Chapter 321
On Saturday, Latham took Dorothea to a public hospital. The hospital director happened to be Wade’s sister-in-law. The first time they confirmed the pregnancy it was a bit of a whirlwind, so after thinking it through, Latham decided this was the best place to officially start her prenatal care.
The doctor started with the usual questions. “Latham, Dorothea, you conceived naturally, right p>
Without missing a beat, Latham said, “Doctor, it couldn’t have been more natural. Honey, tell the doctor I didn’t force you p>
Dorothea rolled her eyes. “Ignore him, Doctor. He’s clueless. Yes, it was natural. No IVF p>
Latham pressed his lips together, only just now understanding what the doctor meant.
The doctor, half-hidden behind her mask, tried not to laugh. “Okay, Dorothea, we’ve got all your information. Your next checkup is at eight weeks. We’ll do an ultrasound then to make sure it’s not an ectopic pregnancy p>
Latham perked up. “Doctor, will we be able to see if it’s a boy or a girl then p>
The doctor’s eyebrows drew together for a second, then relaxed. She probably thought Latham was hoping for a boy. “Sorry, Latham, we can’t check for that yet. If you really want to know, you could go to The Astoria Hospital at four months p>
“Oh, it’s fine. I just wanted to see if it’s a girl p>
Dorothea couldn’t be bothered to respond to him anymore. She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “We get it. Thanks, Doctor p>
As they walked out of the office, Dorothea shot Latham a deadly glare.
“You are so embarrassing. Next time, you’re not coming with me p>
Latham pulled her into his arms right away. “Babe, I’m sorry. I just care about the baby, that’s all. Next time I’ll look up all this stuff before we come, okay p>
They were laughing and teasing each other, not noticing Elise walking toward them. “Dorothea p>
Dorothea turned at the sound of her name. She hadn’t seen Elise in months, and honestly, Elise looked like she’d been through hell.
Elise glanced at them as they came out of the OB department. “Dorothea, are you pregnant? Congratulations p>
Her words were flat, so weak they barely counted as congratulations. Dorothea’s face stayed cold.
“Let’s go, babe,” she said to Latham, not even glancing at Elise, not answering her question, just brushing past.
Latham tightened his arm around her. “Yeah, let’s go p>
Elise looked like she’d been slapped. Pain shot down her back and she clapped a hand over her mouth, the mouthful
next second coughing up a
of blood.
This wasn’t the first time.
She turned and made her way upstairs to the oncology department.
“Elise, your CT scan results are in,” the doctor said. “You have a malignant tumor in your lung. We’re looking at mid-to-late stage. The tumormas started to spread so surgery isn’t possible. The options now are targeted drugs or chemo p>
“Do you want to call your family in to talk things over?” the doctor suggested. Family?
Alonzo wouldn’t take her calls anymore. She’d spent her whole life loving her son, only to be left completely alone.
Her husband, Layton, saw her as an enemy now. There was no way he cared if she lived or died.
Her father wouldn’t even let her come home.
And her two ungrateful brothers she didn’t even want to think about them.
Standing there, Elise realized just how hopeless she’d been all these years. Hopeless and stupid.
She thought of running into Dorothea earlier. Dorothea was
vel
pregnant now. But even if she net
weren’t, she’d never come to care for
Elise.
Dorothea hated her. And Elise knew she deserved it.
She shook her head. “No, Doctor. I don’t have family. I’ll make my own decisions about treatment p>
“If I go with chemo, what are my chances?” she asked quietly.
Malignant tumors were tricky. Even top doctors couldn’t give a real answer.
“Elise, if the chemo works well, you might have six months or a bit longer p>
Six months. That was it.
Her face went ghostly pale. “And if I don’t do chemo? What happens if I just try to manage it p>
“If you skip chemo and just do palliative care or alternative medicine, you might have three months left p>
Elise took a deep breath. Her mind was made up. “I’ll pass on chemo. Thank you, Doctor p>