Janet's due date was December 11. However, the woman had begun experiencing irregular contractions a few days before Thanksgiving.
After Thanksgiving, following an examination that confirmed the little one would be born in the first few days of December, Janet obediently moved into a private hospital near Pepperdine University in Malibu at Simon's persuasion.
The Westeros family's own hospital was definitely out of the question right now.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Raymond Johnston had sent over the entire team from the Johnston family medical center in Australia.
Simon himself had completely stopped working before Thanksgiving, planning to stay by Janet's side throughout the entire month of December.
The news of Janet's pregnancy had caused quite a media stir when it was first announced.
As the little one's birth drew near, the outside world once again began paying attention to the matter. Quite a few paparazzi even appeared near Dume Point Manor.
Simon handled this very forcefully. He had Pat Kingsley personally notify all parties in the media one by one that any outlet sending reporters to snoop or stake out the situation recently would no longer be welcome by any company within the Westeros system.
Such a statement carried serious weight.
Now it was not only Daenerys Entertainment. The entire Westeros system generated countless newsworthy items every year.
If a newspaper was blacklisted by the Westeros system, it would essentially lose a huge source of content compared to other media outlets.
In addition, both Dume Point Manor and the private hospital where Janet was staying for her delivery had significantly increased their security levels. Even the internal hospital team had been replaced with doctors and nurses flown in from Australia. The media therefore gave up on trying to dig for information and simply waited for an official announcement from the Westeros side.
Of course, even without firsthand details, discussions about the little one in the newspapers were still inevitable.
The most eye-catching topic was still the little one's name.
Melbourne Westeros.
Simon and Janet had made no effort to hide the name issue from the public. After the previous baby shower, the news had leaked out.
Inevitably, some people privately criticized how unconventional the name of the Westeros family's first child was.
However, most of what appeared in the papers were various interpretations of the name and other possible meanings behind Simon Westeros choosing it for his son.
Many felt that the name was more likely chosen by Janet.
The Australian media's reaction to the name was quite enthusiastic. During one media interview, the mayor of Melbourne expressed great excitement, saying that Simon Westeros naming his son "Melbourne" was an honor for the city and offering his blessings to the soon-to-be-born little one.
If nothing else, the two Batman films shot consecutively in Melbourne had already greatly boosted the city's international recognition.
Because of the rise of the film industry, in the past two years Melbourne had also become Australia's most popular tourist city.
This continued until December 6.
After eating breakfast, Simon was accompanying Janet on a walk in the private hospital garden when the woman suddenly felt unwell. By the time the on-call doctor and nurse team gathered, Janet's water had already broken.
With ample preparations made in advance, they smoothly transferred Janet to the delivery room. Simon also changed into sterile scrubs to stay by the woman's side.
Since this was her first child, the doctors estimated it might take more than eight hours.
From the multiple examinations done beforehand, both the woman and the child were very healthy. Although Janet was very afraid of pain, she had still chosen natural delivery.
While lying on the delivery bed, frowning and groaning, she kept tightly gripping Simon's hand. Whenever the pain became intense, she would occasionally glance at the man beside her with resentful eyes.
Regarding the little one about to be born, Simon's heart was actually filled with both anticipation and nervousness. He patiently stayed by the bedside the entire time.
They entered the delivery room a little after eight in the morning and continued until two in the afternoon.
At 2:20, an 8-pound little guy finally arrived in this world with a loud cry.
After another half hour of busy activity, having personally seen his newborn son and muttering "so ugly," the utterly exhausted Janet fell into a deep sleep.
Simon personally carried Janet to the adjacent ward. The little guy was also placed directly in the baby crib beside Janet.
After settling mother and son, Simon finally kissed the sleeping Janet on the cheek before walking out of the ward.
Outside the ward, many people had already arrived.
His female assistant was still in one room continuously answering calls, noting down the first congratulations coming in from all directions.
Simon greeted the executives from Daenerys Entertainment, Ygritte Company, Cisco, America Online, and other companies one by one. After everyone had looked at the little guy in the baby crib through the glass wall outside the ward, they gradually departed.
After seeing off the last two to leave, Amy Pascal and Nancy Brill, Simon returned outside Janet's ward. His female assistant walked over and stood with him in front of the glass window, gazing at the little one in the crib inside. Her eyes carried envy as she remembered to mention business: "The people from Australia have already boarded the plane. They should arrive around eight o'clock tomorrow morning."
Simon nodded, but his gaze never left the little one behind the glass window.
A newborn's body was very sensitive and fragile, unsuitable for too much contact with people. Therefore everyone had simply observed through the glass window earlier, and the nurses on duty inside the ward had to thoroughly disinfect themselves every time they entered or exited.
As for holding the child in front of people just a few hours after birth, Simon was not bold enough to do that.
The Westeros family had no need to satisfy anyone's curiosity.
After Jennifer finished speaking, she looked at her memo pad and continued
"Steve Ross just called personally from New York and sent gifts and a card. Also my father."
At this point, the female assistant smiled and skipped ahead
"Besides Mr. Edgar on the East Coast, Mr. Smith from Verizon, Ms. Fisch in Europe, and others, the heads of the other major Hollywood studios have all called and sent gifts as well."
After listening to his female assistant, Simon said. "Handle these first. Then make a list. I'll find time tonight to call them back."
Jennifer agreed, then added. "Also, should we release the news to the public? Ms. Kingsley just called too. She said many media outlets are waiting for information."
It was ultimately a happy occasion.
Simon thought for a moment and nodded
"Have Jeff post an announcement on the Igreit portal."
The female assistant continued to agree but did not leave immediately. She stood with Simon in front of the glass window, gazing a little longer at the little one in the crib inside before suddenly asking. "How does it feel to be a father?"
Simon looked at his son in the crib and answered honestly.
"A bit lost."
"Hmm?"
"I don't know what he'll be like in the future."
The female assistant paused, quickly understanding Simon's feelings at this moment.
If this were an ordinary family, they would definitely be worried about many things right now: the little guy's diet, health, education, and so on.
However, none of these would be any issue for Simon, or for the little guy named Melbourne Westeros lying in the crib.
This was destined to be a child born with a gold spoon, destined to receive the very best of everything.
Since he could give the child everything ordinary children could only dream of, Simon's current sense of loss was easy to understand.
Moreover, the female assistant had always known that he had never been someone with much sense of security.
Her body unconsciously moved closer to the man. Stopping after touching his arm, Jennifer said softly. "Melbourne will definitely become an outstanding person just like you."
She knew the chances of that were not high and understood that the female assistant was comforting him.
Simon smiled and raised his hand to pat her waist in a somewhat soothing manner.
The female assistant was born in 1962, only two years younger than Janet. According to their previous agreement, she could have a child next year.
Since he had promised, Simon naturally would not go back on his word.
Sensing the man's mood, the female assistant smiled gently and did not mention the matter. She simply said. "I'll go prepare something for you to eat. You haven't had anything since this morning."
For the rest of the day, Simon continued to patiently stay at the hospital.
Outside the hospital, after careful consideration by the public relations team and final approval from Simon, the Igreit portal published a very brief press release. The headline was simple: The Westeros family's first child has been born.
It was similar to the announcement when Janet had first become pregnant.
Of course, there were no photos.
Even though it was already widely known, the press release did not mention the little guy's name.
Soon after, a large number of mainstream media outlets reported on the matter.
Simon Westeros's first child, heir to tens of billions in assets. Just this hook alone was enough to trigger a strong wave of attention, even without any additional details.
Early the next morning, the Johnston family finally arrived in Los Angeles after their long journey.
The group this time was very complete.
Raymond Johnston and his wife, Anthony Johnston's family, Norman Johnston's family, David Johnston who had returned from Britain, Patrick Johnston, and their respective girlfriends. Of course, Veronica Johnston as well.
Simon had specially arranged for the mansion in Pacific Palisades to be prepared for everyone to stay in.
The Johnston family had always been conservative and traditional at heart. Moreover, Raymond Johnston had not had a flourishing family line before. He placed great importance on such matters.
Therefore, even the usually stern and serious Raymond Johnston could not hide his joy when he saw his grandson.
David Johnston and Patrick Johnston were both still unmarried, and Janet had been the same before. All things considered, the last time the Johnston family had welcomed a new child was ten years ago, when Norman Johnston's son Victor Johnston was born.
Although the little guy was surnamed Westeros, Raymond Johnston naturally treated the child as a member of the Johnston family.
If not for Simon's current achievements being too dazzling, this child might very well have followed the mother's surname.
The West had such a tradition.
When the mother's family was too powerful, the child would often take the mother's surname, or at least have the mother's family name included in the middle. Because this often symbolized glory and inheritance. Even the child himself would not feel it was inappropriate and would often prefer the mother's side of the family name.
For example, Lydia Hearst.
Few people knew what Lydia Hearst's father's actual surname was. Most people would naturally assume she was a "Hearst."
Simon had not forgotten his promise to the clever and precocious little girl at Sophia's daughter Gemma's birthday party. He had recently arranged a small role for her in The Ring. The Hearst family had responded, and the little girl happily accepted. She had even eagerly called Simon to seriously discuss the small role in detail.
Inside the private hospital.
The whole large family excitedly came to see the baby before temporarily heading to Pacific Palisades to settle in.
Since they had come to America, they would naturally stay for a few more days.
When the old man left, he specifically called over David Johnston and Patrick Johnston. David and Patrick originally did not want to stay with their parents in Pacific Palisades, but with the old man speaking, the two had no choice but to obediently follow.
It was probably about their marriage prospects.
The old man had never been very satisfied with David Johnston's girlfriend Leslie Wislett. However, after seeing the newborn little guy and feeling touched, he would likely loosen up this time.
Although everything was confirmed to be fine, for caution's sake Janet would stay in the hospital for two more days before returning to Dume Point Manor.
Simon also planned to host a family dinner at Dume Point Manor after Janet was discharged in two days.
Approaching noon.
As everyone gradually left, it seemed no one had particularly noticed that Veronica Johnston had unconsciously stayed behind until the end.
Because of her habitually silent and cold personality, Veronica seemed to naturally lack a strong presence.
Of course, Simon and Janet had definitely noticed.
Carefully holding the baby and personally feeding him milk until the little guy started blowing bubbles, Janet then looked at Veronica who was quietly sitting by the bed. Since Simon was no longer in the ward, Janet did not deliberately call her "Aunt" affectionately but also did not call her "Iceberg Veronica" in front of her son. She simply said with a face full of happiness.
"Would you like to hold him?"
From the first moment she saw the little guy, Veronica had shown some indescribable strange emotion.
This newly born little life seemed to possess a certain magic that kept drawing her in. Even though everyone else had already left and even if Janet might notice something, Veronica could not help but stay behind.
To avoid showing any flaws, Simon had just used preparing lunch as an excuse to leave the ward.
Her arm moved slightly, seeming very hesitant. In the end, Veronica still reached out.
Janet handed the baby over while reminding her.
"You have to support his head. The baby's neck is very fragile. Yes, don't lift him too high, or the baby will feel uncomfortable..."
Veronica silently and obediently followed Janet's instructions, carefully holding the child in her arms.
She looked even more cautious than Janet.
It seemed.
As if she had found something lost many, many years ago, something she thought she could never recover or make up for.
The memories from very long ago had long been sealed away by dust.
But at this moment, looking at the little one in her arms, those fragmented memories surged up like a tide. In this instant, Veronica once again felt an almost overwhelming urge to cry, along with a strange, intense impulse to take this child away.