The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 224

By the eighth month of pregnancy, the nights became the hardest part.

The little thing was pressing against her stomach and crowding her lungs. She couldn't catch her breath when she lay flat. Clara often had to prop herself up against the headboard with three high pillows just to get a few winks of sleep.

"Unknown" began streaming frequently late at night.

She stopped doing readings, opting instead to chat with the comments section for a brief forty minutes. Surprisingly, her popularity surged even higher. Simon called her a genius, saying she was born for this industry.

Clara touched her belly, feeling helpless.

People always praised the greatness of motherhood, but they rarely mentioned that behind this greatness was a woman enduring a ten-month physical siege alone.

Sometimes, looking at herself in the mirror, she felt a creeping fear.

What if something went wrong during delivery?

What if the baby was difficult to raise?

Was her choice truly the right one?

These negative emotions entangled her during every sleepless night.

Clara didn't want her parents to worry, so she kept her mouth shut at home. Only during her checkups, when she was alone with Director Sterling, would she reveal her anxieties.

Director Sterling knew she was a single mother and feared prepartum depression. While reassuring Clara, she quietly tipped off Clara's mother during one of the tests.

Consequently, without Clara knowing, the whole family began to panic in private.

Dinner at Heron Bay was always early.

After the meal, Clara's dad stood by the garden wall, gesturing and planning to build a grape trellis so his grandson would have shade next summer.

Clara's mom sat at the dining table, inventorying the hospital bag for the thousandth time.

"We bought four bottles, the pump is sterilized... do we need more of those changing pads?" She looked up at Simon.

Simon, who was scrolling on his phone, immediately put it down. "I've added them to the cart. I switched brands; the imported ones are supposed to be more breathable."

Clara held a bowl of warm broth, drinking spoonful by spoonful absently.

In this house, she had become a protected species. Someone helped her walk, someone handed her water; even a sneeze drew nervous stares from the entire family.

It made her even more anxious.

She was terrified she wouldn't live up to this expectation.

She was even more terrified that if something actually went wrong, her parents and friends wouldn't be able to handle the blow.

The Chief Physician, usually spotless in the hospital, was now soaked to the bone. He held something wrapped tightly in waterproof tarp and hesitated to step forward, afraid of dirtying the floor.

"I didn't want to disturb you, but my mom happened to ask me to bring some things to Uncle Winston, and I bought a gift for Felix. It was on the way."

Clara looked at his soaked pant legs.

From Brighton City to Heron Bay, taking the train and transferring... that took half a day.

In a typhoon, the highways might have been closed. There was no telling how much trouble he had gone through to get here.

Clara didn't speak. She turned and grabbed a large towel, handing it to him.

"Dry off."

Noah took the towel. His fingertips grazed the back of her hand; they were freezing cold.

"Thanks."

In that moment, Clara felt her heart swell in the relentless rain, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

She thought it was strange.

The pregnancy hormones should have settled down by now.