Chapter 18 The Midwife Without Hands
Xiao Yan did not let Lan Zhi appear again.
I made it safely through two months and finally gave birth.
It was harder than I had imagined. I had lost my voice. I could not even scream. I could only grit my teeth and bear the pain.
The children came out safely.
Twins. A boy and a girl. A matched pair.
Two soft, plump little bundles. Their round eyes rolled about, curious.
I smiled weakly and watched the midwife come to carry them off.
The midwife had no hands.
My scalp went numb. I looked up. That scarlet mouth was opening and closing.
"I proved it," she laughed, mad, and turned her head so I could see the left side of her face, the ear gone. "I love him more than you."
The children were crying. I opened my mouth, wanting to call someone.
A mute could not cry for help.
"You are not fit to raise his children." She locked her arm against my neck and started muttering, lost in it.
"He said pain is love. He loves me... so I have to love him too."
"He said he was incomplete, so I cut off my hands to become the same as him. He said he hated pregnant women most, so I cut my belly open and let him..."
She clamped her mouth shut. Her blood-colored eyes filled with tears. They pattered onto my face.
Then she broke out again, hysterical.
"But you got pregnant, and he gave you love. Why? I am the one who loves him most!"
"Go die. Go die!"
She pressed me until I could not breathe. My sight went dark by degrees.
At the edge of despair, someone in black short boots hurried into the corner of my eye.
I forced my hand out, trying to catch that last hope.
I only caught the robe.
He did not move. He watched me struggle.
......
So that was how it was.