"Ah... that hurts..."
In the delivery room, filled with the smell of disinfectant, Melissa Park lay on the operating table. Drenched in sweat and with her hands tied tightly to the headboard, her face reflected pain.
"Keep going, Park, we can see the head now. The baby will be out any moment." She encouraged Lauren Kim, Melissa Park's best friend and a nurse in the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department, who was at the foot of the bed. "Take a deep breath again."
Melissa Park listened to Lauren Kim's words over and over again, taking a deep breath and pushing with all her strength. After more than an hour, she finally successfully gave birth to a baby boy.
"He's here, the first baby was born." Lauren Kim, after cleaning and wrapping the baby, quickly walked to Melissa Park's side.
Despite the intense pain, Melissa Park used all her willpower to keep her mind clear. She knew that if she fainted now, she would never see that child again.
“Let me see…” Melissa Park turned her head, looking at the beautiful baby in Lauren Kim’s arms, her mouth pale and dry.
“Look quickly, so I can take the baby away.” Encouraged Lauren Kim.
The baby was chubby and cute, with long black hair and delicate features, but it had not yet opened its eyes. He didn't even get to see his own mother.
“Stop looking, take the baby away quickly. If others find out, our Kim family will be destroyed.” Lori Cantore, Lauren Kim's mother and East Town's most experienced gynecologist, sternly instructed her daughter while helping Melissa Park with the birth of her second child.
“Don't do this Lauren, let me look at him, let me kiss him. Please don’t take him away.” Melissa Park begged pitifully, her tears mixing with her sweat and soaking her long black hair.
“Melissa Park, I can help you keep a child, and that is the greatest gift I could give you. If our employer finds out, not only his remaining son but also our Kim family will be in danger. Since you chose to be a replacement, you should expect it." Lori Cantore stated in a commanding tone. "Take him away."
"No..." Ignoring Melissa Park's pleas, Lauren Kim left the delivery room dejectedly, carrying the baby.
Melissa Park watched as Lauren Kim's figure disappeared through the delivery room door, heartbroken with unbearable pain. It was as if, truly and tangibly, a piece of flesh had just been ripped from her body.
She didn't want to be a surrogate mother, much less give birth to twins so soon.
At eighteen, a period of life that should be a joyful rite of passage into adulthood, her joy was cut short. Shortly after her birthday, her grandmother, the only relative she had in the world, was diagnosed with uremia and needed a kidney transplant, requiring constant dialysis.
The astronomical medical fees left her breathless. Other than choosing the method offered by Lauren Kim to become a surrogate, there really was no other way to get money faster.
Five million! It was enough money for the grandmother's operation and also to support her son for a while.
Nine months of pregnancy passed quickly and soon the two precious babies in her belly were ready to be born.
She often imagined saying goodbye to one of the babies, but she never thought it would be so painful.
The second baby was successfully born, looking identical to the first. Both babies were incredibly cute.
At Bristol dock, Lauren Kim bought Melissa Park a boat ticket to Liverpool.
“Quickly, take the ticket and leave with your baby. Pull the hat down a little further. You have just given birth, be careful not to get sick afterwards. Once you leave Bristol, never come back. If you only kept one of the babies, not only would the child's life not be guaranteed, but our Kim family could also be in danger. I begged my mother for over a month before she agreed to help.
"Thank you, Lauren."
Holding her baby, Melissa Park climbed onto the deck. The boat sailed slowly away from Bristol, the city in which she was born and raised.
