Forbidden Heir (The Heirs 8)

I swallow hard as I reach for her hand. “Mom, we both know there’s a possibility the treatment won’t work.”

“Still,” she gasps, fighting to keep the tears back. “Do we have to talk about this now?”

“We do. I’m going for surgery tomorrow. There’s no time. We have to face the facts.”

God, this is hard. It’s near impossible having to be the strong one when I’m the one dying.

There’s a hard blow to my gut as my grim reality washes over me again. Ryker has managed to make me forget for a while… a precious short time.

I turn my gaze to Ryker, and it has him getting up and walking to me. He wraps his arm around me, then says, “Aunt Della. Danny is everything to me.”

“She’s everything to me, as well,” Mom cries as she gets up. “God, she’s my daughter.”

Just then, Dad comes into the room, and I know things are going to go bad really fast.

RYKER

Uncle Carter takes hold of Aunt Della, then he asks, “What’s going on.”

Aunt Della answers, her voice tight, “Danny’s giving Ryker power of attorney so he can make medical decisions on her behalf.”

Uncle Carter’s eyes snap to mine, then to Danny. “Seriously? Why would you do that, Danny?”

“Because Ryker is my other half,” Danny answers.

“You just got engaged. You haven’t even been dating that long,” Uncle Carter argues.

“It doesn’t change the fact that we love each other. I’m doing this with or without your approval,” Danny says, her voice starting to quiver.

Hearing how close to tears Danny is, I jump in. “I understand she’s your daughter. I’m not going to just make random decisions. I’ll discuss them with you.”

“You’ll still have the power to take her off life support or to reject any further treatment that could’ve made a difference,” Aunt Della cries.

Uncle Carter’s face turns to granite, and I know I’m in for the fight of my life.

“Which is something I will never do,” I state, my own voice tense.

Danny lets out a sob, and it has me wrapping both my arms around her.

Locking eyes with Uncle Carter, I say, “Danny’s my entire life. I need a say in what happens to her. I won’t go against your wishes unless it’s to terminate life support. I’ll never agree to that.”

Uncle Carter’s eyes drop to Danny. “Is this really what you want, Danny?”

She nods against my abs. “It is. This isn’t… about who… I love… or trust most. Like I told Mom… if the roles were reversed… I’d want a say in what happens… to Ryker. This is a decision… we made together.”

Uncle Carter shakes his head, then his eyes lock on mine. “You do not make a single decision without me.”

“I won’t,” I assure him.

I can see they’re unhappy about this, but I won’t back down. Danny’s my entire life. If I lose her and it was in my power to save her… that will never happen.

Not long after the argument, Dr. Friedman comes into the room. He greets Uncle Carter and Aunt Della, then he shakes my hand.

He pretty much repeats what he said over the phone yesterday, but seeing the positive light in his eyes gives me hope.

His eyes rest on Danny with a compassionate smile softening his features. “Thank you for trusting my team and me.”

Danny nods, even managing to smile back at him. “Thank you… for allowing me… to take part in the trial.”

Dr. Friedman tilts his head, then he moves closer to Danny. “How was the wedding?”

“It was… perfect.”

Seeing the worry on his face, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Danny’s speech is stilted. Does it happen often?”

I shake my head. “It’s only happened a couple of times. Mostly when she’s upset.”

Dr. Friedman nods, but then Uncle Carter asks, “Is it a bad sign?”

Dr. Friedman only says, “It’s a symptom.” His eyes lock with Danny’s. “It should return to normal once we’ve done the surgery.”

Taking a deep breath, I pick up the two documents and hold them out to Dr. Friedman. “We need to sign this in your presence, as well as have another witness to state Danny was sound of mind when she made this decision.”

Dr. Friedman takes the documents from me, and then he reads them. “A medical directive and power of attorney.” His gaze snaps to Danny. “Do you know what this means?”

Danny nods. “Ryker will have the power to make any medical decisions on my behalf.”

“Including the refusal of treatment,” Dr. Friedman states. He moves closer to Danny. “The court views this as a living will of sorts. You can make your own choices now. We can list them in the document.”

We spent the next hour adding Danny’s wishes to documents, and then we finally get to sign them.

With the added wishes from Danny, I can see Uncle Carter and Aunt Della feel much better about everything, and it eases the tension in the air.