over thick layers of snow and turned int

view, it felt as though a hidden labyrin

d with life-support equipment, yet none of it seemed t

his life from slipping away bit by bit. The steady beeping on

nded, Julian took Lydia by the ar

gaze traveling from head to toe as he stud

ally lit up, and his l

he frail voice whisper, "Help me

ral nurses hurried forwa

ixed on Lydia as a soft sig

. It's th

fered by a nurse, easing the s

a, he said softly, "C

great effort. After a moment of hes

, and a look of relief slowly

er... I have fi

s heart only deepened, and she ha

was an orphan, with no family. She even took me back to see the room where she lived at the

ared in shock as tears streamed do

t the corner of his eye, yet he asked her urgentl

until her teens, then someone took her out. After that, she drifted from jo

ow her mother always brushed those years aside lightly, yet t

nted night venues, launched

. But Cyrus quickly lost interest, constantl

hne Shaw, whom he had known since yout

repared a lavish dinner by herself and

e. The wind howled, the curtains billowed, an

om

out as she watched her mother s

r, hitting the ground with n

ropped to her knee

y lay there, as though freed at last,

ontinued sinking deeper into his a

denly curse, "Grace Sterling, what did I ever do to wrong you?

here. Pieces lodged into Lydia's calf, and she simply c

ng had ever

ay, she seemed to have sat by L

be on your own. Live well. And if it ever

ly, even though she was never cert

e had told so much to a man

s kept f

t and regret. With a trembling hand,

ily now. Even if... even if I'm not he