The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 1054

Katrina turned to look at him. "The doctors still have options?"

"If they exhaust every medical intervention available, they might be able to buy her a few more days."

Katrina sat in silence for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll ask Mom tomorrow."

Just as Naylor had predicted, the moment Willa heard her daughter's proposal, she agreed without a second of hesitation.

"No matter how painful it is, if it gives me more time, I'll do it..." Willa stared at her daughter's swollen belly, a peaceful, almost triumphant smile on her face.

And so, Willa was admitted to the hospital once again.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson pulled every string they had, assembling a team of top specialists to drag out Willa's fading life until Katrina officially hit thirty-eight weeks.

Perhaps the universe truly had a plan, rewarding the family's heart-wrenching devotion.

On the morning of her thirty-eight-week mark, Katrina woke up, swung her legs out of bed, and her water broke.

She was still weeks away from her due date.

But at thirty-eight weeks, she was full-term. The baby was perfectly safe to deliver.

Staring at the puddle of water on the floor, her first thought wasn't that she was going into labor. It was about her mother—her mother was finally going to meet the baby!

"Honey! Honey... Naylor? Naylor!" Katrina stood frozen in place, shouting for her husband in pure euphoria.

Naylor had just walked into the bathroom. Hearing her frantic tone, he bolted out. "What's wrong?"

"My water broke! The baby is coming!" Katrina looked up at him, loudly making the announcement.

As she spoke, Naylor noticed the puddle on the floor and immediately grasped the situation. His mother had drilled these exact medical scenarios into his head for months.

"Okay, don't panic! We're heading to the hospital right now. I'll call ahead so they can prep everything." Naylor's heart was hammering with terror and adrenaline, but he knew he had to be the rock, projecting absolute confidence.

On the drive there, Professor Penn called to check on her daughter-in-law's vitals.

Katrina's contractions had already started. The progression was terrifyingly fast, completely contradicting every birthing blog she had read about first-time mothers.

Upon arrival, she was rushed straight into a VIP maternity suite, flanked by an elite medical team dedicated entirely to her care.

Terrified that she'd be scared alone, Naylor suited up in hospital scrubs to stay by her side.

Hearing the doctors, Katrina murmured in a daze, "It must be Mom praying for me. She didn't want me to suffer..."

Naylor rocked the baby and added softly, "Or maybe our little girl just knew her grandmother was waiting for her."

Those words shattered Katrina's composure, and the tears began to flow.

She took a moment to steady her breathing before looking at her husband. "How is Mom?"

Naylor's expression darkened. "She's still unconscious. She hasn't woken up since yesterday."

A suffocating wave of despair crashed over Katrina. She was terrified her mother would slip away in her sleep without ever getting to see the baby.

Just past ten o'clock that night, Katrina was startled awake by Naylor's urgent whisper.

Her eyes flew open, and her first instinct was panic. "Is the baby crying?"

Naylor shook his head. "No, the baby is sleeping perfectly. Mom woke up. She saw you weren't there and asked the nurses where you were. They told her you gave birth—"

Katrina was instantly wide awake. "Mom is awake? She can speak?"