Eleanor realized Julian had misunderstood her relationship with Dr. Ward.
She didn't explain.
It wasn't that she wanted him to misunderstand, or that she was trying to make him jealous.
It was that being cousins with Lucian was complicated to explain, and it involved a past she was unwilling to talk about.
From the moment she'd been forced to change her name, she'd decided she would only ever be Eleanor.
In the corridor, Eleanor and Julian looked at each other in silence.
After a while, Marcus and Diane went off to a room to rest, and Eleanor was finally able to go in and see Edward.
Julian neither stopped her nor went in with her.
Eleanor stood alone beside Edward's bed, looking at his weathered, haggard face.
"Grandpa, I'm so sorry..."
Her voice was choked with sobs. Her eyes w
