Lina lay down.
Kyla asked her mother to look after the store while she got into Graceâs car.
Grace drove while Kyla called Hadwin Stephenson. âHadwin Stephenson? Linaâs water broke. Weâre sending her to the hospitalâ¦â
âHow is Lina doing?â Hadwin Stephenson asked urgently.
âShe⦠Sheâs pretty calm right now,â said Kyla as she put the phone in front of Lina.
On the phone, Lina said while taking a deep breath, âHadwin⦠The⦠The baby and I will be fine.
Donât⦠Donât worry. Donât⦠Donât panic when you go to the hospital. Donât drive yourself. Have the driver driveâ¦â
She did not forget to warn him. She was afraid he might drive himself and get into an accident if he was distracted.
âOkay, I got it. Donât be scared. Donât be scared! You have me,â said Hadwin Stephenson, but his trembling voice sounded more scared than Lina.
Once the call was over, Lina continued taking deep breaths to relax, while Kyla kept talking to distract her.
Grace only wished she could reach the hospital immediately.
Fortunately, the hospital Lina had registered in was not far away from Kylaâs store. 20 minutes later, they finally arrived safely.
Hadwin Stephenson had already contacted the hospital, so as soon as their car arrived, doctors and nurses instantly carried Lina onto a stretcher and pushed her to the delivery room.
Kyla then finally found herself a little weak. âLina⦠will deliver the baby safely, wonât she?â
âYes, Hadwin Stephenson must have made all the preparations in the hospital. She also has all those specialists tending to her. Sheâll be fine!â said Grace.
The two waited outside the delivery room. Moments later, Hadwin Stephenson also hurried over. As soon as he saw Grace and Kyla, he immediately asked, âHow is Lina?â
âI donât know. The doctors are still checking on her,â said Grace.
Moments later, a nurse came out of the delivery room and said, âIs Linaâs family here?â
âYes!â Hadwin Stephenson replied immediately.
âThe motherâs water broke too soon. Please come with me to handle the paperwork, and a family member can go in to accompany the motherâ¦â the nurse said as she took Hadwin Stephenson to the registration place.
Hadwin Stephenson put on sterile clothing and followed the nurse into the delivery room, while Grace and Kyla continued to wait outside.
However, as time passed, the feeling of unease grew. It grew stronger when Grace saw several doctors hurrying into the delivery room.
âGrace, do you think⦠something happened in there?â Kyla asked nervously.
âNo, everything should be fine. Linaâs pregnancy check-ups before this had all been normal,â said Grace, but she felt intensely uneasy.
When a nurse hurried out of the room, Grace immediately asked, âIâm Linaâs friend. How is Lina doing right now? Has she⦠Has she delivered the baby?â
âThe motherâs having a difficult labor.â The nurse hurried away after saying this.
Grace and Kyla both looked shocked.
âDifficult laborâ¦â