Chapter 608: Epilogue (35)

Nora Ainsworth was hit with unbearable pain every five minutes. But after each wave of excruciating contractions, she had a moment to catch her breath.

“Quentin, I’m thirsty. Get me a bottle of water.”

Quentin Grant immediately said to one of the Men in Black, “Go buy some water.”

A bottle of chilled mineral water was brought over shortly, and Nora Ainsworth drank almost half of it in one go.

They couldn’t just keep standing in the hallway, so Quentin Grant immediately arranged for a VIP room closest to the maternity ward.

Quentin Grant helped Nora Ainsworth inside. She lay down on her side and, indeed, felt much better.

About twenty minutes later, the doctor came to check on her again and found that it was almost time.

Nora Ainsworth’s hair was already soaking wet. She tightly gripped Quentin Grant’s hand as they went into the delivery room.

Lying on the delivery bed with her feet braced against its sides, Nora Ainsworth was completely drained of strength.

Quentin Grant then went out, and the door to the delivery room closed.

Mrs. Grant and Mr. Grant rushed to the hospital with their two grandsons, arriving just as Nora was taken in. Mrs. Grant quickly asked, “Quentin, how is Nora doing?”

“She’s okay.”

“Did you call your parents-in-law?”

“I already did. They’re on a flight this afternoon and will arrive tonight,” Quentin Grant said, his thoughts still focused on the room behind the door.

“That’s good. Let’s wait here by the door.”

The two boys stood silently by the delivery room door, pressing their ears against it, trying to hear any sound from inside.

Inside the delivery room, Nora Ainsworth gripped the sides of the delivery bed tightly. The excruciating pain came more and more frequently, tormenting her to the brink.

The nurse told her to push, but even though Nora Ainsworth used all her strength, the baby’s head still hadn’t crowned.

The doctor was also getting anxious. If the baby just wouldn’t descend and something went wrong, it wouldn’t just be the rest of her life that was over—the entire hospital would suffer the consequences.

“Mrs. Grant, how about we opt for a C-section?”

Nora Ainsworth shook her head. “I want a natural birth…”

She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and pushed with all her might.

Seeing this, the doctor could only say, “A natural delivery is proving difficult. Should we give you a shot to induce labor?”

Only then did Nora Ainsworth nod. “Okay.”

She was also afraid something might happen to the baby.

Not long after the shot was administered, the baby started to make progress.

“Mrs. Grant, push! Push harder!”

“I… I am pushing! AHHH!” She squeezed her eyes shut, not just from the agony, but also from the urge to just reach in and pull the baby out herself.

“Push harder, the baby’s head is almost out!” the doctor shouted urgently, then said to a nurse, “Have her children or her husband come in to encourage her. She’s running out of strength.”

“Right away.” The nurse quickly opened the delivery room door and let the two boys in.

“Mommy!” The two boys scrambled in, each grabbing one of Nora Ainsworth’s hands.

Immediately after, Quentin Grant came in as well.

He and Dylan Grant gripped her hand tightly. “Nora, you can do it. Our baby is almost here.”

Nora Ainsworth seemed to find a new surge of strength. Her face was pale, but she nodded and used every last ounce of her energy to deliver this child.

“The head is out!” the nurse exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

Everyone encouraged her together, “Keep going! You can do it!”

Nora Ainsworth’s hair was plastered to her head in sweaty strands, and she was gasping for breath.

“Honey! Keep going! Nora! You’ve got this!”

“Mommy! You can do it!”

“AHHHH!!!” Finally, a loud cry pierced the air of the delivery room.

The two boys and Quentin Grant’s faces lit up with joy.

The doctor quickly said to Quentin Grant, “The baby’s out. Mr. Grant, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?”

“I would.” Quentin Grant walked over, picked up the scissors, and carefully cut the umbilical cord. Only then did he look at the baby. After getting a good look, he excitedly ran to Nora Ainsworth’s side and exclaimed, “Nora, it’s a girl! It’s a girl!”

“Ahem, ahem, ahem…”

“Daddy…”

Quentin Grant quickly composed himself and, grinning, said to the two little guys, “You two have a little sister now. Congratulations.”

“The old man finally has a daughter. Congrats to you, too.”

“Just don’t forget your sons now that you have a daughter.”

Quentin Grant rubbed his nose. “How could I? I’ll treat everyone equally, equally…”

In reality, those words were complete nonsense.

Because even Nora Ainsworth knew that treating them all equally was impossible.

A nurse cleaned the baby, wrapped her in a small blanket, and handed her to Quentin Grant.

He took her carefully, first letting Nora Ainsworth have a look, then the two boys, before carrying the baby out of the delivery room and handing her to Mrs. Grant.

He then returned to the delivery room, stood by Nora Ainsworth’s side, and reached out to wipe the sticky sweat from her brow.

He said earnestly, “Honey, you worked so hard. Thank you.”

Nora Ainsworth smiled gently. Nothing more needed to be said. Those words were enough.

The doctor needed to perform an episiotomy on Nora. Even though she was given an anesthetic, it was still somewhat painful. She felt the pain again during the suturing, probably because her body was particularly sensitive.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long.

The benefit of a natural birth is that while it’s painful during labor, you can walk around afterward. Within two days, you can move freely with no lingering pain.

A C-section, however, is different. It isn’t painful during the procedure, but the recovery is agonizing and takes a major toll on the body.

Quentin Grant stepped forward, placed a sanitary pad in her underwear, and helped pull up her pants before carrying her out of the delivery room.

By the time they reached the hospital room, the lochia had already soaked through the pad. There was a lot of it, so Quentin Grant got several large disposable pads and spread them on the bed. He had Nora lie down, covered her with a thin blanket, and then removed her pants from underneath it.

Chloe Marshall, Ethan Ellsworth, Zoe Ellsworth, and Herman Hawthorne had all arrived.

Chloe Marshall, holding the little princess, said, “Nora, this baby looks just like you. Look, she’s so beautiful.”

Quentin Grant glanced over and replied smugly, “I could die of happiness. Between Nora and my little Nora, I’ll never have enough love to give.”

“Daddy! You really have forgotten about us!” Elmer Grant protested, clenching his small fists.

“The old man really is getting old. He’s already forgotten what he just said.”

Quentin Grant gave a dry laugh. “How could Daddy forget you two? From now on, our family of five will love each other dearly.”

Zoe Ellsworth exclaimed, “Hey, nobody fight me for her. This is my daughter-in-law.”

Nora Ainsworth laughed. “You say that, but does your son even know?”

“My dear in-law, I already told my son, and he’s thrilled!”

Herman Hawthorne nodded. “It’s true. On the way here, Zoe asked our two- or three-month-old son, ‘Mommy found a little wife for you, are you happy?'”

“And then he smiled!” Zoe Ellsworth was beaming. “From now on, under the correct leadership of me, his young mother-in-law, if anyone dares to bully my daughter-in-law, I’ll break their damn legs.”

“My little princess has been reserved right after being born. She hasn’t even called us ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy’ yet, and she already has a mother-in-law and father-in-law,” Quentin Grant said. “Zoe, slow down a bit. Let the kids grow up naturally.”

Zoe Ellsworth nodded. “That’s true. We’re not some old-fashioned parents, are we? I’m all for them falling in love freely.”