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Julia groaned weakly at the news, collapsing back on the bed in near exhaustion

“What does thatinto fists

Dr Rubio pursed her lips

“It ency cesarean section The baby’s heart rate is beginning to increase, your wife is running a fever, and it’s possible there’s an infection I’ll asseht away”

“That’s fine with me,” said Julia She was tired Oh, so tired The idea of having an end to labor brought welcome relief

“Are you sure?” Gabriel nervously clutched her hand

“There really aren’t any other options, Mr Emerson I can’t deliver this baby in the position she’s in” Dr Rubio’s voice was firm

“As I told you before, it’s Professor E the best of hi to be fine” Julia s herself to outlast the contractions that continued wracking her body

Gabriel poured his apology into a chaste kiss and a fehispered words of comfort before Julia’s rooist arrived and asked a series of questions The nurse asked Gabriel to follow her so that he could change into surgical scrubs

He did not want to be separated from Julia, not even for an instant He’d spent hours at her side, feeding her ice chips and holding her hand But since he wanted to be with her in the operating rooo

Before he left, Julia extended her hand He took it, pressing his lips to her palret this,” she whispered

He pulled back The pain ht processes

“What don’t you regret, darling?”

“Getting pregnant After this is over, we’re going to have a little girl We’ll be a faht smile and kissed her forehead “I’ll see you in a few ”

She returned his s in order to deal with the next contraction

Chapter Eighty-four

In his absence, Julia si—that is, until she was lying in the obstetric operating roo the area that had been prepped for incision

“I can feel that,” said Julia, clearly alarmed

“Does it feel like pressure?”

“No I can feel you pinching the skin”

Gabriel sat at Julia’s side, above the screen that blocked her lower body fro panicked “But I can still feel pain I’m afraid that I’ll feel the incision”

Dr Rubio repeated her test, pinching and twisting at Julia’s skin, and Julia insisted with increasing anxiety that she could feel every pinch

“We have to put her out,” announced the anesthesiologist, eneral anesthetic