He draped a thin blanket over the Grand Duchess, squatted beside her bed, and watched her for a long while before finally standing up.
"COCO, I must leave."
In her sleep, the Grand Duchess was so deep that she didn't respond.
The man took a step forward, hesitated, then took a step back. His hand trembled as he lightly touched her face.
Then, he slowly leaned toward her.
When he was just an inch away from her face, he abruptly straightened his body.
"No, I don't deserve this... Happy New Year, COCO. I will come to see you next year. Take care."
With a strong control over himself, he retracted his palm from her face, briskly walked to the terrace, skillfully jumped off the balcony, and soon his figure disappeared in the dark of the night.
...
...
The next day, as usual, the sun rose.
Lucas Walker woke up promptly at six o'clock, just like any other day.
