Page 80 of His Surrogate Omega

The curtain drew back, and a familiar face appeared.

Jamie’s oncologist, Dr. Ford.

Rohan rose to his feet, frowning. “No offense, but Ihadhoped to never see you again.”

Dr. Ford smiled wanly. “Not the first time I’ve heard that. Sadly, not the first time I’ve had to reappear, either.”

A niggle of worry raced up Rohan’s spine. “Whyareyou here?”

“I got a call from the attending. There are alerts on Jamie’s medical file for me to be notified. I came right away.”

Oh gods. No.“Why would they call you?” he demanded, knowing the answer and not truly wanting to hear the explanation.

Dr. Ford paused, his mouth opening for a moment before he closed it and appeared to rethink his words. “He hasn’t told you yet, I take it?”

Rohan stared at the doctor, frowning. Panic slammed into him. His heart thundered in his chest. Tears burned at the backs of his eyes. “Told me? Told me what?”

The doctor sighed. “I told him at our appointment this afternoon that it was well past time to get you involved.”

“Involved in…?”

“Against my better judgment, I didn’t demand he bring you to his appointments. Jamie made me promise not to discuss things with you or anyone else in the family. Not until we were sure.” The doctor paused before continuing in a lower voice. “Today we became sure.”

The room began to waver back and forth a little in Rohan’s vision. “What didn’t you tell me?”

The doctor was silent another moment. The beeping of the machines was the only sound he heard against the rush of blood in his ears.

“Jamie’s cancer has returned.”

Rohan stood there for a moment, sure he hadn’t heard those words. He had to be dreaming.A nightmare.Jamie had battled and won this fight. They had their second chance. A baby on the way…

New life…

It couldn’t be real. He looked down at the bed and saw Jamie’s pale skin nearly as white as the sheets. His omega looked gaunt… weak. Had he missed the signs all along?

Wake up, godsdamn it! Wake up!

His knees went weak, and he fell back into the chair he’d just abandoned. “Hejustwent into remission. He’s only had a few months.”

Dr. Ford frowned. “Yes, but it’s back… with a ferocity I’ve rarely seen.”

Rohan glanced back to the bed, and looked at the small, sleeping form there. How fragile Jamie looked. “No.”

“After his last round of chemo, we’d shrunk his tumor—to a point where we were sure he was no longer in any danger. We’d hoped for a longer lasting remission—but this type of disease—it’s rarely for very long. Jamie was aware of that. He hasn’t been feeling well as of late, so he came in for a visit a few weeks ago. We found his cancer had returned… and metastasized. It’s spread to almost his entire body.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I gave Jamie his options. More chemo. More radiation. There are even a couple of experimental treatments out there he might be able to get into—but the chances are slim any of it would work, especially as formidable as it seems to be this time around. We would likely only be prolonging the inevitable.”

Rohan’s head whipped to face the doctor. “So you’re just giving up? Letting him die?”

Dr. Ford shook his head slowly. “Jamie has declined treatment. He says he’s done fighting. I can’t force him.”

Rohan clenched Jamie’s bed linens in his hands, as he tried to calm his raging heart. Without looking at the doctor, he spoke lowly—with a thread of violence in his tone. “And why did you not contact me sooner?”

“Jamie’s my patient. Not you. I have to follow his wishes… even if my heart and mind tell me to do otherwise.”

Rohan shook his head, his mind spinning. They’d been living a lie. Building for a future that would never come.

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