Mafia's Desire

40

Nine weeks later

I paced around the hospital room, moaning and rubbing my stomach. Ermanno watched me from where he stood leaning against the wall by the door.

My water had broken hours ago and he had rushed me to the hospital. We had been sitting at the dinner table, just finishing the meal that Eloise had made for us when I felt an odd sensation, and then my maternity leggings were soaked. 

Ermanno ran upstairs to grab the bag we had prepared full of supplies for the baby and me and then he helped me walk to the car. Not that I couldn't walk on my own, but I knew it made him feel better to help me.

I was about 6 centimeters dilated, had been for about four hours, and the contractions were getting more painful and happened more frequently.

I pressed my palms into the mattress of the hospital bed as a particularly painful contraction hit. When it was over, I stood up and leaned against Ermanno, who had walked behind me during the contraction. 

"I want this baby out," I whined.

His hands wrapped around my abdomen and he gently lifted upward so the weight of my pregnant stomach rested on his forearms and not my back. I moaned at the relief it brought me.

"Thank you," I whispered, laying my head against his chest.

"You'll get through this, Fiore," he promised with a kiss on the top of my head. "You're the strongest woman I've ever met. You've beat everything that's come your way, and you'll conquer this too. And a healthy baby Violet will be your prize."

I smiled and reached my hands down to place them over his. "Thank you for always supporting me, darling. I never thought... I never thought I'd have something like this, but here you are."

I meant every word and I knew he knew that. My life before him, even before Michael, never would've led me to believe I'd get to have this one day. That I'd get to have such a selfless, loving, protective, obsessed man as my husband who held me and told me precious sentiments during the birth of our child.

When I was younger, I never had any male attention. It was quite an isolating experience in that I was always the odd one out, the only single one who showed up to events by herself. I never had anybody to talk to my friends about, but I constantly had to listen to other girls rave about their experiences. It sucked.

And then Michael came along, and he almost destroyed me. Though, I did owe him one thing. Without him, I never would have accessed this strength inside myself. I never would have met Ermanno, the love of my life. I wouldn't have my baby girl. So for all of those things, I did thank him. 

"Shit," I moaned as another contraction hit. "This isn't very fun," I announced as I gripped Ermanno's forearms as the pain ran through my body.

"I can't imagine it is, but you're doing so well, amore mio."

Three hours later, I was lying in the hospital bed, squeezing the life out of Ermanno's hand as the most painful contraction I'd had all day slammed through my body. I whimpered after it passed, leaving my head back against the pillow.

Ermanno brushed my hair off my sweaty face and tied it in a ponytail at the back of my head. "Thanks," I said so softly I could barely hear it, but I was out of breath.

"Alright, Ansley. It's go time," Dr. Bartley said. She was the same doctor I'd seen at the clinic months earlier when I'd first gotten there. She also worked as an OBGYN at this hospital and she's who I'd been seeing throughout my entire pregnancy. I trusted her with myself and with Violet.

I was sat up in the bed as it was the most comfortable position for me, and leaned against Ermanno's chest who was behind me. His arms locked around me and I bared down on them when I pushed.