‘You and the baby are safe,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan’s face whitened, she held Gu Jiao Wu’s hand tight. It was strange, he didn’t push her hand away. She leaned her body on his chest, he could feel her whole body shaking and her sweaty forehead. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and looked at her panicked eyes.
‘Calm down, nothing will happen,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
‘I… I’m tired,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. She wasn’t tired, but in pain. The pain muddled her words. ‘What am I going to do…’
Qiao Tan Yuan’s body began to slump. She held a hand onto Gu Jiao Wu’s shirt, but her body slowly slipped down.
Gu Jiao Wu saw Qiao Tan Yuan falling onto the ground. He caught her before she fell. He helped her sit down next to him and propped her head on his shoulder.
‘Is this better?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan couldn’t believe Gu Jiao Wu was holding her close to him. It wasn’t a dream, he didn’t let her fall and was holding onto to her.
Gu Jiao Wu was relieved Qiao Tan Yuan nodded her head. He wanted the emergency workers to come soon. Suddenly he felt something wet on his body. He looked down, it was a puddle of water and… blood between her legs. He was frightened and his eyes widened. He looked at her drained face, her hands held onto his neck and she looked like she was in excruciating pain.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan, are you OK?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan wanted to shake her head, but she felt another painful contraction and dug her nails into Gu Jiao Wu’s neck. But he couldn’t register any pain. He listened carefully for footsteps and was relieved to hear footsteps.
‘Wait a little longer,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘People are here to rescue us.’
‘My baby…’ Qiao Tan Yuan said weakly. ‘Gu Jiao Wu, I’m begging you to save my baby.’
Qiao Tan Yuan couldn’t say she was begging Gu Jiao Wu to save their baby.
‘Endure a little more,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Gu Jiao Wu’s heart was racing fast too. He was frustrated the emergency workers didn’t open the elevator doors faster. He could hear anxious voices outside. He hugged Qiao Tan Yuan. Her usual arrogant self wasn’t visible, all he could see was a weak and helpless woman.
Gu Jiao Wu thought about how lately when he saw Qiao Tan Yuan, she looked like she changed into a different person. Was it a hallucination? Or didn’t he see her properly in the past? In his confused state, he didn’t hear what she said clearly until he felt her hands slip down from his neck.
‘Gu Jiao Wu,’ Qiao Tan Yuan called. ‘Promise me, you’ll save my baby.’
‘I promise,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan felt rea.s.sured and her body slumped down his chest.
Gu Jiao Wu panicked and held onto Qiao Tan Yuan’s shoulders. ‘Qiao Tan Yuan? Qiao Tan Yuan…’
The elevator doors opened slightly and someone shone a torch light into the elevator through the gap.
‘Is everyone OK in there?’ a paramedic asked.
‘There’s a pregnant woman in labour,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Quickly, take her to the hospital.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t care about what the emergency workers were doing to rescue him and Qiao Tan Yuan. He only cared about Qiao Tan Yuan’s weakened condition, but he appeared calm.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan, wake up,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Can you hear the ambulance sirens? I’m taking you straight to the hospital.’
Gu Jiao Wu never met a pregnant woman who cared about their baby’s welfare over themselves before. His heart was moved. His hand held Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand tightly.
The elevator doors finally opened. Gu Jiao Wu carefully carried Qiao Tan Yuan outside the elevator and laid her down on the stretcher. He wanted to stand back to let the paramedics wheel her into the ambulance, but she grabbed his hand.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, don’t leave…’ Qiao Tan Yuan mumbled.
Qiao Tan Yuan couldn’t open her eyes, but she felt the moment she lost the warmth of Gu Jiao Wu’s body. It was something she dreamt of, she didn’t want to lose his warmth so soon and held onto his hand.
Tears flowed out of Qiao Tan Yuan’s closed eyes and her whole body was in pain. She remembered the book she read in the cafe. She read giving birth was a level ten pain. But she thought giving birth wasn’t as painful as her broken heart. Why didn’t Gu Jiao Wu bother to glance at her once? They were divorced and she wasn’t his wife anymore. But they were married for three years. Was she that insignificant in his eyes?
Gu Jiao Wu was confused. He looked at Qiao Tan Yuan’s small whitened hand holding his hand tightly. Her palm was sweaty but he didn’t let go of her. ‘I’m not leaving. You have to endure a little longer. We’ll be at the hospital soon.’
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t say anything. Gu Jiao Wu didn’t know how happy she was that he didn’t leave her. He didn’t know she was giving birth to their baby, but she knew.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t care what happened to her. She was rea.s.sured, Gu Jiao Wu wouldn’t let anything happen to their baby. She felt another painful contraction and she clutched his hand.
Inside the ambulance, Gu Jiao Wu instructed the driver to drive faster. He looked at Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand clutching his hand and the sweat dripping down her forehead. It made his heart more confused.
In Gu Jiao Wu’s memories, he had never seen Qiao Tan Yuan look weak and vulnerable. He remembered everything she said to him in the past, ‘Gu Jiao Wu, I want you to love me… I love you, you need to love me… I’m your wife… I rather die than divorce you… I’ll hold onto you for the rest of your life, you’ll never escape me… I hate you… let’s divorce…’
Gu Jiao Wu couldn’t match the Qiao Tan Yuan he knew to the weak Qiao Tan Yuan lying on the stretcher in front of him. Her hand was colder by the moment and her complexion was paler. It made him worry about her.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan, wake up,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘Can you hear me?’
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t respond and kept her eyes closed. She didn’t know if she could survive the pain.
‘Qiao Tan Yuan?’ Gu Jiao Wu called.
Gu Jiao Wu saw Qiao Tan Yuan’s lips moved slowly. He leaned closer to her lips and heard her faint mumble.
‘My baby…’ Qiao Tan Yuan mumbled.
Baby? Qiao Tan Yuan was worried about the baby? Gu Jiao Wu held onto her hand and rea.s.sured her.
‘The baby is safe,’ Gu Jiao Wu whispered in Qiao Tan Yuan’s ear. ‘You need to hang on.’
It wasn’t peak traffic, but there were still many cars on the roads.
‘How much long until we get to the hospital?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked a paramedic.
‘We’re nearly there,’ the paramedic said.
The ambulance driver was driving as fast as they could, but it was hard to navigate through the cars on the roads.
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t say anything else. He looked at Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand holding his hand. He used his free hand to call Shen Cheng on the emergency phone in the ambulance, but the ambulance suddenly braked and he dropped the phone.
The paramedics wheeled Qiao Tan Yuan into the maternity ward where doctors and nurses were waiting for her. But she didn’t let go of Gu Jiao Wu’s hand so he had no choice but follow her to the delivery room.
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t want to see Qiao Tan Yuan deliver the baby, but she wouldn’t let go of his hand.
‘Don’t leave…’ Qiao Tan Yuan mumbled.
Gu Jiao Wu couldn’t leave after he heard Qiao Tan Yuan’s weak plea. Although he had no obligations toward Qiao Tan Yuan. But he felt he had a duty to take care of her because she was a member of the Qiao Household and giving birth to his friend, Shen Cheng’s baby.
Qiao Tan Yuan was carried onto the hospital bed in the delivery room. A female doctor examined her and turned to look at Gu Jiao Wu. ‘Your wife’s water broke and she’s dilating. But your wife’s bleeding too much.’
Gu Jiao Wu looked at his shirt, it was stained by Qiao Tan Yuan’s blood.
The doctor looked down at Qiao Tan Yuan. ‘Later you need to push when I say push.’
Qiao Tan Yuan heard the doctor’s instruction, but she didn’t have the strength to reply.
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t have experience delivering babies. He kept his eyes on Qiao Tan Yuan’s face. He didn’t know if it was appropriate for a man to watch a woman give birth. He was about to let go of her hand, but she wouldn’t let go. So he stepped closer to her and held onto her hand.
‘I’m not leaving,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘You need to reserve your strengths to push when the doctor instructs you to push.’
‘Push,’ the doctor said.
Qiao Tan Yuan pushed and felt like her body was being pried apart and her energy fading.
‘The patient lost too much blood,’ the doctor said.
End of Chapter Thirteen