Too Late, Mr. Billionaire: You Can't Afford Me by Thedora Birnir

Chapter 1367:

Wary of crossing paths with her father, Elissa chose not to linger near the operating room. Instead, she retreated to the hospital’s first-floor lobby, where Ernest remained by her side.

“Here,” he said, offering her a bottle of water he had bought from a nearby vending machine.

“Thank you,” Elissa murmured, her fingers wrapping around the cool plastic. She twisted the cap open slowly, her hands trembling slightly. “Thank you for everything, Mr. Flynn. I… I can’t thank you enough.”

“Elissa.” Ernest turned to her, his gaze warm yet piercing, as if seeing straight through to her heart. “I know your mind is elsewhere right now, and this might not be the perfect moment. But I need you to know—I want to be there for you, to care for you, in every way that matters. I mean it.”

Elissa froze, her breath catching. His words, so unexpected yet sincere, hung in the air, leaving her heart racing and her thoughts in disarray.

“Just relax.” Ernest offered a quiet, reassuring smile. “I’m not saying this to push you into an answer.”

his grandmother’s hospitalization, he hadn’t been able to reach Elissa. He’d longed to speak with

I’m serious about building something real with you.” He paused, letting the honesty of his words settle between them before adding, “As for my grandmother… she won’t decide this for me. And just because she’s against it now doesn’t mean

resistance could be worn down by love—especially when it came to someone

Locke ever truly needed his mother,

expression unreadable—but

give her room to breathe. “For now, your grandfather’s surgery is

gave a small

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just enough to offer a soft distraction. “You’re not very close to your family, are

her voice barely above

“They haven’t exactly been kind to

was never close to my father. And over time, whatever thread of connection we had just unraveled. When we