Chapter 408 - Congratulations

Halia opened her eyes. She had been sleeping for some time but she still felt exhausted. Although her delivery was surprisingly quick and smooth, it was still very painful and tiring. 

Jackson noticed his wife wake up and quickly walked to her side.

"Where's our baby?" Halia asked as she tried to look around.

Jackson smiled. "The nurses are taking care of her in the nursery so you can get a bit of sleep. When you're ready, I can ask them to bring her. You have a crib in your room for her to sleep in," he said as he pointed to a little crib next to Halia's bed.

Halia nodded her head excitedly. She had been waiting for the baby to arrive for so long. All she wanted to do now was stare at its face all day long and hold it in her arms.

Jackson also nodded and stepped outside to speak to the nurses. 

Soon, a little newborn baby was carried into Halia's room and placed in her arms. Halia looked at the precious little creature and felt her heart melt. Apart from holding her for a brief moment in the labor ward, this was her second time holding her daughter in her arms, but for some reason, she already felt so in love with her that she was ready to risk her life for her at any moment. This was the love of a mother. The feelings came naturally and Halia did not resist it.

Jackson also felt the same way. If anyone dared to pick on his precious little daughter, they were dead!

Seeing that Halia was now awake and her husband was beside her, the nurse began to teach the new parents some basics, including how to carry the baby properly, what signs to look out for, how to b.r.e.a.s.tfeed, how often to feed, how to change the baby's nappy, and how to bathe her. Halia had read some books and watched some videos beforehand so she already knew some of the things that the nurse taught, but it was still different to actually put the theory to practice on her own baby.

After the nurse finished teaching them and the baby settled into her crib, there was suddenly a knock on the door.

Jackson walked over to see who it was and was surprised to see his brother and Avaleigh outside. But even more surprising was the fact that Avaleigh was in a wheelchair. 

Avaleigh didn't want her friends and family to worry about her, so she had told Emerson not to tell anyone about her condition until her surgery was over and things looked positive.

Halia saw Avaleigh and her eyes opened wide in shock. She had seen the article about Avaleigh and heard how she quit her show. She also read the rumors about her breaking up with Emerson. But Halia knew better. She knew how much Emerson loved Avaleigh and knew there was more to the story. Now that she saw Avaleigh in this state, she began to realize what the real reason was.

"Are you OK, Avaleigh? What happened?" Halia asked in concern. She really liked Avaleigh so she was genuinely worried about her.

Avaleigh looked pale and weak, and it appeared as though she had lost a bit of weight.

Avaleigh smiled reassuringly and replied, "I just came out of surgery."

"Surgery?" Jackson exclaimed. "Were you sick?" Jackson was also worried about her. Even though she wasn't married to Emerson yet, he had seen how well she treated his brother and already thought of her as his sister-in-law.

Avaleigh glanced at Emerson, gesturing for him to explain for her. It was a tough experience for her to talk about.

Emerson kneeled down beside Avaleigh and held her hand. He then explained to Halia and Jackson that Avaleigh discovered she had cancer and was now being treated for it.

"The doctor has removed the cancer and she said that it doesn't look like it's spread. At this point, things are looking positive and her survival rate is high," Emerson said.

"It's lucky that you took me to do that pregnancy test at the hospital a few weeks back and the doctor did a few routine checks while I was there; otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered it so soon. The growth was very small and it was removed easily without impacting anything around it. Any later, and it could have been a very different story," Avaleigh added as she looked at Halia.

Halia's heart ached for Avaleigh; she could only imagine how scared she must have been when she discovered her condition. But, at the same time, she felt proud of Emerson. Like a sister, she was proud that he stuck by Avaleigh's side and supported her through the entire ordeal. 

At that moment, Halia suddenly noticed a sparkle from the corner of her eyes. She glanced down at the couple's entwined hands and noticed a diamond sitting on top of Avaleigh's finger. She gasped in surprise and smiled. "Is that the ring you mentioned before?" she asked Emerson excitedly when she realized what it was.

Jackson also looked at the ring and smiled. 

Emerson nodded his head and grinned at his brother. "She said 'yes'," he replied proudly. "We wanted to wait until the surgery was over before we told everyone."

Jackson wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulder and high-fived him. 2 weeks ago, Emerson had mentioned that he was proposing to Avaleigh. He had planned a special dinner for her with music, flowers, and even fireworks. But that was the same day that the article about Avaleigh was released. Since Emerson never mentioned anything about his proposal after that day and Jackson didn't see any fireworks being lit, he assumed the article had interfered with his brother's plans and he was postponing the proposal. Who knew he had already succeeded!

"Congratulations!" Halia and Jackson said in unison.

At the same time, Laurie started crying in her crib like she wanted to join in.

Emerson and Avaleigh glanced at the baby and laughed. "Congratulations to you too!"