Chapter 12 - THE BABY ARRIVES EARLYTwo weeks later, Maren woke before sunrise.
Something was wrong.
She sat up slowly.
Graham immediately woke.
“What happened?”
“I think…”
Her voice trembled.
“I think the baby is coming.”
They rushed to the hospital.
Rain hammered against the windshield.
Graham drove with both hands locked around the steering wheel.
“Stay with me.”
“I am.”
“Breathe.”
“You're the one who needs to breathe.”
He almost laughed.
Then the fear returned.
At the hospital, everything moved quickly.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Bright lights.
Maren gripped Graham's hand.
Hours later, a baby's cry filled the room.
A little girl.
Healthy.
Beautiful.
Graham broke down.
He pressed his forehead against Maren's.
“She’s here.”
Maren smiled through tears.
“What should we name her?”
He looked at their daughter.
“Grace.”
Maren nodded.
“Grace.”
Because after everything they had survived, their daughter had arrived as a reminder that broken families did not have to remain broken.
But outside the hospital room—
someone else was waiting.
Helena.
She held a tiny pink blanket in her hands.
She wasn't sure whether Maren would let her enter.
May you like
For once, Helena understood that she had no right to demand anything.
She could only ask.
Related Stories
