"Don’t be sad, my dear Be. Cheer up. I will leave this world happy if you don’t cry," William lovingly looked at Be. He smiled, though his smile still seemed weak.

Be’s lips trembled as she said, "Father, I promise to protect and love them with all my heart. Don’t worry about it—" She wiped her tears and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Be. Thank you so much..." William’s voice sounded weak and shaky.

Be’s sob grew louder when she felt Tristan’s handnd and squeeze her shoulder gently. She turned to see him, surprised to see his eyes getting even more red and tense.

Tristan was about to ask them to leave but was halted when Dax spoke, "Grandpa, where are you going? Why are you saying goodbye to Mommy and Daddy?" he asked while looking at all of them in return.

Dax, who had been confused all this time, couldn’t wait to ask those questions. He knew his Grandpa was ill, but why did he seem weird, as if he was about to go somewhere far and not going to return to see them all?

"And why are you crying, Mommy?" Dax continued to ask, looking at his mother.

Tristan and Be were lost for words. They could only look at Dax in a daze, unable to tell him what had really happened.

"My dear Little Dax," William smiled gently at his worried and confused grandchild. "I’m not going anywhere, my little man. I’ll forever be by your side," he said while cing his hand on Dax’s chest before continuing, "In here...in your heart."

Witnessing this, Be cried even more internally; only her small sobs could be heard, but it was enough to worry Tristan.

He could see his wife struggling to breathe. He also noticed his father seemed to need to take another pain reliever.

Tristan took Be’s hand before looking at Dax, "Buddy, your Grandpa is exhausted now. Let Grandpa have some rest, okay?"

After Be and Dax hugged William Sinir, they left the room.

Holding Tristan and Dax’s hands, Be tried to maintain herposure as they left William Sinir’s room.

Tristan stopped before the temporary room that Be used earlier. He leaned closer to Be and whispered, "Darling, go inside and get some rest with Dax."

"Hmm..."

"And, please ask your mother and Noora toe here. Father also wanted to meet them."

Be didn’t rush to go inside; she nodded to him before throwing herself into his embrace and crying silently. She could feel Tristan kiss her head and tightly hug her back.

After a few more seconds, Tristan’s voice could be heard near her ear:

"Please stop crying, dear. Dax and the twins will be even more confused if you continue crying. This is the best thing for my father. If he stays longer, his illness will only torture him."

Be nodded and released her embrace. She looked up to see his eyes while smiling at him.

"I know."

"Alright, go inside. We don’t have much time," Tristan said while opening the door for them.

***

After Natalie and Noora left the room, Be sat on the three-seater sofa, and Dax sat on the single sofa opposite her.

Be noticed her son was engrossed with something on his iPad, probably doing his coding course as usual.

She decided to let him be and leaned back on the sofa, trying to push away the sadness from her mind.

However, before she could dismiss her sad and frightened feelings, she suddenly heard Dax call her.

"Mom. Mom, are you sleeping?" Dax asked.

Be slowly opened her eyes and slightly nced at him, "No, I’m not sleeping, dear. I’m just trying to rest my eyes. Do you want Mommy to get you something?"

Dax shook his head slowly and ced his iPad on hisp. His tense eyes prompted Be to wake up and face him.

"Is Grandpa dying?"

Be was not surprised to hear her intelligent son, who had just turned five a few days ago, ask this question.

However, she was momentarily lost for words. She just stared at her son with mixed emotions.

"Mom?"

"Uhm, why do you ask if Grandpa is dying?" Be asked hurriedly.

"No reason. I was trying to guess. Because since we moved into the new house, I often hear Uncle Daniel and Geoffrey talking about Grandpa’s health condition," Dax exined. "And when Grandpa said his strange words earlier, it made me curious. So, I decided to search online and found out that Grandpa might be dying. Has his cancer finally be incurable?"

Although his voice sounded casual, his worry and gloomy gaze were enough to convey his inner feelings to Be.

"Come here, Dax. Sit next to me," Be tapped the seat beside her.

Be decided not to hide anything from her son any longer.

Sooner orter, he would learn about his Grandpa’s actual condition.

What worried her now was that she couldn’t control her emotions to discuss something this sensitive with him. She might end up breaking into tears again. However, waiting for Tristan to tell Dax about it would take a long time because he was busy outside.

Be turned to look at Dax as she ced her hand on his shoulder.

"Dax, your grandpa is indeed dying," Be said. She paused momentarily to see his reaction. When she saw him appear calm, she continued. "The doctor can no longer help him heal. So, all we can do is pray that God will not let him suffer too much."

She felt like her words were cutting into her heart like a sharp knife.

"No wonder Grandpa was saying hisst words to you and Dad," Dax said softly. He paused for a moment as if trying to hold back his tears. "Mom, I feel sorry for Grandpa. He must be in a lot of pain right now."

Be felt hurt when she saw her son lower his gaze as if he didn’t want her to see his red eyes.

"My son, you can cry if you want. It’s fine," Be said, turning her gaze to another ce, giving him time to express his sorrow.