Flash Marriage: Shrewd Wife, Devious Husband
Chapter 214: Fear

Chapter 214: Fear

Marcella sat comfortably with her legs folded over the couch and sipped the hot chocolate Gloria brought her. Joey was playing with Gloria’s daughter so carefully.

Marcella smiled seeing how careful Joey was with Anna. He loved playing rough with Tony and even she would get scared seeing how careless Tony would act with Joey. She thought that it would affect Joey making him think that it was the only way to play.

She had voiced her thoughts to her husband who only knew to ignore her. Apparently, that’s how boys play! She would roll her eyes at him.

Who knew she was wrong?

She was scared of bringing Joey with her to Gloria’s house. He never was rough with her and never caused any issues while playing with other kids in the park. She was still worried considering Anna was still a baby. On the way here, she kept on advising him. She didn’t think he listened to her though.

The more he grew up, the more she saw his resemblance with Tony. That nose and that smile—carbon copy!

She was glad she worried for nothing. Joey knew how to be gentle. He held the baby’s hand so gently and kissed her hand. When Anna accidentally dropped the toy on her foot, he immediately wiped it with his hands and stopped her crying even before she started.

Aww! He’s such a sweetheart! He’s going to be a great big brother!

"Do you think they’ll fall in love with each other in the future?" Gloria asked and sat beside Marcella.

"Wow!" Marcella looked at her weirdly.

Love? That thought didn’t even come to her mind.

"I was admiring my son for being a good big brother," she said dryly. "You looked at those little munchkins and thought about love?"

"Oh, but that’s not all I thought about!" Gloria smiled. "I thought about attending my daughter’s wedding. I saw my daughter twisting her husband in her little finger. I thought about how my daughter was going to inherit the Crawford inheritance after her mother-in-law’s death, I thought about~ Oww! That hurts!" Gloria laughed rubbing her arm that stung.

"I didn’t think you have this much strength, Mars," Gloria leaned on Marcella’s arm.

Marcella ended up laughing. Her friend hasn’t lost her ability to create an elaborate story with just a little word or two.

"It wouldn’t be bad if our kids fall in love and get married, right?" Marcella said.

She placed her hand on her belly.

"How is she doing?" Gloria asked pointing at her belly.

"She...The baby is fine..." Marcella answered.

She wanted a girl but as days progressed, she didn’t want to set her mind that she was going to have a daughter. It didn’t feel right to train her mind that way. What if it was not a girl?

"... I can feel its kicks... See... can you see it?" Marcella asked.

"Ah... yes, I can!" Gloria shouted in glee. "It’s the most amazing feeling, right? But only for the first few times. When it happens later, it becomes...never mind," Gloria waved her hand not willing to talk about it further.

"Becomes what?" Marcella asked. She started feeling the baby’s kicks a lot these days and she was enjoying it.

Gloria thought about it for some time. Then she decided to be open about it. "Your third trimester is approaching, right? The real troubles will start now. Enjoy your bathroom visits every five minutes and labored breath...You’ll wait for the baby’s arrival each passing day," Gloria said with a smile.

Marcella began to get scared. Labor was a pretty scary thing but she had to go through it. She saw Gloria’s eyes ending up on her daughter and her face lit up. She didn’t look like she was remembering the pain.

"Does it hurt very much, Gloria?" Marcella asked. "Labor... just how painful is it?"

Gloria looked at her. "Do you want to know?" she asked.

Marcella nodded her head without any conviction. She wanted to know and at the same time, she was scared of knowing the answer.

"First labor is like... You must have had it, right? That one period that was so painful you ended up curling up on the bed unable to move?" Gloria raised her brows.

Marcella nodded. She had had a handful of such periods. But if it was going to be that bad, she had hopes that she could handle it.

Also, labor probably lasts only a few hours, right? Manageable...

"Now multiply that tenfold, no, a hundredfold," Gloria said toppling the house of cards Marcella started to build in her mind.

"...hundredfold?" Marcella’s voice went low, almost inaudible. "How can you survive such pain?" she asked.

"Get an epidural," Gloria patted her thigh. "Do it. Thank me later."

Marcella blinked her eyes. "Did you get an epidural?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Gloria said.

"Then the pain was a hundredfold with the epidural?" Marcella asked.

"No... but that’s what my cousin who had both types of births said," Gloria said. "I took her word for it. Why bother to check?"

"Mary told me the pain wouldn’t be that terrible. She said it’s what every woman goes through and if it was not manageable, the human race wouldn’t have survived this long," Marcella said.

She had some confidence after talking to Mary and now Gloria managed to ruin it.

"How old is Mary?" Gloria asked.

"Around 60," Marcella answered.

Gloria shook her head. "Old women are made of different stuff. Get an epidural," she insisted.

Marcella let out a deep breath.

"She also said that the second birth would be easier," Marcella said.

Mary had experience and so did Gloria. She didn’t know who to believe.

"The easiest, so I was told," Gloria said.

Marcella hummed. At least, they agree on this one.

She thought she could do it without an epidural, but she had doubts now. She decided to talk to Tony.

Speaking of Tony, she missed him very much. At times like this, she wanted him near her. She cannot talk about these issues over the phone. She wanted his embrace and to hear his heartbeat to give her confidence.

"How is Mr. Crawford’s campaign going?" Gloria asked.

"About that..." Marcella let out a sigh.

Gloria leaned forward, offering her a listening ear. Marcella told her everything that was happening. She needed a listening ear.