Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Emilia’s POV
About a week later…
I groaned as I tried to pry open my eyes. My eyelashes fluttered allowing a beam of light to hit my eyes but drooped shut the next moment. I felt so exhausted; like someone had sucked out all my energy.
A cold cloth was pressed against my forehead. It dispersed some of the heat making it possible for me to think. The delivery had been a long, sufferable one. I had been in labor for about twelve hours. Nivaan stayed by my side, consoling, encouraging, and bearing the brunt of my mood swings.
Even now, he must be somewhere around. My body was too numb to make any significant movement. So, I focused on the sound around me. At first, I noticed only insignificant things; the whirring of a fan, the beeping of some machine, the swishing of curtains.
Then, I heard a soft gurgle. My heartbeat spiked instantly as an intense urge to see the source filled me. I snapped open my eyes and managed to mutter, “My baby…”
A nurse rushed to take my vitals while another one picked out the baby from the cradle and held it up. I craned my neck because all I could see was a small bundle.
“Don’t strain yourself. I am bringing him to you,” the nurse said in a kind voice as she walked toward me. The other nurse helped me sit up and adjusted the pillows behind me.
My heart fluttered like crazy, desperate to hold my baby. Damn! What was taking them so much time? I almost snatched him from her hands making the nurses chuckle.
The moment my eyes landed on my son, the world stopped rotating; my heart brimmed with so many emotions that it is difficult to explain. He looked so much like Nivaan; the color of his eyes. His soft petal-like lips curved ever so slightly and my heart stopped beating.
His smile was so beautiful that I melted like butter. I placed my finger ever so lightly over his lips and muttered, “Evaan, my son…” He puffed his cheeks before making a gurgling sound.
“He looks so much like his father,” the nurse commented. “It is so sad that your husband had to leave at such a crucial moment.”
My heart skipped a beat, “Did he tell you where he went?”
“Sorry…”
The conversation was put to an end by the loud wailing of my baby. The nurse helped me adjust him to a more suitable position and my complete attention shifted to breastfeeding him. Evaan didn’t drink for long, he drifted off to sleep quickly.
The nurse drew the cradle closer to my bed and placed him inside, “I had sent Kiara to get some supplies. She should be here any moment…”
The nurse looked a bit regretfully at me, “I will have to leave you alone for a while.”
“No problem… I am feeling okay…”
“Press the button on the bed if there is anything,” the nurse instructed before leaving.
I was admiring my son’s features when there was a popping sound to my left. I turned reflexively to find Valence standing there. My heart went numb and a strange sense of fear gripped me. I gripped the edge of the cradle defensively and questioned, “Why are you here?”
Valence didn’t reply. She teleported to my right in the blink of an eye, gripped my hand with one hand, and gripped my baby’s hand with the other. It all happened so quickly that I didn’t get time to react.
A soft glow of light emanated from the golden bracelet around my wrist. It dissolved and flowed into Valence’s hand. By the time, I gathered my wits, an intricate bracelet had formed on my baby’s tiny wrist.
I pushed her away and scrambled to pick Evaan in my arms. Wrapping my arms protectively around him, I snapped, “What did you do, Valence?”
She shrugged with a nonchalant expression, “Nothing, I just transferred the effects of the bracelet.” Her lips lifted into a meaningful smirk, “I also activated the second part of the ritual’s effect.”
My jaws clenched and my eyes burned with rage, “What exactly have you done, Valence?”
Her smile widened at my desperation, “These golden bracelets are made from opposing energies. Once activated they seek each other and project the power towards each other; destroying everything around them in this process.”
I felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. Swallowing visibly, I voiced out the horrifying thought that had formed in my mind, “Does that mean, Nivaan and our son….”
“They can never meet. If they come close to each other….” She paused for a second and then waved her hands in the air, “Boom! They both will die.”
I shook my head vehemently, “No, that is not possible…”
“If you don’t believe me… Go ahead and try it out,” her voice was dripping with mockery.
Anger bubbled within me like boiling lava. I wanted to strangle her that very moment but I couldn’t risk putting Evaan down. My eyes went to the door, screening the region outside through the glass pane. Nivaan was nowhere to be seen and Kiara hadn’t returned either. The only thing I could do was stall her diplomatically.
I took deep breaths to calm myself, “What do you want, Valence?”
“I just want you to make a choice: Nivaan or your son? It is obvious that you can’t live with both of them. If Nivaan and Evaan come close, they both will die.”
The blood rushed to my feet and my ears started ringing. What kind of a stupid demand was this? She was probably just joking. I glared at her and snapped, “What if I don’t make a choice?”
“You will lose both of them. I will make the spell binding them to deflect; killing both of them.”
I rocked Evaan nervously as I looked out of the door again. What was taking them so long? I cleared my throat and tried to talk in a calm voice, “I can understand that you don’t want Nivaan to be with me but what will you achieve by taking away my baby?”
Her eyes flashed with an evil glint and she sneered, “Take a guess… why would I need a baby conceived during the Lupus constellation.”
My entire body broke into a cold sweat, “F***! It was you… that woman was you…. Shit!”
“Yes, I am the witch who kidnapped you. I didn’t know you at that time. I just wanted to sacrifice your baby and complete the ritual. But when I saw Nivaan saving you, I went mad with jealousy.” Her fingers clenched into tight fists and her expression turned ghastly, “He was mine and you tried to steal him from me…” She circled around and moved to the other side, “So, I decided to return. I had expected Nivaan to ditch you at once but….” Her teeth clenched in anger making it difficult to speak.
Several emotions flitted across her face and she finally calmed down. My heart was drumming so hard that I felt I would faint. If it wasn’t for Evaan, I would have already collapsed.
Swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat, I asked, “If you loved Nivaan so much, why didn’t you return earlier.”
“Five years ago Cami saved me at the cost of her own life. In her dying moments, I had promised her that I would find a way to bring back Ariana.” Her voice dropped several notches lower, “I was so busy looking for a way to bring her back that I didn’t get time to think about anything else.”
“Was that why you were performing the ritual?”
“Yes, a sacrifice of seven untainted souls would give me enough power to resurrect my mother.”
I staggered back in disgust, “That is sick! You were going to kill seven innocent babies just to bring back one person.”
Her expression turned somber, “Now that you know what kind of a psychopath I am, what will you choose? Your mate or your son?”
I pressed Evaan close to my bosom and shook my head, “I… I can’t, I won’t choose…”
Her expression turned colder making the temperature of the room drop several degrees, “You will just end up getting both of them killed.”
I was about to hit her with something when a movement caught my attention. Nivaan was walking towards the ward. I raised my hand and was about to call him when he suddenly dropped to his knees and cried out in pain. At the same time, Evaan started wailing loudly.
Valence gripped my arm and a few moments later we were standing in the garden of the hospital. I was so badly shaken that my entire body was trembling.
“Did you see what happened when they were about ten feet away? Imagine what would happen if Nivaan takes him in his arms.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks and I drew my arms closer, trying to keep my son concealed. My knees gave way and I fell with a thump on the grass. I was slightly jolted but I managed to keep Evaan steady.
“I don’t have too much patience, Emilia Ryanwood… If you don’t reply, I will take your son away and slaughter him as a part of the ritual.”
She made a move to grab my son from my arms. I scrambled back and snapped, “Don’t touch my son.”
“Fine, I will keep Nivaan then… he is more useful to me than your newborn son anyway,” her voice was firm and decisive.
I burst out sobbing but didn’t protest. There was no way I could win against someone as powerful as her. Hugging Evaan close to my chest, I muttered, “I am sorry Nivaan. I promised our son that I would never abandon him….”
I sat there like a statue long after Valence left. Someone helped me to my feet and led me inside. I don’t know if it was Kiara or someone else; my brain had totally blanked out and I was too numb to register anything….