Afraid, We Will Not Have Any More Children

No one knew what Prince Nolan was thinking; they only saw his eyes suddenly redden, staring fixedly at the curtain, refusing to look away...

Empress Dowager Xie let out a soft sigh. Whether Prince Nolan heard her or not, she spoke to herself: "The pain of childbirth is the greatest in this world. When I came out, Serena's face was white with pain, gasping for breath nonstop. But what can be done? A woman's whole life depends on her father, husband, and child. Serena..."

With no reliable father or brothers, and no husband she could truly trust, all Serena had was this child. Yet even this child was destined never to fully belong to her.

Thinking of all Serena had endured, Empress Dowager Xie couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow: "A mother grows strong for her child. No matter how much it hurts, Serena can only grit her teeth and bear it. She has no other choice."

Empress Dowager Xie spoke gently, but she believed Prince Nolan understood her meaning. Serena's life had truly been hard; everything she had today was won with her own blood and tears, and Prince Nolan had given her far too little.

She had once advised Serena: everything has its limits. Don't quarrel too fiercely with Prince Nolan, or you'll wear out the feelings between you, and in the end, you'll be the one to suffer. Now that Prince Nolan feels guilty and Serena is about to have a child, she should forgive him and live peacefully as the most honored woman in the realm—isn't that better than anything else?

Serena had smiled at her then and said, "Arguing without the intention to separate is just showing off affection. Do I look like someone who likes to show off?"

Empress Dowager Xie hadn't quite understood Serena's words, but the bitterness and pain in Serena's eyes were clear enough. If she hadn't lost hope in Prince Nolan, Serena would never have chosen to let go after surviving so many ordeals.

Prince Nolan broke Serena's heart, utterly destroying that bright, bold, and fearless Serena who dared to love and hate.

Empress Dowager Xie didn't know if Prince Nolan heard her words. Just as she finished speaking, the midwife inside shouted loudly, "Madam, hurry, the young lady is fully dilated—she's about to give birth!"

"Push, miss... you can deliver now, push!" The midwife's voice was both excited and tense, with a hint of worry. Everyone outside the room was on edge, afraid something might happen to Serena.

"So soon?" Empress Dowager Xie didn't even have time to speak to Prince Nolan before rushing inside.

Prince Nolan lifted his foot to follow, but stopped abruptly at the curtain: he couldn't risk causing trouble for Serena.

"Your Majesty, please wait out here. The imperial physician says Madam is doing very well—you don't need to worry." Jada Tang saw Prince Nolan blocking the doorway, so the little maids had to walk around him. She braced herself and stepped forward to persuade him.

"All you do is get in the way." Sean had been standing at the door for a long time. He'd heard Empress Dowager Xie's words and felt Serena was being treated unfairly. Now, seeing Prince Nolan dumbly blocking the way, he couldn't help but step forward.

Prince Nolan said nothing, just silently stepped aside. He didn't sit down, but stood in the corner, staring toward the delivery room. The thick curtain blocked everything from view, but Prince Nolan remained fixated...

Seeing Prince Nolan's lonely, desolate look, Sean felt a moment of pity for him—though only for a moment, because Serena's cries of pain came from inside the delivery room.

"Ah... it hurts so much." Serena had endured for hours, but now she couldn't hold back. Her cry made everyone feel her pain.

They all knew how much Serena was suffering, but this pain wouldn't end in an instant. Serena endured for a full quarter of an hour, with basin after basin of bloody water carried out, and still no sign of the child.

"Ah..." Serena's cries grew louder and louder. Sean was nearly beside himself, anxiously pacing in circles. He glanced at Prince Nolan, who stood like a statue, unmoving, and couldn't help but kick him: "Would you move? Just seeing you stand there annoys me."

Prince Nolan still didn't react, standing as if in a trance, completely oblivious to everything around him. Sean lost interest in dealing with him, but just as he turned away, a soft dripping sound came from behind.

Sean followed the sound and saw drops of blood dripping from Prince Nolan's sleeve.

"You..."

He had just started to speak when Serena's cry of pain interrupted him: "Mmm... ah. Is it out yet? It hurts so much!"

In the dead of winter, Serena was drenched in sweat. Calm and resilience meant nothing now—she couldn't think at all, only feel pain, a tearing pain far worse than when she was blown apart in a plane crash.

It felt endless, wave after wave of pain... She wished she could just faint and escape the agony, but she couldn't—if she passed out, the child would suffocate in the birth canal.

Serena cried out in pain inside, but the two men outside weren't much better off. Seeing basin after basin of bloody water carried out, both Prince Nolan and Sean felt like they were about to faint.

"So much blood..." For the first time, Sean realized he was afraid of seeing blood.

"Serena..." Prince Nolan murmured. For some reason, a vision flashed before his eyes: Serena falling from Destiny Cliff, all the Same-Life Curse and Phoenixfield Heiress Brand gone, Serena crashing to the ground like a broken ragdoll, lifeless in a pool of blood, their unborn child beside her.

"Serena, don't..." Never before had Prince Nolan been so afraid. He could no longer control his fear and worry; his legs nearly gave out beneath him.

At that moment, Serena, overwhelmed by pain, couldn't help but curse the culprit: "Nolan Dongling, you bastard, bastard... It's all your fault, you're the reason I'm suffering like this." Women are especially vulnerable at times like these, and Serena was no exception.

"Nolan Dongling, you bastard... I'm never having another child." Serena was in so much pain she could barely speak.

"Yes, yes... I'm a bastard, we won't have any more children." Outside the delivery room, Prince Nolan finally couldn't hold back and rushed inside when he heard Serena's voice.

Bang—a basin of bloody water was knocked over, splashing all over Prince Nolan. He didn't care at all, rushing to Serena's bedside and grabbing her hand: "Serena, we won't have this child. We don't need it, not ever..."

"Ah... Your Majesty, you can't come in—please, go out!" Empress Dowager Xie was frantic; Serena's birth canal was open, but the child still hadn't come out.

"Get out." Serena panted heavily, suppressing a scream that rose in her throat.

She hadn't expected Prince Nolan to rush in; even in modern times, natural childbirth was a bloody scene—better not to scare him.

"Your Majesty, please leave—the delivery room is unlucky, and your presence distracts Serena." Empress Dowager Xie hurried forward to persuade him; she'd never seen a man barge into a delivery room before.

Prince Nolan ignored Empress Dowager Xie completely; at that moment, all he could see was Serena. Nothing else mattered.

Prince Nolan gripped Serena's hand tightly, the blood in his palm mixing with the sweat in hers. He didn't care at all, holding her hand pressed to his cheek: "Serena, we won't have any more children. We won't."

He couldn't accept the thought of Serena lying motionless in a pool of blood: "Serena, don't leave me, don't leave me. I can give up the child, I only want you."

"You..." Serena was too weak to speak to Prince Nolan. She used all her strength to try to push him away, but just then, as she moved, the midwife's startled cry rang out: "It's out, it's out—the child is out!"

This child truly loved its mother!