Chapter 1305 Self-Blame
The hospital hallway was cold and silent. Beau was crouched against the wall, Rainey sat on a bench with tears streaming down her face, and Cecilia stood in the hallway, her face clouded with worry.
Seraphina had arrived unconscious and was now in the operating room. Cecilia had a bad feeling but didn't dare voice it, so she stayed with the family, waiting.
Just then, Cecilia looked up and saw a tall figure appear at the end of the hallway.
She was taken aback when she recognized him.
It was Elijah, dressed in a black tracksuit, striding towards them with purpose.
"Cecilia?" Elijah greeted her as he approached.
"Elijah, what are you doing here?" Cecilia asked, surprised.
The hospital was over an hour's drive from Maple Valley, so he must have come as soon as he got the call.
"I was worried, so I came to check on things. How's the situation?" Elijah replied.
Cecilia glanced towards the operating room and said, "We don't know yet. All we can do is pray."
"This hospital is actually funded by a friend of mine. He's already arranged for some top OB-GYN specialists from Maple Valley to come over. They're on their way now," Elijah said suddenly.
Cecilia felt a wave of gratitude. "Thank you, Elijah."
Elijah smiled modestly. "No need to thank me. We're family."
"Right," Cecilia nodded, touched.
Then she said, "Elijah, there's not much you can do here. Maybe you should head back to Maple Valley."
But Elijah insisted, "I'll stay and see how things go."
Cecilia nodded.
After a long two hours, the doors to the operating room finally opened.
During that time, the specialists from Maple Valley had arrived and joined the consultation in the operating room.
As soon as the doors opened, Beau rushed over quickly, grabbing the doctor's arm. "Doctor, how's my wife?"
Rainey, Cecilia, and Elijah also hurried over.
The doctor looked regretful. "We managed to save the mother, but the baby was stillborn."
"What?" Rainey swayed on her feet.
Cecilia quickly supported her mother. Beau, though devastated, asked urgently, "Is my wife out of danger?"
"We performed a C-section and removed the baby. The patient is still very weak, but her life is no longer in danger. You need to take good care of her. If you hadn't brought her in so quickly and if the specialists hadn't been here, we might not have been able to save her," the doctor explained before walking away.
"The baby is gone!" Rainey cried.
Cecilia tried to comfort her. "Mom, at least Seraphina is okay. Beau and Seraphina are still young; they can have more children."
"As long as she's okay," Beau said, grief-stricken.
Rainey nodded quickly. "Yes, as long as Seraphina is okay!"
Seraphina was soon moved to a room.
Beau stayed by Seraphina's side, not daring to leave. Seraphina was distraught over the loss of the baby and had several emotional breakdowns.
Cecilia did her best to comfort Seraphina, console her mother, and handle the hospital arrangements.
Seeing Seraphina in such pain reminded Cecilia of her own loss, and her eyes filled with tears.
Once Seraphina's emotions had stabilized a bit, Cecilia took care of the baby's remains. Beau couldn't leave Seraphina's side, and their mother was too old and frail to handle it.
Thankfully, Elijah stayed with Cecilia, helping to arrange for the funeral home to cremate the baby and purchase an urn, which they placed in a cemetery.
After everything was done, Elijah accompanied Cecilia back to the hospital.
As they walked through a small garden, Cecilia felt overwhelmed and stopped.
"Cecilia, are you okay?" Elijah asked, quickly supporting her.
Cecilia swayed slightly before waving him off. "I'm fine, just feeling a bit overwhelmed."
She clutched her chest, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing down, making it hard to breathe.
Seeing the tiny body of the baby had filled her with immense sadness. The child had left the world before even entering it.
In truth, she felt partly responsible. If she hadn't suddenly gone back to her parents' house, Seraphina wouldn't have rushed to cook, and this tragedy might have been avoided.
Cecilia also thought of her own lost child, who would have been calling her "Mom" by now.
"Let's sit over there," Elijah suggested, pointing to a nearby bench.
"Okay," Cecilia agreed, feeling too overwhelmed to refuse.
Elijah helped her to the bench and sat down in front of her.
"Don't be too sad. At least Seraphina is okay, and that's a blessing," Elijah said softly, seeing Cecilia's red, swollen eyes.
Cecilia nodded. "I know. God has already blessed us. But I still feel responsible. If I hadn't gone back to my parents' house, Seraphina wouldn't have rushed to cook. She was thirty-two weeks pregnant, almost at her due date. The baby looked so much like her. I can't even tell her."
She started crying again.
Seeing her so heartbroken, Elijah frowned and pulled out some tissues, handing them to her.
Cecilia took them. "Thank you."
Elijah sat with her in silence. Cecilia felt a great deal of strength from his presence. Without him, Seraphina might not have survived.
"By the way, if Daryl contacts you, don't tell him about this," Cecilia suddenly said.
Elijah frowned. "Why?"
"I don't want him to worry. He said the negotiations in Skyhaven are important. I don't want to distract him," Cecilia explained hesitantly.
Elijah nodded, looking at her intently. "You won't do anything foolish, will you?"
"What do you mean by that?" Cecilia looked up at Elijah, feeling as if he had seen through her.
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