"I cannot handle this pain anymore," Kiara cried out, spreading out her arms in great pain. She held on to the blankets and pulled hard on the bed linen.
Aletha was holding her daughter, encouraging her to be strong. Also in the room was Vine and lady Pinkerton. The other men, Travis and master Pinkerton, were standing outside.
"I can't! I can't!" Kiara screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Calm down, you're wasting your energy with all that crying," Aletha did her best to console her daughter.
"I want Jeremy!" Kiara screamed.
Alarmed by her daughter's request, Aletha looked up, trying to see how lady Pinkerton was going to react.
The old lady did not say anything, she was just silent. She and Vine exchanged glances, and Vine walked out of the room.
"Where are you going?" his grandmother asked.
Vine did not respond but kept going. Kiara was in immense pain. She wailed and wriggled and did anything and everything which she thought could help to lessen the pain. There were jolts of pain stabbing her in her back, and she felt a knot under her navel. The knot would loosen with vast pain, before building up again with even greater pain. She sweated profusely, and she pulled on the bed linen until she could pull no more. Her hair became a disturbance to her, if there was a scissors nearby she would have chopped it all off. She started to feel hot and removed her night dress, remaining with no clothes at all.
"Jeremy, call Jeremy please!" she wailed.
The pain was coming back, more intense than before. It felt like someone was hammering on her back, and after a while it felt like someone had thrown a rock to crash her back.
"Jeremy!" she cried. No-one said anything. Aletha held her daughter and kept encouraging her to be strong.
"I cannot do this! I can't!" she cried.
"Of course you can," Aletha strengthened her child. "You're a strong girl, you can do this."
"Water! Water!" Kiara stretched out her hand and a nurse place a bottle of water in her hands.
"Open it!" Kiara screamed in anger, and Aletha quickly opened the bottle before handing it over to her child.
"Juice! Give me the orange juice!" she said.
The juice was handed over to her and she took a few sips before handing it back to Aletha.
"I'm going to throw up!" she said and the nurse swiftly handed over a bowl, and Kiara started vomiting profusely.
"Mamma, I cannot do this!" she cried. "Jeremy, please call Jeremy for me!"
Kiara went on and on, talking a lot and asking for Jeremy. When the pain got extremely concentrated, she stopped talking and was just writhing in pain. She did not utter a word until her baby was born.
"It's a boy!" the doctor announced.
Everyone was happy, and Aletha immediately informed the men that the little prince had finally arrived. When she was cleaned up and the child wrapped up nicely in blankets, Kiara was moved to a different ward. The men came in to meet the new bundle of joy.
"Welcome to the world!" Travis said as he kissed the little one on the forehead. "What is his name?" he asked his daughter.
"His names are Ethan Anesu. Anesu means God is with us." Kiara announced proudly.
Lady Pinkerton frowned before saying, "Who named him that?"
Sensing that she had done something wrong, Kiara forced a smile and said, "I named him. I chose those names way before he was born."
"His name is Vincent Lisandro Pinkerton," the lady said with finality.
"Vincent Lisandro?" Kiara was not happy. "I wanted to name him Ethan Anesu."
"And I want to name him Vincent Lisandro."
"Ok," Kiara felt pain welling up. She could not believe that lady Pinkerton also had names for her child, and yet she did not even inform her.
"Grandma, how about you give her one name, and I give her the other one? I can name him Ethan, and you can name him Vincent or Lisandro, whichever name you want?" she asked with pleading eyes.
"His names are what I have just said: Vincent Lisandro."
"Ok, may I please give him a third name, please?" she said, tears threatening to fall.
"You don't get it, do you Kiara? Did Vine never tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Kiara asked with widened eyes.
"His grandfather, my husband, is named Vice Leo. Our late son, Vine's father, was called Victor Lewis. Your husband is Vine Lucas. That's the trend. Even if we go back to all the generations before us, all of them had those initials: VL. This child's name will be Vincent Lisandro."
Kiara was shocked to hear that, and from the way that the lady explained it, it was clear that there was no negotiating with her.
"I really wanted him to be named Ethan Anesu," she mumbled.
"What?" Travis asked. It was his way of telling his daughter not to continue arguing with lady Pinkerton, and new mother got the hint.
"Nothing" Kiara said in resignation.
The evening came, and still Vine had not come in to see the new baby. Lady Pinkerton updated Kiara, saying that she too was not aware of where her grandson was, but as soon as he came back, they were going to take the DNA test.
"I really hope he comes today, because I want this over and done with," Kiara said in a very low voice.
"What did you say?" Travis asked his daughter.
"Nothing," Kiara refused to repeat herself.
The next day came, and Vine was still nowhere to be seen. It was the first time ever for Gareth to fail to know where Vine was, and the family was in a panic.
"I don't think he is in any danger. He just needs some time alone, he surely will come back. My team is out searching." Gareth assured everyone.
When the day was ending, Kiara came up with a suggestion, "can't we do the test using something like hair? I mean his own hair from his hair brushes in the house? The waiting is killing me."
The senior members of the family argued over this, but in the end it was agreed that if Vine did not appear on the following day; the day on which Kiara and the baby were leaving the hospital, then a strand of his hair was going to be used.
And sure enough, on the following day Vine did not appear. Travis was at the hospital, and he offered to drive Tessa to the mansion to go and collect the strand of hair.
"We do have many drivers to do that, Mr Noels." Vine's grandmother stated.
"I know, I know. It's just that, I can't stand seeing my daughter so stressed out. So I thought as a way of supporting her, let me be actively involved in making sure that the test is done."
"That's very sweet," lady Pinkerton commented.
And off they went, Travis and Tessa. They did not take long, for in a short while they were back at the hospital, and they were already filling in forms for the DNA test to be done.
Kiara and the baby were taken home, and given a lot of attention. Lady Pinkerton herself held the little one, making sure that Kiara was very comfortable.
"Are you OK?" she kept asking the younger lady on their way home.
"I'm fine," the new mother kept responding.
***.
Dear Kimmy
The year has come to an end, and I can only pray that as it goes, it takes with it all my sorrows and pains. May it take with it my tears and my sadness, and may the new year bring me happiness. Just two days before the year came to an end, I held my son in my hands. I would love to believe that he came in time to make me happy.
He is new to me, and with him, the two of us will welcome the new year and make sure to make ourselves happy. My son and I will not depend on anyone for our happiness.
Who knows what the new year holds in store for us?
Dear Kimmy, I can only hope for the best…
***.
Kiara held her baby in her arms and kissed him multiple times.
"Who do you look like?" she asked the child. "Happy new year my child. This year will be our year. You and I are going to be happy in this year." She kissed him again.
There was a soft knock on the door and Tessa walked in.
"Happy new year ma'am," she smiled brightly.
"Happy new year to you too," Kiara smiled back.
"How is the junior master Vincent?"
"Junior master? Why would you call him that?"
"That's the instruction we got, ma'am."
"He's fine." Kiara said before kissing her child again.
"Would you like to come down for breakfast, or you prefer that it be brought here, ma'am?"
"Vincent and I will stay here. Please bring the food," Kiara said.
After Tessa had left, there was a slight knock on the door, and thinking that it was Tessa coming in with the breakfast, Kiara did not raise her eyes. She continued kissing her child, until she heard grandma's voice saying, "you really love him, don't you?"
"Oh yes I do. I love him a lot," she looked up, a bit startled by the lady's presence.
"Well I have good news for you." she said.
"What is the good news, grandma?" Kiara sat up and listened.
"It's about Vincent."
"Oh?" she could not help but wonder what the news could be.
"You can guess, can't you?" lady Pinkerton smiled.
"Unfortunately I can't. Please tell me, otherwise curiosity will kill me."
"Ok. Here, take this envelope and open it up yourself!"
"What is it? " Kiara asked as she stretched an unsteady hand to receive the envelope.
"The DNA test results," the old woman smiled.
"What does it say?" she asked, fighting hard to sound composed.
"Open it!"
"No grandma, just tell me please."
"Ok, if you say so. It says the child is Vine's. He is a Pinkerton, after all. Is that not great news?"
Kiara did not know how to respond. She was not sure what she was expected to say. Oh, so the child was actually Vine's child? She had really hoped that the child would be Jeremy's. She cleared her throat and blinked several times, doing her best to remain calm.
"It's great news, is it not?" grandma asked again.
"It is," Kiara said in a low voice.
"Now even if my soul should rest, I will rest a happy woman. My greatest wish was to see Vine happily married, and to see his son. I know that the marriage was not done properly, but still my two wishes have been granted. I am a happy woman."