Hadley felt her scalp prickle with alarm as urgent questions tumbled forth. “What’s causing this pain? Where exactly does it hurt? Could it possibly be…” Hadley’s own…

Maternal experience provided unwelcome insight into the situation unfolding before her.

Terror gripped Hadley’s heart, causing her voice to quaver as she voiced her deepest fear. “Is the pain centered in your belly?”

“Yes…” Elissa’s confirmation came through labored breathing. “The pain keeps growing stronger.”

All color fled from Hadley’s face in an instant, and her desperate gaze found Ernest across the room. “Ernest? Elissa requires immediate medical attention!”

The urgent declaration struck Ernest like a physical blow, propelling him forward in rapid strides as he bent down to gather her into his arms. Hadley immediately released her hold, stepping clear to give him access.

“Hadley!” But Elissa’s fingers shot out to capture Hadley’s wrist, her head shaking with fierce determination despite her obvious distress. “I refuse to set foot in any hospital! I will not go!”

Hadley grasped the heartbreaking truth behind her friend’s resistance—she harbored no desire to preserve the child growing within her.

The emotion behind such a decision resonated deeply within her understanding heart. “But you…”

“Elissa!” Ernest’s voice erupted with explosive anger, cutting through any gentle persuasion. “Cease this stubborn nonsense! Regardless of your feelings toward this child, your own health hangs in the balance! Medical care cannot be delayed!”

The reality remained inescapable—the child had become intertwined with Elissa’s very existence, making Ernest’s concern for her welfare inevitable.

“Never!” Elissa’s head continued its defiant motion, her body recoiling from any contact with him as she maintained her desperate grip on Hadley. “I want nothing from you! Should you dare lay a single finger upon me, I would prefer to remain here and embrace whatever fate awaits!”

Fresh updates available at galnoνe?s?c?m

Ernest found himself drowning in such profound frustration that coherent words abandoned him entirely.

Witnessing Elissa’s continued struggle against waves of pain, Hadley pivoted sharply toward their remaining ally. “Eric! Eric, I need you!”

“Right here!”

“Move fast! Scoop Elissa up this instant!”

“Absolutely! Consider it done!”

Eric cast a meaningful glance toward Ernest before following Hadley’s urgent directive, bending low to cradle Elissa with gentle care. Hadley maintained her position close beside them as they rushed through the doorway and into the waiting car.

The car devoured the asphalt beneath its wheels as it sped through the darkness.

Hadley and Elissa occupied one vehicle, with Hadley’s arms wrapped around Elissa in a protective cocoon. Elissa’s complexion had turned the color of fresh snow, her cheeks ice-cold to the touch as perspiration poured from her skin like rain.

“Just hold on a little longer.” Hadley’s grip on her hand was fierce and unwavering, her voice carrying soft comfort through the chaos. “The hospital’s practically around the corner now!”

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