Destined To Be.

Chapter 23

I find this song so heartbreakingly perfect for this chapter. The video is a bit saucy so I've decided to upload the lyrics version. ❤❤

Ayla

6 months later

"That's it nice and slow . Long breath in, then exhale out and repeat." My midwife Donna gently helps me with my breathing exercises as I ride the contraction out.

I lean back against the side of the birthing pool . I turn tiredly to Afsan who is looking at me with utter devotion, his eyes are laced with worry but I send him a reassuring smile.

Mamma dabs away at my face, I turn to thank her when another contraction is building up. This one is more intense then the last and I know our baby will be making it presence know soon.

I positioned myself in the water with the help of Donna, Mamma takes my hand and I hold on tightly.

" Ahhhh...I feel the need to push so bad." I grit out ..breathing in and out quickly.

" Not long to go Ayla, I'm going check down below to see if you are fully dilated now as the urge to push is a good indication of the baby is coming...so let the contraction take its course and then I'll check ok? " Donna reassures me ...I nod my head instead as the contraction left me exhausted.

I lean back , Donna sends me a reassuring look as she gently nudges me to spread my legs.

I feel her fingers at my entrance and I instantly tense up.

" Now Ayla dear, I need you to relax ..I know it's extremely hard ..but it's the only way for my intrusion to feel less painful. Okay?"

I turn my head to Afsan , he sends me a weak wave. His eyes are shining with excitement and even though I know the effort of putting his hand up and moving it around drains him, he wouldn't be anywhere else.

Things went downhill very quickly after his confession a few months back. It was as if the burden of coming clean to his family made him stop pretending and finally accept the cancer was real.

The seizures would scare the crap out of me as I felt utterly useless, but I would soon get use to them. What was really hard to digest was the weight loss. My 6'2, broad shouldered man started to lose weight rapidly due to appetite loss as his condition started to get worse and worse.

I guess if I wasn't so faithfully inclined I would have rambled on at God. I would have questioned my faith again and again, but it's because of my faith and the way Afsan went about it I found myself becoming even more close to Allah. I know that life in this world is temporarily and that we are being constantly tested and no matter how hard it was to see my husband literally fading away I held on strong to the believe that everything happens for a reason, Allah sees the pain we are in and knows how bad we are hurting but he knows what's best and he's the best of planners.

Mamma was also my Rock. My family and Afsan's rallied around us, the support from them and our friends was so overwhelming and unwavering.

" Excellent. You are now fully dilated my dear, so we will start with pushing okay. So next contraction we are going to push and...."

"Ahhhhh.." I interrupt Donna as another tsunami of a contraction takes over my whole body. True to Donna's word I pushed, the feeling so unbearably intense that I thought the baby was going to come out this instant. However soon enough I leaned back again and try to take quick breaths as I knew the next one was going to hit me soon.

I don't know how much time went by, I was in my own world of agony and pain when the push I was concentrating on with all my might was finally rewarded with our child making it's presence into the world. I crashed back tiredly against the pool barrier , I see Donna pull our baby out from under and no matter how much I tried to keep my eyes open I couldn't no longer as my two days of labour finally caught up with me, exhaustion finally taking it's course.. my eyes closed.