CHAPTER 98

Lily’s POV

This morning was beautiful and I had planned to get some flowers before coming back to prepare myself for when Lily would arrive. But labor had started already.

We had thought it would begin towards afternoon or evening, but it came when we least expected it.

“Oh babies, bear with Mother a little while longer,” I pleaded as I made my way back into the tunnel. “Aunt Clara would soon be here please,”

The pain was unbearable, each contraction ripping through me like waves crashing against a rock. I lay on a makeshift bed in the small, hidden room of the tunnel, waiting desperately for Clara to arrive.

I cried out as another wave of pain hit, clutching my swollen belly. "Clara, please hurry," I whispered, my voice barely more than a croak.

The memory of my mother flashed before my eyes, her calm, steady hands helping other women bring their children into the world.

As a child, I had watched in awe and fear, unable to understand the strength it took to endure such pain.

I was a