Third person pov
Liora looked back at her grandfather. His breathing was slow but steady. The oxygen mask hissed faintly with each inhale. His chest rose and fell with fragile, deliberate rhythm. Liora swallowed.
“He looks so tired,” she whispered. “He never looked tired before. Ever. I thought—” Her voice wavered. “I thought he was invincible.”
“Nobody is,” Rowan murmured.
“That doesn’t make it any easier.” she mumbled back.
“No,” he agreed. “It doesn’t.”
She ran her thumb in slow circles over the back of her grandfather’s hand. It was the only part of her that didn’t shake.
“I should have noticed,” she continued quietly. “I should have seen he was struggling. He didn’t even tell me he had heart issues. Or that he’d had surgery before.” Her voice thinned. “What kind
