Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder novel Chapter 120

Chapter 120 Ethan Was There For Me
**Rosalie’s POV
I hadn’t been feeling well all day. What I had thought could potentially be indigestion turned into some fairly severe cramps by early afternoon, and when Seraphine came to check on me, she took one look at my abdomen and said, “Miss Ro, dear, you’re in labor!”
Stunned, I said, “But… it’s not time yet. We still have a few days.”
Seraphine laughed. “Babies come on their own schedule, not ours. Let’s get you more comfortable, and then I’ll do a thorough check to see about how much time we have.”
I didn’t argue with her. As terrified as I was of actually giving birth, I was ready to have my baby with me. I trusted Seraphine that she knew how to take care of me, and I had no doubt that she would ensure a safe delivery for me and my baby.
As I went into the bathroom to change into a loose-fitting nightdress, she put a mattress protector on the bed and got together all of the things she would need for the birth. I didn’t know exactly what all of those were, but when I came out, I felt that she was ready.
I climbed into bed, and Seraphine checked to see what station I was and how far effaced. “Oh, yeah,” she said with a smile as she covered me with a sheet. “It shouldn’t be too long now. Especially if your contractions keep coming so steadily. Let’s time the next few and see how close together they are.”
I nodded and then let her know when the next one started. So far, they hadn’t been that painful, and I intended to do everything naturally. As far as I knew, Seraphine didn’t even have any pain medication there if I wanted it, though || thought she might have some tools to help her if there was an emergency.
Over the next few hours, the contractions continued to come regularly, intensifying, and lasting longer. Eventually, they got to the point where I thought they might be too painful for me to handle, but Seraphine reminded me that I knew how to breathe through them. This was something we’d been working on for a long time.
I knew how to do this. I was in charge of my body, and I could keep myself calm and in control.
“I think it’s time to start pushing,” Seraphine said. “Do you want me to call Mr. Soren?”
“No!” I cried out. “I don’t want anyone else here. Just us.”
She looked a bit taken aback, but she nodded. “That’s fine, dear. Whatever you’d like.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell,” I said, feeling bad for raising my voice.
Seraphine laughed. “Are you kidding? You’re having a baby! I’ve had much worse than a bit of yelling go on when a woman is in labor. All right. Remember how I told you to push?”
I nodded. I remembered how to do it.
“Then, with the next contraction, that’s what we’ll do.”
Seraphine coached me through the pushing. She counted for me and encouraged me, and I pushed for what seemed like forever. I was dripping sweat, and even with the windows open and a fan on, I felt like I was burning up. The baby wasn’t making a lot of progress. I could see on Seraphine’s face that she was worried.
“The baby is being… stubborn,” she said. “Just keep pushing. We’ll get there.”
I nodded, taking a few deep breaths, and tried to focus my mind on meeting my little one.
***
How long had it been? Two hours, four hours? It didn’t matter, it felt like ages…
Seraphine’s encouragement, my own grunting, and the endless pain… Everything seemed to be mixed together. I almost couldn’t tell whether all of these were reality or just a nightmare, until I heard a clear and loud cry.
“It’s a boy!” Seraphine exclaimed, and finally, I knew my baby had come to the world.
All I wanted to do was hold my baby. However, I was too exhausted to even make a sound. I tried to force a sound out of my mouth, but suddenly, I felt an agonizing pain in my abdomen, like I was being ripped apart.
I felt like, when the baby had come out, something else had come loose, and it was trying to come out of me as well.
I screamed, and a gush of liquid coated my legs. This was different than before, when it was my water breaking. Seraphine’s eyes widened. “We need the doctor,” she said. -L
“What? No, no doctors. Just… help me….” I asked, but my voice was so weak, I don’t think she heard me.
The pain was so intense, I felt like my insides were all coming undone. My head was swimming, and my skin felt like it was on fire. All I wanted was to hold my baby, yet, he was across the room in a bassinet, and I couldn’t even hear him now.
My head was swimming, and I felt like I was about to pass out. I leaned back on the pillows and looked up at the ceiling
I may have lost consciousness for a few moments because when I opened my eyes again, the doctor was there. I . could hear his voice. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, or what Seraphine was talking to him about. The only word that kept registering in my mind was, “Blood.”
I found myself staring up at the ceiling as the waves of pain rolled through my body. This was so much worse than giving birth. And unlike the happy occasion that I was willing to trade the pain and discomfort for, I knew what this was.
In the back of my mind, I knew….
I was dying.
They were trying to save me, but I was dying. There was too much blood. They couldn’t stop it. They wanted to do something quickly to help, but they didn’t know what to do.
I tried to shift my focus to my baby. I wanted to see him so badly, to hold him, to stroke his hair and tell him how much I loved him.
I’d fought so hard to get here, to get away from the people that wanted to kill me. And now, here I was, finally giving birth to my baby, and I wasn’t even going to have a chance to hold him!
What did life treat me like this! How could the world be so cruel as to let me come this far and never even see his face?
I thought about what was supposed to happen to me if I’d stayed at the capital, what the initial plan had been. Maybe I would already be dead if I had stayed there? Or maybe Estrella and Vicky would help me, so that at least | would have gotten to meet my child before the end of my life?
If I was going to die anyway, would it be better if I had just stayed…? That way, at least my baby would be with his father…
All of those thoughts began to drift out of my mind, and as the pain wracked my body, my eyes began to close, and I could only think of one thing.
One face.
Ethan.
Had I been wrong to send him away? Or if he were here with me now, could he give me the strength I needed somehow to fight through this? Would he inspire me to find a way to push through and stay alive? Was it even possible when I’d lost so much blood?
At least our son would be with one parent. What would happen to him now? Without me here, who would take care of him? Who would love him with all their heart? I didn’t even have the strength to tell Seraphine to take him and run.
I needed Ethan. I needed him here to tell me everything was going to be all right, to take our child and hold him… to hold me…
“Ethan,” I whispered. “Where are you? Can’t you feel how badly I need you?”
I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I was amazed that I was still able to cry.
At the last moments of my life, I cried.
For my baby who I didn’t even get the chance to meet, and for the man that I once loved.
My consciousness was slipping away, and it felt like I saw someone, someone beautiful.
A woman with long white hair. She was gorgeous, and she was smiling at me. I felt if I walked to her, there would be no pain,
Was she the Moon Goddess…?
I felt myself moving towards her.
Was this it, the end of my life?
“Rosalie!”
Suddenly, I heard a deep and desperate voice calling my name.
Ethan!
But that wasn’t possible, right? He wasn’t here. He’d left. He’d left because I’d sent him away. He’d wanted me to go with him, to leave the island and run away with him. And I’d said no. But now….
I opened my eyes a little, and even though it was like I was looking through a fog, I could see him. I could see Ethan’ s face, hovering near me, like a specter. I didn’t know what to think. Was I dying? Was he dead already, and I was seeing him on the other side?
“Rosalie, come on! You can do this. You’re strong enough! Keep fighting. Keep going!”
His words brought me around more than I had been already. I opened my eyes further to look at him. I knew he couldn’t really be there, but… in my mind… he was there.
And he believed in me. He thought I was strong enough to overcome whatever it was that was trying to claim my life.
Still, it was so difficult, I found myself arguing with him.
Nevertheless, Ethan urged me on. He shouted at Seraphine and the doctor, telling them to fix me.
But then… as I looked into Ethan’s eyes, I felt a surge of strength within me, like a newfound power.
*
The pain subsided, and Ethan disappeared from my sight.
Everything went black.
It was then that I realized my eyes were closed, but I began to feel like everything was going to be all right.
When I opened my eyes and sat up suddenly, I saw the doctor and Seraphine standing at the foot of the bed staring at me.
“You’re all right, Miss Ro,” Seraphine said. “You’re going to be all right.”
I looked around the room, but there was no trace of Ethan anywhere. Confusion swept over me. Had it all just been a dream? Had I been so close to death that my mind was playing tricks on me?
I didn’t know. But at the moment, I couldn’t allow myself to wonder whether or not the images I’d seen of Ethan were real or if they were just dreams. My baby was here, and he was fussing.
More than anything in the world, I wanted to hold my baby.
“Give him to me,” I told Seraphine, and with a smile on her face, she did just that.