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DELILA

The delivery room was so cold.

I’d worn a floral delivery robe, which would have been perfect for the sunny weather outside. Inside the hospital, I was freezing.

Curly haired, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Nurse Teri complained she couldn’t find my veins. She ended up sticking me with the needle three times before hooking me up to the IV.

I don’t know if it was the chill in the air, or the harsh attitude of my nurse, but I was shaking. Jax reached over and gently took my hand, brushing his thumb against my knuckles. If only the searing heat in his gaze could warm me up inside.

It was finally time to meet my little one…

But…

Nurse Teri kept giving me odd looks, and I hated it. She blatantly stared at Jax’s hand holding mine, in a way that made me regret telling the hospital staff that he was my stepson.

It was the story that the two of us agreed on.

Actually, Jax insisted on it.

I would have been okay telling people he was the father of the baby, but Jax wanted me to put my ex’s name on the birth certificate. When we’d first talked about it, I’d felt nausea that had nothing to do with my morning sickness.

Did it mean… after everything he did to get me pregnant, Jax actually didn’t want to be a father?

No.

In every way that mattered, Jax showed me he wanted to be with me. He was the one who went with me to all the doctor’s appointments. He’d assembled the crib I wanted, rubbed my back, and cooked healthy meals for me… all while insisting that his father’s name go on the official paperwork.

My lover was pretending to be just my stepson right now because he was adamant that his father pay for the child support.

I didn’t understand it at first—until I saw how Jax’s expression went dark as he explained that if Ryan could, he would be buried with his cold stacks of cash.

It wasn’t even about the money. More and more I realized Jax wanted to make his father pay.

Ryan had left his scars on more than just me. I’d thought that Jax was angry at his father purely out of jealousy. Explained it all away with the thought that Jax wanted me all to himself.

But his hate ran much deeper than that.

Having firsthand experience with how cruel Ryan could be, I got it. I wouldn’t be the one to stand in the way of Jax’s revenge.

… but how was I supposed to survive childbirth with this nosy woman side-eyeing me the whole time?

My first-born son was on track to be born into the judgmental arms of Nurse Teri.

Great.

My water had broken hours ago, and each contraction was turning from an annoying squeeze to a wave of intense tightening across my stomach. The pain itself wasn’t the worst part—it was more the fact that as soon as it was over, immediately I had to brace for the next wave of pain. Over and over again.

Where was the epidural?

I’d asked for one first thing as soon as I’d stepped into the delivery room. The second time I’d asked for it, my nurse had given me a look, like I was being problematic, and told me that the anesthesiologist was busy.

I got that, but it had been hours.

The next contraction hit hard—as if a giant had gripped my belly and was trying to squeeze this baby out of me. All I could do was clutch Jax’s hand while I moaned helplessly. It was like I couldn’t even control it. The noise was ripped straight out of my throat.

“Would you stop being so loud?” Nurse Teri snapped. “I bet you weren’t that loud getting the baby inside of you.”

Wait… through the pain rolling through my midsection, it took a second for me to process the words coming out of her mouth.