The next morning, Henry wakes up early and goes for a walk. Liz wakes up and asks the maid about him, mentioning that she slept in too long. The maid tells her that he woke up early, had some coffee, and went out for a walk. Liz then asks about her mother, and the maid informs her that she hasn't gotten up yet, probably due to exhaustion. Liz decides to let her mother rest a bit longer and plans to check on her later.
Liz sits down at the table to have breakfast, and just then, the door opens. Henry enters with a rose in his hand. Seeing that Liz is already up, he approaches her and hands her the rose.
"Good morning!" he says, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"Good morning to you too."
"Did you go for a walk early?"
"Yes, I couldn't sleep, so I got up and took the opportunity to go for a walk. I thought I'd be back before you woke up. I wanted to bring you breakfast in bed—hence the rose."
"Did you sleep well? We were talking, and you fell asleep on my shoulder. You were exhausted."
Liz replies that she didn't sleep very well, having had many bad dreams, and she woke up feeling a bit nauseous. But she took the medication the doctor prescribed and was feeling better now.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Henry says in his usual caring and gentle manner. He continues, "Liz, we need to talk. But I know you might not want to discuss anything right now. I respect that and will wait. But I really want to be by your side, to be there for your appointments, to see our child in every ultrasound you have. Liz, I want to marry you. I want us to be together. There's no sense in being apart—we love each other."
"Henry, you don't need to want to marry me just because of our child. That doesn't matter anymore."
"You know it's not just because of that. Do you remember when I gave you that promise ring and told you that, if it were up to me, we would have married that very day? I've always loved you, and everyone knows it. I think you were the only one who didn't realize it at the time. Liz, you've always been a part of my life, and I want to spend the rest of it with you and our child, and the others that will come."
"Tomorrow morning, I need to be at the office for a meeting I can't miss. I'll have to travel tonight, and I hate leaving you and your mother right now. But as soon as I handle everything, I'll come back to accompany you home. Are you coming back, or do you plan to stay here a bit longer?"
"Henry, I still don't know what I'm going to do. I need to talk with my mom first. I need to see if she wants to come with me or what she plans to do now that my dad isn't here anymore... And..."
"And you've said so many things, made so many plans for us, that I need to think about it. And you don't need to worry—I'm okay. I really appreciate you being by my side during what I think has been the hardest time in my life. Knowing I'll never see my dad again is so painful. But I don't want you to put your work or your projects on hold because you're worried about me. And I promise I'll carefully think about everything you said. I've lost my dad, and I don't know if I want to lose you too."
"Come here," Henry says as he takes her hand and pulls her into a hug. "You can't lose me. I've been yours forever. You're not getting in the way of anything. I'll go, take care of things, and come back right after. That's not up for discussion."
Liz hugs him back, feeling comforted in his arms.