A WEB OF DECEIT

chapter 31

Thelani

Lucas is so selfish. Even when in this situation he still chooses to hide in the shadows, thinking that's the best way to handle things. He couldn't even be here with me. Instead, I was left alone to face this nightmare. The pain coursing through my body was unlike anything I had ever felt. It wasn't just unbearable-it was excruciating. Something was wrong; I could feel it deep inside me. This wasn't normal. I genuinely thought I was going to die.

A nurse kept checking on me, her face tight with concern. After a while, she quietly called out for the doctor. I watched them exchange hushed words on the side, their serious expressions sending a fresh wave of fear washing over me.

The doctor turned and walked toward me with that grave look that doctors have when they know something's wrong but don't want to scare you too much. "Miss Dlamini," he said, his tone soft but firm, "we need to perform an emergency C-section. There are some complications."

My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest. Surgery? I barely managed to nod as panic wrapped its cold hands around my throat. What if I died on the table? What if I never made it out of this? All the worst-case scenarios started flashing through my mind, faster than I could control them.

Everything after that seemed to happen in a blur. The medical team rushed to prepare me, their voices fading into a background hum as I tried to focus on breathing, on staying calm, but fear clawed at me from the inside. Just as we were about to head to the operating room, a sharp, overwhelming urge to push seized me out of nowhere.

"No, wait!" I cried out, gripping the bed. "I need to push!"

"No mam we need to operate"

"I need to push doctor ! I need to push!!"

The nurse was at my side in an instant, guiding me through the process. The pain was indescribable, waves of agony that felt like they were tearing me apart. I pushed with everything I had, gasping for air between each contraction. It felt like my body was betraying me, and I couldn't keep up. It was so hard, so unbelievably hard. I swear, in those moments, I saw my life flashing before my eyes, snippets of memories and regrets flying by in a chaotic swirl.

But I kept pushing, even though it felt like my body would give out any second. The nurse coached me through every moment, her words blurring together as my focus tunneled down to just surviving the next push.

And then, finally, it was over. The baby was out
And then, just like that, everything went dark.

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When I woke up, the world felt strange, like I was floating between dreams and reality. I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to the harsh hospital lights. My body ached, but it was a distant sort of pain, as if I were underwater and everything around me was muffled. For a moment, I forgot where I was, forgot everything that had happened.

But then it all came crashing back. The labor, the panic, the screaming... and the baby.

I instinctively reached for the space beside me. I expected to feel a soft, warm bundle wrapped in blankets. But my fingers touched nothing but the cold, sterile sheets of the hospital bed. A sharp sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

Where is my baby?

I looked around the room, searching desperately, but there was no crib, no tiny body wrapped in a blanket. Fear clawed its way up my throat, choking me. I tried to sit up, but my body refused to cooperate. My head was spinning, my pulse quickening with every breath. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

"Nurse!" I croaked, my voice weak and raw from exhaustion. "Where's my baby? Where is he?"

A nurse appeared at my bedside, her face soft but unreadable. I searched her eyes for reassurance, but all I saw was pity, and that scared me more than anything else.