Loading promotion info...
You Chose Her Over Our Baby, So I Chose Another Father
Novelix
Completed
My water broke a month early, but my husband Liam refused to take me to the hospital. "Stop overreacting," he sneered, carefully blow-drying my best friend's hair so she could look perfect for photos. As I lay on the floor bleeding and in agonizing pain, I realized he didn't care if my baby and I died. So, I stopped begging. Instead, I pulled out my phone and texted a billionaire who had always loved me. When Liam finally brought me to the hospital and hesitated to sign the consent form, my new man stepped up to him. "Get out. I am the father now."
Chapters (2)
第1章
"Stop overreacting. Labor takes hours. Chloe hasn't even washed her hair yet, so we're waiting."
My husband, Liam, drops my hospital bag by the door and turns his back on me.
My water breaks an entire month early.
"I'm going to be the baby's godmother. I should be the first one to hold her. I can't take once-in-a-lifetime photos with greasy hair."
She turns to Liam. "Wash my white sneakers for me. I want to wear them to the hospital."
Without a second thought, Liam sets my hospital bag aside and starts scrubbing her shoes.
My mom calls me on FaceTime. The second she sees my face, she pales.
"We're on our way! I already called your OB. Get to the hospital now!"
I grip the console table.
"Liam, I'm already dilating. If we don't leave now, the baby and I could both be in danger."
Liam scoffs.
"Labor takes hours. We'll just be sitting around waiting anyway. Stop overreacting."
Overreacting.
My water has broken, and he calls me dramatic.
I watch him carefully wiping the dirt off Chloe's sneakers.
Suddenly, I feel completely exhausted.
I pull out my phone and text a number I haven't used in years.
"You said you wanted me and the baby. I'm having her today."
"If you make it, you can be her father."
The reply comes almost instantly.
"Deal. I'm on my way."
The shower keeps running. Liam doesn't rush her. He patiently plugs in the hair dryer and sets it on low heat.
The heavy, dragging pain in my lower abdomen gets worse.
I slide down the wall and sit on the floor.
My doula can't watch this anymore. She helps me onto the sofa.
"Liam, you cannot delay this," the doula says. "Her water has broken. She's preterm, and the baby could already be in distress. She needs to get to the hospital now."
"You still have to drive there. What happens if there are complications?"
Everyone stares at Liam.
He doesn't even lift his head. He's busy packing Chloe's skincare products.
"It's fine. Chloe is just washing her hair."
He looks at me.
"A few more minutes won't matter. And if something goes wrong, they can just do a C-section. You didn't want a vaginal delivery that badly anyway."
My voice trembles.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is after my water breaks this early?"
"Yeah, yeah," Liam mutters, still staring at the bathroom door.
He hasn't heard a single word I said.
I grab a throw pillow and hurl it at him.
"I said our baby and I could die! I need to go to the hospital right now! Did you hear me?!"
Liam steps back.
"Are you crazy?"
"Chloe is just washing her hair. You promised she could be the godmother. You seriously can't wait a few minutes for her?"
The shouting finally brings Chloe out of the bathroom.
She walks out with wet hair.
"Please, Maya! We agreed I'd be the godmother!"
"I can't look awful in the photos. I just need to blow-dry it. Two minutes, tops."
The hair dryer clicks on.
Liam immediately takes it from her hand.
"You're too slow. Give it to me. I'll dry it, then we'll leave."
I watch Liam carefully run his fingers through Chloe's hair.
Acid burns the back of my throat.
During my third trimester, I asked him to blow-dry my hair because my back hurt.
He always brushed me off, claiming he was too tired from work.
A sudden, violent cramp tears through my stomach.
More amniotic fluid rushes out.
The doula quickly checks me. Her expression changes immediately.
"Oh my God. There's meconium in the fluid."
"The baby's in distress. We cannot wait any longer!"
The hair dryer roars.
Neither of them even hears her.
The doula marches over and yanks the plug from the wall.
"Maya needs to go to the hospital now!"
Chloe stares at Liam in shock.
"Why is your doula bossing everyone around in your own house? I'm just washing my hair, and she's acting like I committed a crime."
Liam snorts.
"I told Maya to let my mom help, but she insisted on hiring a doula."
He plugs the hair dryer back in.
It starts roaring again.
They don't worry about me or the baby.
They just complain about me.
My phone rings.
It's the hospital.
"It's 10:20. Where are you? Your OB and delivery team are ready. You need to be here before eleven. Do not wait any longer."
The hair dryer stops again.
This time, I unplug it myself.
I'm breathing hard.
"I have to be at the hospital by eleven."
第2章
"Fine! We're leaving now! You always turn everything into an emergency."
After I keep pushing him, Liam finally picks up my hospital bag and heads for the door.
At that exact moment, my parents and brother arrive at our apartment.
The second my mom sees me still at home, all the color drains from her face.
"Why are you still here? We're leaving. Now."
Before I can step out the door, Chloe lets out another yelp and touches her damp hair.
"I forgot to curl my hair. I'll look horrible in the pictures."
"Can you wait just a little longer? It'll only take a minute."
My mom tries to reason with her.
"Stay here and finish getting ready. We'll take Maya to the hospital first. This is an emergency."
Chloe plugs in the curling iron.
"Don't rush me. I'll be done in a minute, and we can all go together."
"I'm the godmother. I need to look good when I hold the baby."
"If you want to come, then hurry the hell up! My sister is in labor. She doesn't have time for your beauty routine!" my brother snaps.
"Why are you yelling at me? I'm not doing this on purpose. I'm going as fast as I can."
"Who knew Maya's water would break a month early? I didn't have time to get ready either. I'm stressed too."
My mom ignores her.
She wraps an arm around me and starts helping me toward the door.
My dad and brother run down to the garage to bring the car around.
But Liam doesn't follow us.
He steps back into the living room.
"It's fine. Take your time curling it. Just don't burn yourself."
My mom whips around and glares at him.
Inside me, the baby starts kicking wildly.
I gasp in pain and look at Liam.
"Eleven o'clock. We have to be at the hospital."
"It's 10:30 a.m. Are you coming with me or not?"
Seeing my pale, exhausted face, Liam shows a flicker of guilt.
Then he pushes me back onto the sofa.
"Stop making a scene. You're exaggerating the pain because you want me to choose you over Chloe, aren't you?"
"She'll be done soon. Be good and wait."
I lie there, the contractions shifting from a dull ache into sharp, tearing pain.
Chloe keeps checking herself in the mirror.
"Since I'm curling my hair anyway, I might as well do my makeup. It'll only take another couple of minutes."
"Liam, help me choose. Nude lipstick or dusty rose?"
The doula finally loses her temper.
"Enough! Maya needs to leave right now!"
Chloe walks over and links her arm through Liam's.
She pouts.
"Maya is so lucky. Even the doula takes her side."
"Unlike me. Nobody loves me. I just want one nice photo with my goddaughter. Maya understands, right?"
I'm in too much pain to speak.
She takes my silence as agreement.
Liam looks at me.
"Five more minutes. Then we're leaving."
Another contraction hits.
I dig my fingers into the sofa fabric and wait for it to pass.
"Liam," I finally say. "Remember May twentieth? The day we were supposed to get our marriage license? She wanted to come with us, and you insisted on waiting for her. She overslept. By the time we got there, City Hall was closed, and we never went back."
"On our wedding day, she insisted on riding with you. She was hungover and made us late to our own ceremony."
"Today, I'm asking you one last time. Do you choose me and the baby, or do you stay here and wait for her?"
"Are you seriously bringing up the past while you're in labor?!"
Chloe dramatically covers her mouth.
"Wow, Maya, you really keep score, don't you? Do pregnant women just sit around thinking of old grudges to start fights over?"
"Whatever. I'm not arguing with a pregnant woman. I'm not even ready yet."
It's 10:40a.m.
The amniotic fluid running down my legs is now streaked with blood.
I don't look at them anymore.
I bite my lip to keep myself from screaming.
"Take your time. I'm going without you."
I stumble out the door, clutching my belly.
When I finally reach the garage, my parking space is empty.
The luxury SUV my parents bought me when I got pregnant is gone.
My brother pulls out his phone.
"Where the hell is my sister's car?!"
Chloe runs down the stairs, shielding her freshly styled hair with one hand.
"I told Liam yesterday! I borrowed the car for two days. I was going to bring it back!"
I don't even look at her.
I dial 911.
"Hi, I'd like to report my car stolen—"
Before I can finish, Liam slaps the phone out of my hand.
He grabs my arm and pulls me toward his car.
"You want to go to the hospital? Fine! We're going!"
He shoves me into his compact sedan.
Then he drives like a maniac, flooring the gas before slamming on the brakes at every light.
My mom keeps warning him.
"Slow down! She needs a smooth ride!"
"You couldn't wait a few minutes earlier, and now you want me to slow down?"
At 10:57 a.m., we finally reach the hospital.
The emergency team is waiting outside with a stretcher.
The OR is ready. They only need the consent forms signed before they can take me in.
Liam picks up the pen.
Chloe suddenly gasps.
"Oh no! I forgot my press-on nails. My hands are going to look awful in the pictures. Maya, give me one second."
10:58 a.m.
Liam turns to me.
"We're already here. Just give her another minute. Chloe puts those nails on really fast."
I close my eyes.
Something inside me finally breaks.
Liam keeps talking.
"A few minutes won't hurt. She just wants a picture to remember the day."
"Get out."
A man in a tailored black suit strides toward us.
He shoves Liam aside and steps between us.
"She said, get out."
Then he takes the pen.
"I'm the baby's father."
