Chapter 252: Labor

*Runze’s POV*

The engine roars to life before the SUV door even slams fully shut.

The world outside the dark-tinted window is a blurred rush of autumn trees and flashing traffic lights, but inside the back seat, space has shrunk down to white noise, heavy breathing, and blinding, relentless pain.

I am curled on my side, my head wedged into the crook of Bael’s neck, my hands clawing blindly at his chest through the fabric of his shirt. Every bump in the road sends a jagged spike straight through my lower spine. Another contraction clamps down over my stomach—harder, tighter, squeezing the air out of my lungs until I can only make a low, animalistic whimpering sound against his collarbone.

"Drive faster," Bael growls toward the front seat, his voice vibrating hard against my temple. His arms are wrapped around me like steel bands, holding my body steady against the violent sway of the car.

"I’m going as fast as I can, Master Bael!" the driver’s voice shakes from the front.

Bael’s large, warm hand cupping the back of my head is trembling. I can feel the erratic, terrified pounding of his heart against my ribs.

"Runze..." His breath hits my ear in harsh, ragged bursts. He presses his lips frantically to my hairline, my temple, my cheek. "I’m sorry. Runze, I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."

I want to tell him to stop. I want to lift my hand, touch his jaw, and tell him it isn’t his fault, that the baby is just coming, but I can’t. The moment I unlock my teeth, the pressure in my pelvis tears open, and a sharp, breathless scream rips straight out of my throat, raw and uncontrollable.

"Ah—! Bael—!"

"I’m here—Runze, hold onto me, squeeze my hand—!" he rasps, his grip tightening until it almost hurts, his own eyes wide and dark with a helpless, suffocating terror I have never seen in him before. He can command boardrooms, bend industries, and handle any crisis, but he cannot stop this. He is completely powerless, and the horror of it is written in every line of his pale face.

When the car screeches to a halt outside the emergency bay, the doors are thrown open instantly.

Nurses and orderlies in blue scrubs swarm the vehicle. Strong hands reach in to pull me onto a gurney. The cold autumn air hits my sweat-drenched skin for a fraction of a second before I am swept through the double glass doors into the bright, sterile corridors of the private wing.

"Dilated to five centimeters! Water broke at home!" a nurse calls out, her footsteps rapid against the floor.

"Get Dr. Xi in Delivery Suite 3 now!"

The ceiling lights flash past above me in a dizzying blur. The smell of disinfectant and copper fills my nose. I try to reach out, my vision swimming with tears, and instantly Bael’s fingers lock through mine, unyielding.

He stays right beside the moving bed, his stride long, his eyes fixed entirely on my face.

"Sir, you need to wait outside while we sanitize—" an orderly starts, catching Bael’s shoulder.

Bael doesn’t even look at the man. He shoves the hand off with a sharp, lethal twist of his shoulder. "I am going in."

"Mr. Bael, standard protocol—"

"I said I am going in!" he roars, his voice echoing off the tiled walls, terrifyingly dark.

Dr. Xi pushes through the doors of the delivery suite, already in his delivery gown and gloves. "Let him in! Get him into a gown and gloves, now!"

They move me onto the wide delivery bed, stripping away the soaked trousers and covering my lower half with sterile green sheets. Monitors are strapped around my stomach, the steady, rapid beat of the baby’s heart filling the room (thump-thump-thump-thump), a chaotic rhythm that matches the panic in the air.

An IV needle bites into the back of my hand. I twist against the mattress, my knees flying up as another contraction rolls in, bigger and more brutal than the last.

"Ah—gagh!" I sob, my fingers digging so hard into the bedrails the metal creaks.

"Match your exhales to the wave, Mr. Runze!" Dr. Xi’s voice is sharp, clinical, and commanding from the foot of the bed. "Do not trap the air in your chest—release it slowly!"

Then Bael is back at my side.

He is wearing a blue hospital gown over his shirt, his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. Leaning over the edge of the bed beside my pillow, he slides his arm behind my shoulders to support my back, letting me bury my face against the crook of his neck. His other hand clamps over mine, letting me squeeze his fingers hard.

"I’m here," he rasps against my ear, his voice breaking. "I’m right here, Runze. Look at me."

I force my eyes open, gasping for air. His face is inches from mine. The unshakeable, logical man who controls everything is completely gone. His lips are white, his jaw trembling, tears pooling at the edges of his dark eyes as he watches me suffer.

"I’m sorry," he whispers again, pressing his forehead against mine. "I did this to you... I’m so sorry..."

I try to shake my head against his shoulder. I squeeze his hand with the last bit of strength in my fingers, trying to project a single thought into his mind: Don’t be scared. Stay with me.

"Contraction is peaking," Dr. Xi says, checking the monitor with focused intensity. "Listen to me, Mr. Runze. You are fully dilated now—ten centimeters. The head is right at the opening. On the next contraction, I need you to tuck your chin and bear down."

"He’s exhausted," Bael snarls at him, his voice raw with protective fury. "Give him something for the pain!"

"There’s no time for an epidural, Mr. Bael! The baby is in the birth canal now!" Dr. Xi steps closer, his gloved hands ready. "Mr. Runze! Hold your thighs! When the wave hits, push!"

The wave hits me before I can even draw breath.

It is an overwhelming, primal force tearing through my hips, forcing my body to yield. I scream into Bael’s neck, a sound so desperate and violent it tears my throat, my body instinctively curling inward as I bear down with everything I have left.

Bael holds me tight, his arm braced firmly against my back to take my weight, his chest pressed flush against mine as he breathes with me, his voice a ragged, endless chant in my ear.

"That’s it, Runze... hold on... I’ve got you..."

"Head is crowning!" Dr. Xi calls out over the rapid beating of the monitor. "One more big push, Mr. Runze! Give me everything!"

The air in the room turns scorching hot. The pain peaks into a sharp, blinding ring in my ears, and as the pressure reaches an impossible point, I lock my hands into Bael’s shirt and push.