Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 502 - 500 Zoe is giving birth? All in a flurry

Chapter 502: 500 Zoe is giving birth? All in a flurry

William Hale sipped his tea and looked at Michale Shaw, "What happened between you two?"

"What could possibly happen between us?" Michale drank the tea in one go, recalling the scene he just witnessed, and took a deep breath.

He must be out of his mind!

What’s there to look at in a man’s waist?

William didn’t press for more details. He greeted Miss Carter casually and went to find his wife.

Zoe Payne was playing with toys to entertain Ivy Shea.

The little one brightened up at the sight of William Hale, stayed quiet in his arms. When the nanny suggested changing his diaper and feeding him, William Hale took on the task willingly.

He was surprisingly adept at it.

"Uncle Hale is quite competent, he can even change diapers," a friend teased.

Hannah Johnson laughed softly, "Competent? He’s just practicing on our Ivy. After all, Zoe will give birth soon."

"Right, when is your sister-in-law due?"

William Hale nodded, "We’ll be heading to the hospital tomorrow."

"Alright, let me take the child. He should be ready for a nap now." Babies at this age spent most of their time sleeping, and little Ivy was especially fussy, hard to soothe.

"You go host the guests, I’ll give it a try," William Hale said.

Hannah hesitated, "If it doesn’t work, call me."

As she walked away, she felt uneasy, and quickly returned to the lounge in just five minutes, only to find...

Ivy was already nestled in William Hale’s arms, asleep.

And usually, once Ivy was put in bed after being rocked to sleep, he would wake up immediately, so soothing him was a big task. Just as Hannah was about to gently take over her son...

William Hale placed Ivy directly in the crib, covered him with a blanket. The little one squirmed uncomfortably.

He patted his bottom gently.

And Ivy fell asleep right there.

Hannah was stunned!

This little brat wasn’t like this at home, quite the actor outside!

William Hale simply said, "Ivy isn’t that difficult, easy to soothe?"

Hannah took a deep breath:

It seems like "Ivy" was the right name after all.

**

After Ivy’s hundred-day banquet, Zoe Payne moved into the hospital, due to Hannah’s previous experience, William Hale was worried something might go wrong.

When she was admitted, the baby was already full-term.

Yet there were no signs of labor.

As the days passed, she had been in the hospital for over a week, nearing 40 weeks, the pregnant woman in the next room had long given birth, but she hadn’t.

She was getting heavier, flipping over in bed became difficult, already waking up frequently at night, not helped by the poor sound insulation of the hospital, where she could often hear the cries of newborns at night.

"How about going home tomorrow night? It’s really hard to sleep well in the hospital." As Zoe approached her due date, her figure was still slender, not at all like an expectant mother from behind.

Unable to resist her pleading, William Hale agreed to stay at home for a night.

Late at night, once Zoe was asleep, he went to the study to handle some leftover work.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Zoe woke up and couldn’t sleep, wandered into the living room, bumping into Wyatt Hale.

"Sister-in-law, it’s late, what are you doing in the living room?"

"Can’t sleep, what about you?"

"I’m hungry, looking for something to eat."

"Hearing that makes me a bit hungry too."

Wyatt Hale rummaged through the kitchen but found nothing appetizing, "Why don’t we go out to eat?"

"Sure."

After some consideration, they decided to have hotpot, because Zoe had heard that eating hotpot could induce labor, and she wanted to give it a try. But after finishing the meal, it seemed to have no effect.

Back home, seeing the light still on in William’s study, she relaxed and returned to the bedroom.

As she opened the door,

she was startled,

William Hale was sitting by the bed, his usual cold and stern face looking particularly serious. At that moment, he seemed like a student caught eating in class by a teacher, feeling inexplicably nervous yet trying to stay calm, "Are you... done with work?"

"Did you have hotpot?"

"Wyatt was hungry, and I couldn’t sleep, so I accompanied him. I barely ate any."

"Barely?"

William Hale didn’t believe her.

"Yes, just a few bites. The smell just sticks to you quickly. I’ll go change." Zoe said, as she headed into the closet, still feeling a lingering fear, and her stomach tensed up.

Contractions in late pregnancy were normal, and Zoe didn’t think much of it as her contractions had always been irregular.

Regular contractions were needed for labor to start.

She still took out her phone to record the times.

When she had washed up and got into bed, her belly tensed up again.

Seeing her discomfort, William Hale was anxious but couldn’t help, although Zoe soon fell asleep, only to wake up in pain around four in the morning.

Hannah had given birth unexpectedly, so no one had told her that contractions could be this painful.

She held her phone, recording the times.

The pain felt similar to menstrual cramps, a kind of dragging ache, so she got up to use the bathroom, only to find she was bleeding. She took a deep breath and woke William Hale.

"What’s wrong?" William Hale, having stayed at the hospital recently, hadn’t slept well.

"I’m bleeding, I might be in labor."

"..."

The usually calm William Hale suddenly panicked. He seemed to forget that the delivery bag was already prepared and sent to the hospital, frantically searching through the rooms, mind in chaos, completely clueless.

"Mr. Hale, calm down." Zoe, wearing a coat in early autumn, saw her husband’s trembling hands.

Impossible!

He couldn’t calm down at all!

He was in no state to drive safely, so at five in the morning, Finn Hale was dragged out of bed by him.

Sussie Lopez was on a business trip these days, so Finn had stayed at the old house for a few days. Seeing his nephew looking pale and helpless was quite a sight.

Having watched him grow up, it was the first time he had seen him like this.

"It’s not even dawn, don’t wake up grandpa and grandma," Zoe, feeling a bit uneasy herself, said after getting in the car, as William Hale held her hand, trying to comfort her, "Don’t worry, I’ll be with you all the way."

However...

Someone’s expression seemed even more nervous than hers.

His palm was sweaty, and when they arrived at the hospital, they rushed Zoe in for an examination and strapped on a fetal heart monitor, her contractions gradually becoming regular.

After a busy night, it was already daylight when the examination was done, and it was determined she would go into the delivery room at nine in the morning.

"Who’s going in with you for the birth?" the doctor asked.

As Hannah had mentioned, she had felt like she was on the verge of death giving birth alone in the delivery room, so William Hale had planned to accompany her.

Once inside, watching the doctors and nurses preparing busily, after being briefed on some precautions, he inexplicably began to get nervous, especially as Zoe’s pains grew, making him even more anxious.

Zoe was in good condition overall, and the doctor suggested she could have a natural delivery, and she was given an epidural.

But when labor truly started, the epidural seemed useless.

She was in excruciating pain.

The midwives had already told William Hale he could help his wife by wiping her sweat and soothing her, telling her not to be nervous, conserve her energy, and cooperate with the doctors.

Seeing her in such pain, William Hale’s heart ached.

He even suggested, "How about... not having the baby?"

The doctors were dumbfounded.

Seeing the baby almost out, what kind of talk was that?

Disregarding his status, the doctors promptly kicked him out of the room. William Hale was still in his pajamas, dragging his slippers along, his hair a mess.

The Hale and Payne Family members had already arrived at the hospital. Seeing him come out, Old Sir Hale frowned, "Is the baby born?"

"No."

"Then why are you out here?"

"The doctor thinks I’m in the way."

"..."

Finally, Julia Yates was disinfected and went into the delivery room.