Part 2: The Wedding Vows Echoed While I Fought for My Daughter's First Breath

The contractions came closer together.

Three minutes.

Then two.

Soon I couldn't tell where one ended and the next began.

Every time the pain eased, I dragged myself back to the locked door and slammed both fists against it.

"Help!"

"My baby is coming!"

"For God's sake, somebody hear me!"

The only answer was distant applause.

Through the thick walls, I could hear the officiant welcoming the guests.

The ceremony had begun.

I sank against the door, sobbing.

Caleb had promised he would never leave my side when our daughter was born. We'd spent months attending birthing classes together. He knew exactly how terrified I was of labor.

Now he was only a hallway away...

Listening to wedding vows while I was trapped by his own mother.

A violent pressure spread through my pelvis.

Instinctively, I looked down.

Blood.

Not much.

But enough to send panic racing through me.

"No..."

I whispered to my baby.

"Please don't come yet."

I forced myself across the marble floor toward the vanity.

There was a small decorative trash can.

A stack of fresh towels.

A silver letter opener lying beside a guest book.

Nothing that could unlock the door.

I grabbed the letter opener anyway and jammed it into the lock.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The cheap brass mechanism refused to move.

Another contraction bent me nearly double.

Then—

A tiny voice.

"Mara?"

It was so faint I thought I imagined it.

"Mara... are you inside?"

A little girl.

One of the flower girls.

"I'm here!"

I screamed.

"I'm locked in! Please get help!"

Silence.

Then tiny footsteps running down the hallway.

Hope exploded inside me.

Surely she'd tell someone.

Surely an adult would come.

Five minutes passed.

No one came.

Later I would learn exactly what happened.

The child had found Eleanor near the chapel doors.

She innocently said,

"Mrs. Vale, the pregnant lady is crying in the bathroom."

Without missing a smile for the photographers, Eleanor leaned down and answered,

"She's practicing breathing exercises before surprising everyone after the ceremony."

The child believed her.

Children always believe adults.

Inside the bathroom...

I was running out of time.

Another unbearable urge to push seized my body.

I knew enough to recognize it.

May you like

PART 2: Discover the rest of the story in the comments section.

The kitchen remained silent. No one moved. No one spoke. Alejandro stood over the table, slowly turning page after page. With ever...

A Girl Alone On The Steps — He Tore Up The Wedding Card For His Daughter...

A Girl Alone On The StepsEmma had known something was wrong the moment Isabelle asked her to step outside for just a minute, promi...

Full Story : The Truth About the Axe in the Funeral Home

The funeral home was too beautiful for the terror hiding inside it.Cream-colored walls glowed beneath soft lights. White flowers s...

My daughter wasn't waiting anymore.

She was coming.