Semua Bab My Son’s Father Is the Wrong Brother: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Erika’s POV“Theo needs a stem cell transplant,” Dr. Kirk said. “And we are running out of time to find a donor.”My son was asleep on my lap. Three and a half years old, twenty-six pounds, one arm wrapped around the stuffed rabbit he’d had since birth.“Can’t you use my stem cells?”Dr. Kirk shook her head. “No, his tissue type is rare, and I have checked… you are not a match. But I don't have any information on his biological father, that could help. At the very least, having his typing would open up options we don’t have right now.”“Oh.”“Is Theo’s biological father in your life?”“No.”“Is he reachable?”I looked down at Theo’s dark lashes and the sharp jaw that had never come from me. “I don’t know his last name. I met him once, almost five years ago. I never saw him again.”Dr. Kirk took off her glasses. “Then I’ll be honest with you, Erika, whatever chance Theo has might run through that man. Find him.”“How long do I have?”“Weeks.”I buckled Theo into his car seat and called

Erika’s POVDamien stayed until Theo fell asleep, and then I walked him to the door.I did not want him to go.He came by most evenings now. He would turn up with a bag of the oranges Theo liked, or a car seat sturdier than the one I had, and sit on my floor letting a three-year-old climb him like furniture. He always left before I could thank him.Now he stood in my doorway with his hands in his pockets, and for a second I forgot every reason he shouldn’t stay.“Thank you,” I said. “For tonight. For all of it.”“It’s oranges, Erika.”“It’s more than oranges.”I meant to leave it there. Instead I went up on my toes to kiss his cheek. His jaw was rough under my mouth, and I stayed a breath too long, long enough to feel him go still, long enough that when I came down neither of us spoke.It did not feel like thanking him. It had not felt chaste at all. Now my face was burning.He looked at me a moment too long, and I made myself not think about what was in it.He stepped back. “If you n

Damien’s POVShe came in wearing jeans and a coat two sizes too big, Theo’s school bag still hanging off one shoulder. She hadn’t left it at the door on purpose. She’d simply forgotten it was there.My wife by tomorrow morning, and she still acted like a woman running late for someone else’s life.“You said you needed ten minutes,” she said, checking her phone. “I have to get back before Theo wakes up from his nap.”“Then I’ll make it quick.” I nodded her toward the kitchen island instead of the sofa. Distance mattered tonight. I didn’t trust myself near her on anything soft. “After the wedding, you and Theo move in here. I’ll cover every cent of his treatment, and I don’t want to hear another thank you for it. We’ll raise him together under one roof, and we’ll try for another baby as soon as the doctors clear you to.”“Okay.” She nodded like I’d read her a grocery list.“There’s one more thing,” I pressed my hands flat against the counter. “I won’t be developing feelings for you. Bet

Erika’s POVDr. Kirk didn’t sugarcoat it.“His numbers have dropped since last week,” she said, pulling up Theo’s chart on the screen and turning it so I could see. “He’s not in immediate danger, but the window is narrower than I’d like. If we’re going to move forward, sooner is better than later.”Damien stood beside my chair. He’d been standing since we walked in, arms crossed, reading every number on that screen before Dr. Kirk could explain it.“How narrow?” he asked.“Well, the sooner Erika conceives, the sooner we can plan around a delivery timeline that lines up with Theo’s treatment.”I looked at Theo through the glass partition. He was in the playroom down the hall with a nurse, building a tower out of foam blocks. He knocked it over and laughed so hard he fell on his side.“We’re already married,” I said. “We’ll start trying immediately.”Dr. Kirk glanced between us. Whatever she read in the three feet of space between my chair and where Damien stood, she kept to herself.“G

Erika’s POVJulian rang the doorbell at nine in the morning, holding a bouquet so big it blocked half his face.I opened the door in my oversized sleep shirt, no bra, my hair in a knot on top of my head, and there he was.“Good morning,” he said, grinning past the roses.“Julian. It’s nine a.m.”“I know. You’re always up by seven. I figured I’d give you two extra hours.” He held out the flowers. White peonies, pale pink roses, lilies spilling over the edges of the paper wrap. “These are for you.”I took them. They were heavy, and the smell hit me all at once—sweet and green and almost too much.“They’re beautiful,” I said. “You didn’t have to.”“I wanted to.” He stepped inside without being invited, ducking past me into the foyer, and crouched when Theo came running in from the kitchen.“Uncle Julian!” Theo crashed into his legs and Julian scooped him up, throwing him over one shoulder. Theo screamed with laughter, his feet kicking.“I was thinking,” Julian said, setting him down. “Yo