His eyes remained open, but the spark that always danced in their depths was notably absent.
=====================
Her gaze locked onto Lucian's weak smile, his eyes half-closed and revealing their fatigue.
In that moment, her shaky resolve crumbled. Her sobbing escalated into full-blown crying.
"Lucian, please hold on. I beg you," she whimpered. The floodgates had opened, and her tears fell freely, tracing wet paths down her flushed cheeks before spattering onto Lucian's chest, wetting his shirt.
"Liz... help me," Lucian managed in a feeble whisper.
Ethan frowned, watching the seemingly genuine performance unfold.
'Lucian is better at this than I thought,' he mused quietly, caught between concern and baffled amusement.
Holding back his laughter, Ethan knew the reality of Lucian's condition was not quite as dire as it seemed to the uninitiated.
