Page 29 of Bought By The Mafia Alpha

For a moment, I thought I’d spilled my drink in my lap. But then I realized what I was feeling was warm, and it was almost like a balloon had popped between my legs.

"Oh no." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"What? What is it?" Orsino stood up so fast his chair tipped over.

"The baby’s coming now." I looked around the table. “Sorry for cutting dinner short.”

Orsino’s eyes were wide as he stood frozen like a deer caught in headlights.

Time stood still for everyone, and no one moved.

“Like, right now?” Joey asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, I mean, I’m not having contractions that close, just—" In that moment, a particularly hard contraction hit me. I groaned as pain radiated down my spine and vibrated into my pelvis. I felt like I was being split in two. "Or maybe I am."

Andro flagged someone down and called for a wheelchair. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled down the hallway to the birthing room, but someone else was pushing me because Orsino was at my side.

"We have plenty of time," I said. “There’s no need to panic.”

"Are you sure about that?" Joey was jogging along beside me. "You had a contraction less than a minute ago and you’ve already had another one."

"They’ve been happening on and off all day. I thought labor was supposed to take forever. Like, hours.” I shrugged and tried to play it off.

“You’ve been in labor all day, and you didn’t tell me?” Orsino just barely missed running into a table that held a large, expensive vase as he looked down at me.

“Careful!” Joey helped steady him. “We need you in the room, preferably uninjured, during the birth. Ethan, if your contractions started this morning, that means you’ve been in labor for half the day already.”

“Oh." Perhaps I had waited too long to say something.

Once we were inside the hospital room, things moved fast. Orsino picked me up like I weighed nothing and put me on the bed. Dr. Nindy and her assistant began working.

“Things are progressing quickly, Ethan. In a minute, I’m going to tell you to push, and I need you to listen, okay?”

Already? “Are you sure? I thought I still had some time.”

She smiled and did her best to be sympathetic to my ignorance. “If I understand correctly, you’ve been in labor all day and didn’t say anything.”

I shrugged, finally accepting my reality. “I thought I had more time.”

“Time’s up, Ethan. Now push.”

I clenched Orsino’s hand while my legs were placed in the stirrups, and the contractions that I’d felt all day seemed to come all at once, like my organs were in a vice grip, slowly squeezing the life out of me.

Orsino kissed my forehead. “You’re doing so great, omega.”

“He’s crowning. This baby is not wasting any time. Another big push now, Ethan.”

I bore down, desperate to get this over with and anxious to meet my child. The pain that radiated through my body became background noise as I focused on my breathing.

“You’re so amazing, Ethan. So strong.”

With one final push, I felt my child leave my body. “Let me see. Can I see my baby?” I tried to push myself up, but I was too weak.

“She’s perfect, Ethan.” Orsino held a pair of scissors to snip the cord, and then Dr. Nindy placed our child into his arms.

Orsino turned to me and laid her on my chest. “Meet our daughter.”

My breath hitched and my eyes welled up as I looked down at the angel in my arms. “She’s beautiful.”

Orsino brushed the hair off my forehead. “She is. She takes after you, I can tell.”

“Marcella.” As soon as I said it, I knew it was perfect. “That’s her name.”

“So it is.” Orsino climbed into the bed with us, holding me in his arms while I held our baby.

“I love you so much, Orsino. Thank you for everything you’ve given me. Every one. Our family.”

He kissed my cheek. “I love you too, omega. Now and forever.”

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