In the end, Lance did not send Deanna to the mountains, nor did he prevent Julia and Deanna from meeting. He just didn't give them the chance to be alone together.
Both of them were quite resentful about this.
However, they couldn't fight against Lance's decision and had to comply.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
As Julia's due date approached and her belly grew larger, Lionel became increasingly worried. He arranged for her to stay in the hospital early to prepare for the birth.
Perhaps it was because she was staying in the hospital and seeing pregnant women giving birth every day, many of whom were in difficult situations, that Julia suddenly became frightened.
One day, when Deanna came to visit her, Julia held her friend's hand and said worriedly, "Deanna, do you think something will go wrong when I give birth? I've seen so many pregnant women in terrible conditions these past few days!"
"Don't scare yourself. Medical science is very advanced now, and complications are rare."
Deanna knew Julia was nervous and gently comforted her.
She had experienced similar fears before.
Back then, her circumstances were not as good as they are now. She couldn't even afford a cesarean section and was terrified of complications during childbirth.
Thinking of this, she looked at her friend's pale face and advised, "If you're really worried, you can opt for a cesarean section. It will hurt a bit after the surgery, though."
"No way. I've seen some women who had cesarean sections. You don't know how ruthless those doctors can be. They press hard on the women's wounds after the surgery. Just watching it made me feel their pain."
Julia refused without a second thought and started recounting what she had observed in the hospital over the past few days.
Deanna couldn't help but laugh at her friend's fearful expression but still defended the doctors. "The doctors press on the wounds not to torture the women but to check for any internal bleeding. If you can't handle it, then go for a natural birth."
"When I gave birth to Gregory and Chloe, it was a natural birth. Just walk around more before labor; it will make the process easier."
Deanna shared some of her experiences with Julia.
Julia listened intently.
In the end, she still felt uneasy and held Deanna's hand tightly. "You must be there with me when I give birth."
"Alright, I'll be there with you."
Deanna nodded in agreement.
In fact, even if Julia hadn't asked, Deanna would have been there for her friend.
For the next few days, Deanna visited Julia daily and accompanied her on walks downstairs.
Finally, one afternoon a week later, Julia went into labor.
She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and something flowing from below. Panicking, she grabbed Deanna's arm and said with difficulty, "Deanna, what should I do? I'm going into labor."
"What? You're going into labor?"
Deanna was stunned for a few seconds before reacting. She quickly called out to Shannon and others behind her, "Notify the nurse quickly! Julia is going into labor."
Fortunately, Shannon and Nightingale reacted swiftly and immediately went to inform the nurse.
Soon, they returned with nurses and a stretcher.
As Julia was taken into the delivery room, Lionel and Lance received the news and rushed over.
The elders of the Grant family and the Kings also arrived.
The once spacious corridor became crowded.
Faintly, they could hear Julia's cries of pain from the delivery room.
"It hurts so much-why does it hurt so much?!"
Hearing this, Lionel paced back and forth worriedly.
The Kings were also deeply concerned. They shouted towards the delivery room door, regardless of whether Julia could hear them or not, "Julia, if it's too much, let's go for a cesarean section. Don't suffer like this!"
"Yes, a cesarean section. Julia, let's do it. No more births."
Lionel also leaned against the delivery room door and shouted.
Unfortunately, Julia couldn't hear them inside and continued to cry out in pain.
Eventually, unable to bear the pain any longer, she angrily blamed Lionel, "It's all your fault! This pain is unbearable. I won't have any more children!"
"Alright, alright. No more children after this. Once you give birth, I'll get a vasectomy!"
Lionel agreed without hesitation.
Cristal frowned in displeasure upon hearing this but was stopped by Tristan before she could say anything.
Tristan glared at her and warned, "Don't say anything. Leave their matters alone. If they don't want more children, that's fine. We already have two grandchildren."
On the other side, Lance listened to Julia's cries of pain from the delivery room and felt uneasy.
He never knew childbirth could be so painful.
Especially since Deanna would soon go through this ordeal as well; he couldn't bear the thought.
"Next month, we'll have Xavier contact the best gynecologists in the world. We won't go through natural birth; we'll opt for a cesarean section to avoid the pain."
He pursed his lips and looked at Deanna.
Thinking about Deanna's previous experience giving birth to Gregory and Chloe made him cherish her even more. "After this child is born, we won't have any more children."
"Alright, whatever you say."
Deanna looked at him sweetly, knowing that Lance was concerned about her.