Mark sat at his grandmother's bedside, clutching her frail hand while the sounds of feeble, erratic beeping from the cardiac monitor filled her sterile room.
Her formerly lively, commanding presence had faded, leaving just the faintest trace of the powerful matriarch who had raised him.
It crushed his heart to see her like this, unable to react and languishing in a state of quiet.
Her every breath was a reminder that he had not granted her last desire, and every day made him feel more urgent and frantic, despite his best efforts to remain strong and tell himself that she could wait a bit longer.
As soon as word spread of Duchess Eleanor Edinburg's condition, the royal family started visiting individually to express their sympathies.
Her influence was demonstrated by the many royals and nobles who traveled from all across the nation.
Mark gave each of them a low nod, paying barely half his attention to what they said.
