"Aaaahhh!!!!"

Suddenly, the excruciating pain returned. Emmelyn screamed and gripped Lily's hand. 

"Oh no... are you having another contraction?"

Lily knew the question sounded dumb since she knew Emmelyn was in labor. Of course, Emmelyn was having another contraction. However, her question was uttered out of reflex.

She didn't know how to soothe a woman in labor. How on earth her mother and maids did that when they assisted her during labor, she didn't know. Those people must be angels who were bestowed with so much patience.

"Mr. Vitas... please help," she turned to the door and called the old physician. "Has the village witch arrived?"

The old man entered the chamber with the two maids. They brought basins filled with warm water and cloths. Childbirth would be bloody and messy. 

Emmelyn bit her lip and turned to Lily. With her eyes, she begged Lily to remember her request. Lily nodded weakly.

"I will do as you said," she whispered to Emmelyn to make her feel better.

Lily had to do two things.

First, Lily must tell Mars the message that Emmelyn was innocent. She was framed by Ellena and her family. Their butler might be involved in framing Emmelyn. Mars must investigate what happened.

Second, Lily must take care of Harlow. No matter what, she shouldn't let anything happen to Harlow if Emmelyn... if Emmelyn died during childbirth.

Her face paled and her body shivered when she remembered Emmelyn's words. Those sounded like the last messages uttered by someone who was about to die.

Lily was so stressed and distraught at the thought of Emmelyn dying. She wanted to cry and keep telling Emmelyn to hang in there, but she held back and tried not to show her feelings.

Lily was worried that Emmelyn would feel even more stressed to see her crumbling down like this.

No. Lily would try to look strong, so Emmelyn had one less thing to worry about. She could just focus on giving birth to Harlow.. and the rest, Lily hoped Emmelyn would be okay.

KNOCK

KNOCK

Everyone turned their head toward the door when they heard the knocks from outside.

"I think it's the village witch," said Mr. Vitas. He sounded very relieved. He had been wanting to check Emmelyn's dilation, but the princess was so adamant with her demand. She only wanted the village witch to help her.

He was right. The door was opened and the guard entered with an old woman, walking with a cane. Her wrinkled face looked so worried.

"Princess!" She called Emmelyn with a hoarse voice. "I came as soon as possible."

"Oh.. thank god.. you're here..." Emmelyn wanted to reach out to Mrs. Adler, but the pain came again and she could only curl up in a ball and writhe in pain.

"How big is the opening?" Mrs. Adler asked Mr. Vitas. She quickly sat at the edge of the bed and checked Emmelyn's pulse.

The old physician sighed. "I have no idea. Her Highness doesn't want me to check on her condition. I only know that her contraction is now already at the half-an-hour interval."

"Oh..." Mrs. Adler nodded. She touched Emmelyn's arm gently and rubbed it, to soothe the woman who was enduring so much pain. "May I check your dilation, Princess? We need to know how far are you from delivering your baby."

"Yes, yes.. do it," Emmelyn replied with gritted teeth. "DO IT."

"Okay," said the witch. She cleaned her hands with warm water and reached out inside Emmelyn's undergarment. Her wrinkled face looked very serious. Then she said, "It's only opening 4. We still have some time."

By then, the pain from her contraction had gradually lessened and Emmelyn could rest. She turned to the witch and asked her with furrowed brows. "What? We still have some time? How much longer do you think?"

Gosh.. after so many hours enduring pain, she was still far from giving birth to her baby?

How frustrating!

"Well.. it depends on how big is the dilation in the next few hours. It can take several hours or even all night," the old witch explained. "We need to get ready after the dilation reaches opening seven because usually, it will be very close to delivery. From opening 7 to opening 10, we might only have a half-hour."

"Oh..." Emmelyn realized she had to prepare for a long, long night.

On her side, Lily grabbed her hand and nodded. "It will be worth it. You won't remember the struggle and the pain. You will only remember the joy when your baby is finally out. Trust me. I've been there. This too shall pass."

Emmelyn was grateful to have Lily and Mrs. Adler beside her during these tough times. She didn't want to see Lily distraught. So she would pretend to be okay. She would show Lily that she can be tough and stay positive.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."

She closed her eyes and tried to instill what Lily just told her. This pain, this struggle, wouldn't matter, once Harlow was out.

It would be worth it.

They sat in silence after a while. 

"Princess, you should rest while your contraction stops. You will need your energy to push when the time comes," Mrs. Adler suggested.

"Thank you, Mrs. Adler. I will do that," Emmelyn said. She then thought about her plan again and tried to find ways to let the old witch know what she wanted to do. How to make Mrs. Adler understand that Emmelyn would fake her death after giving birth to Harlow?

She looked at Mr. Vitas who was now sitting in the corner of the room, observing the situation, the two maids who already looked tired since they had been helping around in this chamber for hours, and at Lily who was sitting on the other side of the bed, ready to hold her hand again if her contraction returned.

The night had come and the maids were busying lighting some candles to provide lighting in the chamber.

"Lily... I think you should go and rest for a while, see your babies," Emmelyn suggested. "I think I won't be giving birth tonight. You look so tired."

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