?Chapter 1369:


    A heavy hush filled the space.


    Though Addy’s condition had stabilized, the stroke had left him dulled and unresponsive—only half-conscious, his awareness drifting in and out.


    Hey motionless beneath thin hospital sheets, an oxygen mask fixed over his face, hisplexion waxy and worn.


    Elissa pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down slowly. Addy’s mouth hung slightly open in sleep, his chest rising and falling in fragile rhythm.


    “Grandpa…” The word caught in her throat, thick with emotion.


    Ernest, standing quietly beside her, offered her a tissue without a word.<fn2eb5> N?w ?ovel chapt?rs are published on find?novel</fn2eb5>


    “Thank you.” She took it and clutched it in her hand, eyes never leaving Addy’s face. “He’s aged so much…” she whispered.


    Ernest nced down at her, brow lifting slightly. “You two were close?”


    “Very.” Elissa nodded. “When I was a kid, my parents were always working—too busy to be around. It was my grandpa who raised me, really.”


    Her childhood had been shaped by absentee parents chasing careers, and before she was old enough to understand it, their marriage had fractured. But Elissa never felt the absence too deeply—not with Addy by her side. Then came the years abroad with her mother. Distance crept in. And when she returned to Srixby, it was Addy who weed her home.


    They lived together until her marriage. But after the scandal, after her fall from grace, she’d severed ties with everyone—Addy included.


    Now, upon staring at his frail body, that old ache twisted inside her. “I don’t even know if he still wants to see me,” she murmured. “Maybe he thinks I brought shame to the family, too…”


    “I disagree.” Ernest’s voice was firm, quiet but resolute.


    “What?” Elissa nced up at him, brows knit in confusion.


    “I mean…” Ernest’s voice softened to something barely above a whisper. “Your grandfather raised you himself. You weren’t just his granddaughter—you were his world. No matter what anyone else says… there’s no way he’d ever give up on you.”


    She looked at him, eyes searching, uncertain. “You really believe that?”


    He nodded without hesitation. But before he could offer more reassurance, a quiet, ragged breath cut through the air. Addy was stirring.


    “Grandpa?” Elissa bolted upright, pulse hammering.


    The frail old man shifted beneath the sheets, eyelids fluttering as he fought to open them. His voice, when it came, was dry and faint. “Who…”


    Elissa stepped closer, her voice trembling. “It’s me, Grandpa… It’s Elissa.”


    “Elissa…” He repeated slowly, the name dragging across his tongue like a memory surfacing from fog.


    “E-Elissa!” He moved his hand—just barely—but it was enough. He was reaching for her.


    “Grandpa…” Elissa leaned in without hesitation, gently catching his fragile hand in hers. Her tears came instantly, blurring her vision as a smile broke through. “I’m here. I came to see you.”


    “How… How…” His lips parted again, struggling to form words. His eyes, dulled by age, flicked over her face with effort.


    What was he trying to say?


    And then the words came—slurred but clear enough to understand.


    “How… have you… been?”


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