Chapter 9 - The Breaking of the Water
I stared at the signed documents on the table. The legal paperwork was complete, binding, and final. He had surrendered every legal advantage he possessed—something no corporate titan on Wall Street had ever seen Adrien Vance do. He had given me everything, asking for nothing in return.
"Adrien..." I began, my voice softening slightly.
Before I could finish the sentence, a sharp, searing pain shot across my lower pelvis.
I gasped, my hands flying to my abdomen as the air vanished from my lungs. A sudden, warm rush of fluid soaked through my linen trousers onto the wooden chair.
Adrien was on his feet in half a second, his instincts taking over. "Evelyn? What is it? What's happening?"
"My water broke," I gasped, clutching the edge of the table as another contraction seized my body. "It's... it's too early. I'm only thirty-four weeks."
Panic flashed across Adrien’s face, but instead of freezing, a laser-focused calm settled over him. He pulled off his navy sweater, wrapping it gently around my waist, and scooped me up into his arms with effortless, protective strength.
"Call 911!" he shouted to the bakery manager. "Actually, cancel that—where is the nearest hospital?"
"Mass General! Four blocks away!" the manager yelled back, holding the door open.
"I’ve got you, Evelyn," Adrien whispered in my ear, his voice rock-steady as he carried me out into the cool morning air, running down Charles Street toward the hospital towers. "Breathe with me. Just look at my face. I'm not letting go of you. I swear on my life, I will not let anything happen to you or our baby."
For four agonizing blocks, while contractions ripped through my body, Adrien carried me through the streets of Boston. People stopped and stared, cars honked, but he never slowed down, his arms holding me like I was the most precious thing in the universe.
We burst through the emergency doors of Massachusetts General Hospital, Adrien shouting for obstetrics triage. Doctors and nurses rushed forward with a gurney, transferring me onto the mattress.
As they began rolling me toward the elevators, I looked back through the haze of pain. Adrien was standing at the entrance, covered in sweat, his breathing ragged, looking at me with pure terror and devotion.
I reached out my hand.
May you like
"Adrien," I cried out over the din of the hospital corridor. "Don't leave me."
He crossed the room in two strides, grabbing my hand with both of his, kissing my knuckles as the elevator doors closed around us. "Never again, Evelyn. Never again."
