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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

By the time I’m waiting for his secretary to open the office door, I’m a dangerous combination of a combustible material and a ticking time bomb ready to go off.

I don’t know how to deal with the emotions I’m feeling, and I hate myself when I should actually be hating him—the traitor.

The moment the woman opens the door wide to let me in, I stand frozen for several seconds, unable to breathe.

In my dreams, LJ always returns to my memory.

Awake, I never allowed myself to think about him again after the last time I tried to reach him through his sister.

But now, standing face-to-face with him again, I realize my mind has been playing tricks on me—convincing me to find pieces of myself in Sedric when, in reality, I now have proof that he’s one hundred percent his father’s child.

I’m certain there’s not a soul on this planet who could see them side by side and not instantly recognize they’re father and son.

Every little detail I love in my boy is a small piece of his father—his square jaw, perfect nose, thick eyebrows, and those uniquely blue-green eyes.

“Alexis, how are you?”

His cold greeting finally yanks me back to the present.

I can’t think about Sedric now. At some point, I’ll tell him about our son, but right now, I need LJ’s help to stay alive—even if, once I’m well, that life is dedicated to despising him.

“Dr. Seymour, thank you for seeing me,” I reply formally, each word scraping my throat.

I vaguely register the secretary saying something to him, and I shake my head when she asks if I’d like water or a drink.

In slow motion, I watch him stand, and even though I told myself I’d be fine, my legs give out. I try to walk to the couch, but the room spins too fast, and all I can perceive before giving in to darkness is strong arms catching me.

The arms from my dreams. His warmth. His voice.

My last thought is that I need to run—or I’m lost.

LJ may be my cure, but he’ll always also be my disease.

Lazarus

The cold demeanor I’m so known for disappears the moment I realize what’s about to happen.

If I were an ordinary man, I might believe that what made Alexis faint was seeing me again. I don’t doubt that’s part of it, but yesterday, when I spoke with her mother on the phone, I asked her to send me the test results, and Marla emailed them to me.

Her current condition is relatively serious. I had planned to schedule further exams today and already set a surgery date. I didn’t expect we’d have so little time.

Hours later

“You’re telling me my daughter will enter the operating room in thirty minutes?” Marla Gillis asks over the phone.

“No. I’m telling you she’s already there. I wanted you to hear it from me. I’ve just sent the necessary authorization documents to the same email you used to send me her exams, but I’ll operate on her regardless. We can’t wait any longer.”

“All right, but can you at least explain the urgency?”

I hold back my irritation, not telling her they should have come to me sooner. I haven’t forgotten when Marla said that from the first cardiologist Alexis consulted, I was the surgeon recommended. I can only attribute her delay in coming to me to resentment over the past.

“One of the most concerning types of these anomalies involves the abnormal origin of the coronary arteries, as you may already know. In a normal heart, the left coronary artery trunk originates from the left aortic sinus, and the right coronary artery originates from the right aortic sinus. However, in some individuals, one or both arteries may originate from an unusual location or follow an abnormal path.”

“I’m not following.”

“Marla . . . I assume it’s okay to call you that?

I truly don’t have time to explain everything right now.

Every minute is precious. What I’m trying to say is that the severity of symptoms and risk of death associated with these anomalies can vary.

In some cases, the abnormal anatomy doesn’t cause significant issues, and people live their lives without complications.

But in others, the anomalies can be fatal.

Alexis falls into this second group? 1 . ”

“Oh my God.”

“One potential complication is called myocardial ischemia, or insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle. This can result in chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or even a heart attack. In severe cases, it may lead to sudden cardiac arrest or death.”

“Jesus Christ—she’s been having chest pains and shortness of breath too.”

I clench my jaw, struggling to contain the anger.

Does Alexis hate me so much that she’d rather die than ask for my help?

“What I’m trying to tell you is that surgical intervention is not only necessary at this point—it’s the only way to prevent sudden death.”

“While you were speaking, I opened my email. I’ll sign the forms digitally and send them back to you, but I’m also heading there now.”

“All right.”

“Dr. Lazarus?”

“Yes?”

“Save my girl.”

“I’ll bring her back.”

1 ? Please note that although congenital coronary artery anomalies are a serious and potentially fatal condition, I will portray Alexis’s illness as much more severe than it actually is, using literary license to make her pursuit of LJ’s help more believable.