?Chapter 662:


    “Last time we spoke, you mentioned trying to conceive so you could use the umbilical cord blood to help your brother,” the doctor reminded her.


    “Yes, I am,” Rachel nodded quickly. “I’m doing everything I can. It won’t take long.”


    But to her shock, the doctor shook his head. “You should stop.”


    “What?” Rachel’s breath hitched. “What do you mean?”


    “I mean… it won’t make a difference,” he said gently but firmly. “Even if you were already pregnant and delivered a perfectly healthy baby, even if the cord blood was a match, your brother wouldn’t have enough time to wait for it.”


    Rachel sat frozen, her fingers gripping her hair as if trying to wake herself from a nightmare. She couldn’t ept this. She had braced herself for bad news, but hearing it spoken so inly made it feel like the end of the world.


    When she finally lifted her head, her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red and puffy, reflecting her turmoil. She looked as if the smallest breeze could shatter her.


    But even as despair threatened to consume her, she clung to a sliver of hope. “Doctor, please… isn’t there any other way?”


    The doctor exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “There’s nothing modern medicine can do. His condition is too advanced. Even if everything aligned perfectly, he wouldn’t survive long enough to receive the treatment. To put it inly, he has no more than three months. And ifplications arise… he may not make it through the night.”


    The words cut like a de. Yet, they left no room for doubt. No room for hope. Jeffrey wasn’t going to survive this. How was she supposed to ept that? How could she just stand by and watch her brother slip away?


    A crushing weight pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Her fingers clenched around her hair, tugging in frustration, but she refused to let her tears fall.


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    As she stepped out of the doctor’s office, reality still felt like a cruel nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. She walked in a daze, her mind nk, her steps unsteady as if the weight of the truth might bring her to her knees.


    “Rachel!”


    As she turned a corner, Jeffrey’s voice reached her ears.


    “Mm,” she murmured, her voice hollow, her mind still clouded.


    A few stepster, she finally snapped back to reality, realizing that the voice belonged to someone familiar. She spun around and saw Jeffrey standing there. Panic surged through her, and she rushed toward him. “Jeffrey! Why are you out of bed?” Her heart tightened with worry.


    She nced back at the doctor’s office. They were far enough away that he probably hadn’t overheard. She exhaled, forcing herself to calm down. With the door closed, there was no way he could have heard anything. But before she could fully settle, Jeffrey’s voice rang out, steady and firm.


    “I heard everything.”


    Rachel panicked. “Jeffrey,” she began, her voice trembling. “You… Listen to me, okay? You…” Her mind raced in a desperate search for the right words to put him at ease. But she couldn’te up with a single good reason. Or perhaps it would be more urate to say that she was unable to fabricate a decent lie.


    Because just moments ago, the doctor had given a clear and unequivocal diagnosis, and it was terminal.


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