Chapter 1: The Only Dad She Has
I adopted my late fiancée's 10-year-old daughter despite my terminal illness — weeks before my final date, my doctor whispered, "There's something I should've told you earlier, but I was afraid."
At 38, I looked like the last man who should be dying.
I was tall, broad-shouldered, and rarely seen without a smile.
Only the countless medications beside my bed revealed the truth.
Everything changed when I met Natalie and her 10-year-old daughter, Carrie.
"Mom says you're very sick," Carrie blurted out during our first dinner.
"Does that mean I shouldn't get attached to you?"
Natalie nearly dropped her fork, but I laughed and reached across the table.
"It means we shouldn't waste a single day."
She was a precious girl.
For the first time in my life, I finally felt truly happy.
I had found my family.
A year later, Natalie and I were planning our wedding, and I had begun the process of adopting Carrie.
Her biological father had disappeared years earlier, and I already loved her as fiercely as if she were mine.
But three weeks before our wedding, Natalie was in a terrible car accident.
She didn't make it home.
I did the only thing I could: I immediately filed to adopt Carrie so she wouldn't be taken from me.
But the caseworker told me,
"Your adoption application has been suspended.
Considering your prognosis, the committee believes Carrie could soon experience another devastating loss."
"She already lost her mother," I replied.
"Don't make her lose her father because a chart says I'm dying."
I fought for months.
I named my sister as Carrie's future guardian, submitted every document they requested, and appeared at the hearing on a day when I could barely stand.
When the judge asked Carrie what she wanted, she squeezed my hand.
"He's the only dad I have," she whispered.
"Please, let us not waste a single day."
The adoption was approved.
By spring, my doctors believed I had only weeks left.
I was devastated.
Then I went in for what I thought would be my final examination.
I immediately noticed that my doctor was acting strangely.
He kept glancing nervously at me, then back at my test results, slowly turning pale.
"Doc, what is it?
Just tell me the truth.
I know it can't be anything good," I finally said, unable to bear the tension any longer.
But when he looked up at me, his eyes were glistening with tears.
"Daniel, you have no idea what has happened," he said.
"There's something I should've told you much earlier, but I was afraid.
Now it's time you knew."
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What did the doctor discover — and what does it mean for Daniel and Carrie?
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