Imperfect Desires

Ashley was pacing outside the delivery room restlessly. Francesca had gone inside for over an hour now and she was feeling a little scared now. In her worry, she ended up calling Xiu as well even though Francesca had asked her to not disturb anyone.

However, she needed someone by her side right now and that's why she had to call Xiu.

"Ash?"

Xiu came to her side hurriedly and asked, "Is everything okay? Why do you look so scared?"

"Mom has been in there for over an hour," told Ashley trying to hold back her tears. "I don't know what to do. I got scared so I called you. Sorry, sister-in-law for disturbing you."

Xiu hugged her and patted her back soothingly, "What disturbing? I'm more than happy to be here. Also, there is nothing to worry about at all. Child labor is a battle, it takes time to win a battle."

"But the doctor said because of mom's age, there are things to be..." she couldn't continue her words any longer.

Xiu continued to console her, "Aiya, little girl, don't be so negative about it. Mama is one of the strongest women I know. Only this much can't possibly hurt her."

Her words weren't unique or anything but they had a calming effect that allowed Ashley to put down her worries. But she didn't let Xiu go and continued to hug her as if she was holding her emotional pillar.

Although Xiu was giving her courage, she was actually quite nervous herself. Even though Francesca had been well taken care of in the past months but life is an unpredictable cycle. You can't possibly expect what's to come next. And no one believed in this more than Xiu.

However, no matter what mood she was in inside her heart, she won't let it show to others. Especially, Ashley who was actually really worried about Francesca. Xiu knew Ashley was a good girl. Since the time Francesca married into the family, Ashley had accepted her as her own mother. And as Francesca happened to be a very good mother, how could Ashley not grow close to her?

They waited for a while before the delivery room's door was finally opened. They finally got to see the red and wrinkly little baby but Ashley didn't find him ugly at all. Her eyes were sparkling like little stars as soon as she saw her little brother. She was already in high school, having a little brother at this age was strange but she had to be the most excited sister. She had been waiting for her little brother for so long. Knowing that Francesca was also fine, they relaxed.

"I'm gonna inform your brother," said Xiu as she stepped out to call Darren. Just to make a phone call, she actually went out of the hospital door. Even after all this time, she was still not comfortable with hospitals. So, she wanted to find a place with some fresh air. Besides, Darren's company was about ten minutes drive from here, so she thought she'd just wait for him there.

Darren was dealing with the paperwork at hand. He wanted to clear up his schedule for the next two days since the doctor had said that Francesca's delivery date was tomorrow. He didn't even know that Francesca had been sent to the delivery room already.

When he received a call from Xiu, he smiled, "It seems Sweets is missing me."

"Who said that?" retorted Xiu. "I'm calling you because I want you to come to the City hospital."

"Why?" Darren's expressions tensed up when he heard her say 'hospital.'

"I am here," answered Xiu. "Because..." Before she could continue, someone bumped into her shoulder so hard that she couldn't help yelping, and along with that her cell phone fell down.

On the other side, Darren only heard her panicked yelp and his heart dropped. "Sweets? Sweets!" He called her name but he didn't hear anything. And then the call was disconnected. When he tried to call again, the call didn't go through. Darren's whole body trembled as a million things swirled through his mind.

He ran out of the office immediately as an arrow shot out at full speed. His driver had taken half a day off which meant, he had to take a taxi but he didn't want to. He grabbed the car keys and settled behind the steering wheel. As his hands touched the steering wheel, a long-buried scene flashed through his mind.

That pain, helplessness, his vulnerability, his desperate yearning to live... All of it fell down like a heavy mountain on his heart but Darren forcefully pressed it all down. He had to find his wife. Those were the words he kept reminding himself when he started the car and drove out.

He thought it'd be difficult to drive after all those years but when the purpose was to find his wife, nothing else really mattered.

On the other hand, Xiu glared at the back of the person who ran off inside the hospital but didn't even apologize for bumping into her. But thinking about how something urgent must be going on, she let this stranger be. She wasn't hurt. Okay, that was a lie, her shoulder was still aching. She just didn't wish to take it seriously.

She bent down her waist to pick up her phone which had fallen into a puddle of water. The small puddle was left by the rain that had arrived unexpectedly a couple of hours ago.

When Xiu tried to use the phone, she wasn't able to. "What waterproof phone? This thing just gave up on me at this time!" She was cursing the phone makers but wasn't gonna accept that whether it was waterproof or not, the phone had taken a strong hit. Even the screen had broken, it was obvious that it'd stop working.

She was still lamenting over the death of her phone when she saw a car speeding over. And she was stunned when the one to walk out of it was her very own husband. He bolted to her side and hugged her tightly. 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝐞𝚠𝚎𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝚕.co𝚖

"Thank God, you're okay."