The baby’s cries quieted at the sound of Elara’s heartbeat—the only rhythm she had ever known.
“I can’t,” she gasped at nine centimeters, panic clawing at her throat. “I can’t do this.” women giving birth
The clock on the nightstand blinked 2:17 AM when Elara felt the first real wave—not the teasing, Braxton-Hickory warm-ups of the past week, but a deep, oceanic pull that started at her spine and wrapped around to her belly like a slow, insistent tide. The baby’s cries quieted at the sound of