seemed useless to him right now. He forced down the panic, steadied his voice as best he could, and guided her through her breathing.

Finally, the contraction passed.

Sophia got in the car, and Chase pulled away immediately.

Eloise leaned over and peeked at her, asking quietly, "Mommy, is the little sister trying to come out?"

Sophia smiled and nodded.

Eloise thought for a moment, then reached over and pressed her small palm gently against Sophia's belly.

"Little sister," Eloise said, very seriously, "don't make Mommy hurt too much, okay? Come out nicely, and Eloise will share her chocolate with you."

Sophia couldn't help but laugh — and then a contraction cut the laugh short and creased her face with pain.

Nicholas caught her expression in the rearview mirror, and his own face tightened even more.

The hospital had gotten the call ahead of time. A nurse was already waiting at the maternity ward entrance with a wheelchair.

The moment the car stopped, the nurse came forward, opened the door, and helped Sophia into the wheelchair.

Just before she was wheeled inside, Sophia turned and looked back.

Nicholas was holding Eloise, right behind her, every muscle in his body tense, his eyes fixed on her without blinking.

Sophia smiled at him. "Wait for me."

Then the nurse wheeled her through the doors.

The moment the doors to the labor ward closed, Eloise felt her dad's arms tighten around her. She patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Daddy, Mommy's going to be okay."

Nicholas looked down at her, his voice rough.

"Daddy knows."

But his eyes were still very red.

He sat down in one of the hallway chairs and settled Eloise on his lap.

Eloise leaned quietly against his chest, her small hand gripping his shirt, patting him softly, over and over.

Time passed — how much, it was hard to say.

A nurse came out now and then to give him updates. Sophia was doing well. The epidural had been given. She had fallen asleep in the labor room.

Sometimes the nurse would come out to tell him how far along Sophia was.

The last time, she came out to say that Sophia was fully dilated and had been moved to the delivery room. She asked him to wait for good news.

Nicholas's first instinct was to say he wanted to go in too. When Sophia had given birth to Eloise, he'd been right there with her. She needed him.

But Eloise was here with him now and needed someone to look after her. And last time, the whole experience had left a deep mark on Marigold and the others. So Sophia had told him in advance — this time, once she was in the delivery room, then call Marigold, not before. She didn't want them worrying for hours on her behalf.