It'll Come Naturally

Caressing her dampened hair, Duke felt his heart break. Belinda's mind grew numb for she had been in too much pain. The only thing she could do was follow the doctor's every advice like she were on autopilot mode. After a while, she didn't even have the strength to cry. When she was about to bite her lower lip, Duke noticed it and very swiftly, reached out to cover her mouth. Reacting unintentionally, she ended up biting his hand with no restraints. "Arghh!" His face twitched in pain, but he didn't withdraw his hand out of fear so that she wouldn't bite her lip instead. Despite the sting of her teeth sinking into his skin, he was too busy feeling fortunate to have acted fast enough to care. Every single thing they had to endure was worth it when they heard their baby's first piercing cry. Duke, who was too tired to stand, decided to sit on the floor.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Congratulations! It's a healthy baby boy!" the obstetrician said gleefully. He then passed the baby to the nurses who began to clean the baby's body. At the same time, they checked his general health such as height, weight, and everything else.

"Honey, I love you," Duke said, kissing his wife on the lips. If he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes, he wouldn't have believed how painful it was to give birth to a child. Now that he knew better, he swore to always treat Belinda with great care, and to never betray her. After all, the woman just gave birth to a son. The least he could do was to ensure her comfort and happiness.

"I love you too," replied Belinda, exhausted yet smiling. Extremely worn-out, she had just experienced the greatest moment for women: to bring a delicate life into the world.

When everything was set, the nurse brought the newborn baby to his mother so she could interact with him. Moved beyond his imagination, Duke stared at the little baby, his cold face softening with each passing second. He looked affectionately at the two most important people in his life, wondering how he was this lucky to have them. From that point onwards, he had become a father. It was time that he learned how to be a responsible and present one.

When the nurse took the baby out of the delivery room, Leena excitedly stared at her little nephew, gasping. "Aw, his whole body is all wrinkled down. He looks so ugly... like a monkey," she said, but with such affectionate tone. Then she squinted her eyes. "Who does he look like?" Her heart melted at the smallest moment her nephew made. It never occurred to her that babies could be so soft and fragile.

"Newborn babies are all like that," Tom said with a smile. "Don't worry. He starts becoming cute in the next few days."

She turned to look at him, asking, "May I hold him in my arms?" Reluctant, Tom carefully observed her hopeful expression.

"Are you sure you know how to hold a baby?" Tom asked slowly. Holding a newborn baby required unique skills to avoid anything unfortunate from happening. Not to say that he lacked trust in Leena, he was just uncertain if she was prepared for such an undertaking. "Never mind," decided Leena, as she wasn't sure of herself. The baby simply looked so fragile. And on top of that, her hand was still recovering from Belinda's handiwork.

After a few more minutes, the nurse decided it was time to take the baby away, even though, to Leena, it didn't feel like she spent enough time with the adorable baby. Gazing at the retreating nurse, she wore a small, distant smile. The expression on her face made Tom feel sorry for her. It strengthened his resolve to find a cure for her condition so she could someday have her own baby.

When Duke came out of the delivery room, he appeared to be all sweaty and spent, yet at the same time, exhilarated by the new addition to his family. Meanwhile, Belinda was still inside.

"Duke," cried Leena, "your hand is bleeding!" Lifting his hand, Duke suddenly recalled what happened earlier.

"Don't worry about this. It'll heal," Duke said indifferently. His pain was nothing compared to what Belinda endured in the delivery room.

"Go to the nurse station and have your hand treated for now," said Tom, checking Duke's hand casually. "Now that the mother and son are both safe and sound, this is my cue to leave." He glanced at both of them. "I've got work to finish." With that, Tom left in a hurry. Due to Belinda's emergency, Tom postponed much of his schedule to make sure he was around in case he was needed. As her delivery took place without any complication, Tom decided it was time for him to go back to his work.

After his shift was done, Kevin went straight to the hospital. When Leena called to tell him that she didn't have the time to cook, their options were narrowed down to eating outside or going to the Leng family's house. So he offered a brief congratulations to the newest parents, and then left the hospital with his wife. As Duke was prompt to hire a professional midwife to tend to the needs of Belinda and the baby, Leena didn't have a hard time conceding to hunger.

"Ouch!" yelped Leena when Kevin grabbed her hand. "Ohh, it hurts!" She applied pressure on the bruised hand, groaning helplessly.

Kevin frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Here, let me check." Waiting for her to show her hand, he held it lightly and saw the uneven bruises on her pale skin, more so on one side than the other. The man took a deep breath. "What happened? Did you get it treated?"0000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐