Loriel closed the door behind him and he stood still in front of it, as if protecting a gate from any monsters who were trying to enter.

"Give them time to be alone," he said to the nurses who looked at him in confusion.

He couldn't blame them for their reaction. They didn't know what he knew. Daniel York's condition seemed to improve after being so bad for months. So, they thought he would slowly recover.

If they knew that the man was on his last flicker, they would respectfully and willingly let Elise stay with him and say their goodbyes.

"But the patient shouldn't be drin—"

"So?" Loriel narrowed his eyes dangerously and looked at the nurse impatiently. "I will take responsibility."

His charisma was so great that the nurses stepped back and didn't say anything else.

Meanwhile, in the patient's room, Daniel York and Elise sat together and talked in a low voice about trivial things. Both had a cup of tea in their hands.

"He seems like a nice guy," Daniel York commented as he turned to Elise and looked at her with a playful glint in his eyes. "What do you think?"

Elise was caught off guard by the sudden question. She looked at the man with batted eyes. "What do I think about what, father?"

"Do you think he is a nice guy?" Daniel York repeated his question.

"Ah…" Elise bit her lip and lowered her gaze. Then she looked around and realized Loriel and the hospital staff were no longer there. Mr. York and she were left alone to get privacy.

No wonder her father asked her such an embarrassing question, the woman thought. If Loriel was still here, she would feel so embarrassed if he heard Mr. York asked whether she thought Loriel was a nice guy.

It was as if Daniel York wanted to match her to Loriel. What would the man think? He might feel cornered by a dying man to take care of his daughter.

Fortunately, Loriel didn't hear it. So, Elise let out a sigh of relief.

"Well… he is a really kind man," she finally replied. Then, she turned to look at her father and smiled sheepishly. "But we are not in that type of relationship."

"Why not?" Mr. York asked Elise. "I can see that he loves you. Hasn't he told you his feelings for you?"

Elise's eyes widened when she heard his words.

Loriel? He was in love with her?

How was that possible? The man never said anything to her.

Besides, they had not known each other for long. Only less than two months. He never made any hints that he harbored feelings for her other than friendship. He had always treated her respectfully.

"Do you not know that?" Mr. York scoffed at Loriel who was no longer in the room. He could clearly see how much the man loved his 'daughter'. So, Mr. York thought Loriel had said something to Elise to express his feelings for her.

Apparently not.

"No, father. He is not interested in that type of re…." Elise didn't continue her words. She didn't know Loriel that well to assume if he was into a relationship or not.

She had never seen him with any woman and he also never talked about other women in his life. He never even shared about his family. Loriel only mentioned that all his family members were gone, and Elise didn't prob him on that matter.

"It's okay. Maybe he is waiting for the right time to express his feelings for you," said Mr. York to Elise. He had seen how his words bothered Elise and now the woman started thinking about Loriel from that perspective.

He regretted asking, since now Elise would wonder if that was true and question if Loriel really did things for her because he was in love with her.

"Can we not talk about it?" Elise lowered her face, shyly. "I want to know how you are doing. I missed you so much and was worried sick about you."

Mr. York patted Elise's hand and replied. "I've missed you too. I am glad you can make it to come here."

He put down his tea on the small table beside the bed and then pulled Elise closer to lean on his shoulder again. His voice was hoarse when he whispered. "You know what? I dreamed about my wife last night."

Elise's tears slowly dripped down to her cheeks as she listened to her father speak about his dream. He said his wife came to him and sat by the bed. And then, they talked for hours.

He missed her so badly. He was also very tired.

"I want to be with her, but I am worried about you…." he muttered softly.

Elise understood what Mr. York wanted to say. He was missing his wife and his frail body no longer allowed him to live life as he wanted. He had been confined to his bed for months and he was also getting older.

His mind and body were slowly giving up. Now, Mr. York just wanted to be reunited with his beloved late wife.

However, mentally, he couldn't leave behind his daughter who was struggling to live a normal life because of her condition.

"Father…" Elise took a deep breath. She wrapped her arms around the man's waist and hugged him dearly. "You don't have to worry about me. I have a good job. I start making friends. I am learning many things… and I am happy."

Daniel York didn't say anything. He cast his gaze outside. There were so many flower petals flowing in the air now. It looked so much more beautiful than flowing leaves.

The temperature was really low, but he didn't feel the cold. In fact, his heart was warm.

"I love you, father…" Elise whispered. "Thank you for taking me in when I had nobody…"

Two drops of tears rolled down the man's cheeks when he heard Elise's heartfelt words. He smiled faintly when he spoke. "I love you too, Maddie."

Then, he added, "No matter what people say... you are still my daughter."

Elise remembered how Tessa yelled at her while tossing the DNA test report to her face three months ago.

Tessa said she was an impostor, and that she was not really Madeline York.

DNA didn't lie. She had no blood relation with their family.

Since then, Elise had always wondered if Daniel York knew this fact… or not.

But it seemed like... he actually did know.

.

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From the author:

If you don't already know, I have a Discord server where I share visuals and spoilers, and trivia related to my books. It's here:

bit.ly/missrealitybites

Currently, my servers are filled with authors... ahahaha, so I feel shy to talk a lot on the server. Once I have more readers join the server, I promise to be more active on my Discord server. XD

You can also connect with me on Instagram or my Facebook page, both use my handle @missrealitybites. I share visuals, latest updates, announcements, teasers, etc there too.