Sweet Twins

Chapter 492 Alone

Although Doris had always been a strong woman, this time, the seething pain had seemed to evaporate all the fierceness in her. Her body felt like it was being torn apart, it was just unbearable.

"Just a little more! We'll be in the operating room soon. You'd better endure the pain; otherwise, you'll have a C-section," Nancy comforted, hoping that her friend could endure much longer.

With a distressed look, Doris eyed her and asked, "Will you go with me?"

"You don't need me there. Jay will be with you." A reassuring smile crept on Nancy's lips as she caressed Doris' hair.

"What?! But I don't want him to be there." Obviously, Doris felt utterly embarrassed to give birth while a man watched her.

She had seen videos of birthing women, and they were really awkward and perplexing.

"You'll be more relieved to have him by your side. Don't worry."

As soon as Nancy finished her words, the car halted to a stop, signaling that they had finally arrived at the hospital.

"Okay, I'll go with you." Although Jay agreed, deep down, he was slightly worried and scared. He didn't know if he could bear to see Doris wincing in so much pain.

However, as the father of their yet-to-be-born child, he should overcome his anxiety and accompany his wife in the delivery room.

"Alright. Let's go." Doris nodded and struggled to get out of the car.

With utmost urgency, the nurses pushed her through the corridor and into the delivery room while she clung on her swollen belly.

Then immediately, Jay changed into the required sterile protective suit and walked in with gloves.

At the same time, Nancy waited outside, pacing back and forth.

Although the operating room was quite soundproof, she could still faintly hear Doris's painful cry.

And as she listened to her friend wail in pain, Nancy couldn't help reminisce the time she gave birth to Bobby and Nadia.

Unlike Doris, she was all alone with no man to hold her hand as she whimpered and sobbed with the pain. It was a time she hoped not to experience ever again.

Almost an hour past before a high-pitched cry blared from the delivery room. Finally, Doris had given birth to a baby boy, who looked exactly like Jay.

Perhaps it was because he was too nervous, but as soon as Jay walked out, he spurted a vomit while tightly holding on to his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked with concern as she walked up to him.

"I'm fine. I just feel nauseated after seeing how hard it is for a woman to give birth. It's too painful! All I wanted to do back there was bare the pain for Doris. How could women go through all that? Jay panted continuously as beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. The poor man felt as if he was backed in a corner with no other choice but to watch his pitiful wife wail in so much pain.

Seeing as how helpless Jay looked, Nancy gently patted his back and said, "Well, that's just the nature of being a woman. Giving birth might be the most painful thing in our lives, but it is also the most rewarding. Come on, don't overthink. It'll just mess up your head."

"Oh god, no." A wry smile crept on the man's face as if another nightmare had come to torture him more.

Unfortunately for him, Nancy really had the lips of a prophet. Because soon after, Jay felt his head whirling like a pool, almost sending him to a brink of a psychological breakdown.

After a while, he got back to his feet and settled the remaining things in the hospital. Then, he named the baby Ace while Doris lay in the hospital bed, sleeping all day to recuperate.

Meanwhile, Nancy busied herself in clothing and settling the baby with a quilt on its tiny bed. Doris' breast milk hadn't come down yet, so the former went ahead to the supermarket and bought powdered milk instead.

When Doris finally woke up, she found Ace nestled in Nancy's arms, sipping the milk with his eyes closed and tiny arms hanging in mid-air.

And as the former watched her friend take care of her son, Doris tried her best to recall every detail of their college life in her memory.

Although most of it was blurry, she was thankful that none of it was no longer bleak in her mind.

"Thank you, Nancy," she uttered sincerely amidst her frail voice.

"When did you become so polite?" Nancy asked with a faint smile. Suddenly, Ace spit out the plastic pacifier, making Nancy turn to her friend and reminded, "Remember, Doris: when a child is full, he would voluntarily stop nipping. So don't feed him too much."

"Alright. I'm sorry. I know nothing about child-rearing, so expect a lot of questions from me soon." Doris broke into a slight chuckle as she continued to watch her baby, who now had his eyes opened.

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Nancy replied, "You are a doctor! Why don't you know anything about raising a baby? Besides..."

Nancy wanted to say something but stopped on second thought. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She wanted to tell Doris about her experience, but upon recalling how Bobby and Nadia grew up without her, she felt she was in no position to say anything.

It was a lifelong regret for Nancy, and if only she could turn back time, she would never let it happen again.

"I'm a doctor... Ha-ha! I'm a doctor, aren't I?" Doris laughed at herself. She could not believe how clueless she was in that field when her profession required basic knowledge of child-rearing.

"You are inexplicable!" Nancy exclaimed, shaking her head in slight disbelief. Then, holding the little boy in her arms, she walked up to Doris and said, "Look, he is so handsome, just like Jay!"

"Of course he'd look like him! He's the father, after all!" Familiar with Nancy's attitude, Doris knew the woman would not get pissed if she spoke to her with evident sarcasm.

"You and Jay are really meant to be together. Both of you are just garrulous!" A wide grin found its way on Nancy's lips as she gently swayed the baby in her arms.

"Well..." Doris faltered, not knowing what to say at this point.

"What?" Hearing how her friend just hesitated, Nancy looked up at Doris.

Blushing, the latter continued, "It seems that Jay has a good impression of you. You know he always speaks well of you."

"What?!" Nancy blurted out in utmost surprise. Why would Doris say such a thing?

"You silly woman! What do you mean?" This time, the ever so soft and gentle Nancy seemed like a ferocious, angry woman about to wreak havoc in that room.

"Well, I didn't mean anything. I just... I feel good. He likes you, which means you... You are a good woman." Although Doris pretended not to care, her dodging eyes exposed her real feelings. No matter how much she tried to hide it, Nancy could clearly tell that she was distressed.

At this point, the latter finally realized that something was bothering Doris. So, with cautious eyes, she softly glanced at her and uttered, "Don't scare me, Doris. Is it postpartum depression?"

This woman had already been through slight depression during her pregnancy. So, Nancy was worried about another episode after Doris giving birth.

Doris' typical attitude was already quite overwhelming, and with this postpartum depression, Nancy could only imagine how torturing it would be, not just for her but for Jay too.

"No, I'm serious," the former expressed in a stern voice, blankly staring at the ceiling with a pair of anxious eyes.

Pretending to be angry, Nancy complained, "You are overthinking. Jay loves you so much! Don't you know that? He is probably just joking. How could you take it seriously? Come on, Doris! We've known each other for a long time. We even shared the same bed back in college for four years! I know every single thing about you, let alone your little tricks. Tell me, are you woolgathering?"

Although Doris knew that Nancy was right, the former couldn't get herself to admit it. So gritting her teeth, she instead said, "No, I was just kidding."

At this time, the door was pushed open, spurting an angry Jay from outside. "Doris, is it difficult for you to admit that you have lost your memory?"

"What?!" Nancy was caught off guard. She obviously didn't expect such news to arrive in this situation. Turning her head back to Doris, she urgently queried, "Doris! You lost your memory? How could that happen?!"

"No..." Doris firmly denied as she gathered her palms into a fist. No one was even more aggrieved at this point than Doris herself. And she knew that Nancy would not understand her situation. After all, the latter had never been in this position before.

"She just lost parts of her memory for a while. She might be able to recover them, but it would require some trigger or stimulation... Sadly, I can't do either. Nancy, think about what happened to her back in the university, such as being robbed of money or something more cruel."

Jay's unintentional joke really reminded Nancy of one particular incident.

After briefly recalling it in detail, she began speaking. "Doris, do you remember that time when we were in sophomore year? It was a snowy winter night. You were..."

That winter was particularly cold. It snowed heavily for days and nights, filling the pavements with thick layers of freezing shaved ice.

At that time, Doris was so obsessed with playing the guitar and even joined a music club.

While Nancy, who was so into painting, enlisted in an arts group.

One day, Doris braved the cold weather and stormed back to their dormitory right after class. It was an unfortunate day that would change her forever.