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

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.

He lay motionless beneath thin hospital sheets, an oxygen mask fixed over his face, his complexion 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.

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

glanced down at her, brow lifting slightly. “You two were

nodded. “When I was a kid, my parents were always working—too busy to be around. It was my grandpa who

fractured. But Elissa never felt the absence too deeply—not with Addy by her side.

marriage. But after the scandal, after her fall from grace, she’d

body, that old ache twisted inside her. “I don’t even know if he still wants to see me,” she

disagree.” Ernest’s voice was firm,

up at him, brows knit

whisper. “Your grandfather raised you himself. You weren’t just his

him, eyes searching,

before he could offer more reassurance, a quiet,

Elissa bolted upright, pulse

sheets, eyelids fluttering as he fought to open them. His voice, when it came, was

trembling. “It’s me, Grandpa…

repeated slowly, the name dragging across