Gan Yuan gently wrapped his arms around his waist and responded softly, yet deep within his heart, a strong sense of ominous foreboding erupted.
Nancy lay calmly on the hospital bed, her complexion pale and eyes wide open, utterly lifeless like a rubber doll, devoid of any vitality.
By the bedside, Qian Xueying knelt on the floor, clutching her hand tightly, with tears streaming down her face.
"How could this happen... you... you’re so foolish..."
With her sobbing, Nancy’s arm also shook slightly, the fresh wound still oozing blood.
It was a deep cut, severing an artery.
At her side were the butler and Nancy’s nanny, who, at that moment, were both crying inconsolably.
The door burst open and Duke Locke staggered in; the man who usually walked with such a steady gait now seemed to be treading on cotton, each step labored.
When he had first heard the doctor announce his daughter’s death, Duke Locke had fainted on the spot, unable to bear the news, and only now had come to say goodbye to his daughter.
Qian Xueying turned her face and called out with a hoarse throat.
Duke Locke didn’t make a sound, simply walked past her to Nancy’s bedside and gazed at his daughter’s cheeks, his red eyes also welling with tears.
After calling just that name, he could no longer control his tears.
What father doesn’t cherish their daughter?
Despite hating her disobedience, hating her naivety... sometimes, Duke Locke had felt like driving this infuriating daughter out of the house.
But now that she was truly gone, how could he bear it?
There is nothing more painful in this world than a parent burying their child; his only biological daughter, with whom he had quarreled that morning, was now forever beyond his reach.
Raising his hand to caress his daughter’s face, Duke Locke felt as though his heart was being carved out.
Two years ago, his wife passed away, and now Nancy had gone too...
"Daddy!" Throwing herself into Locke’s arms, Qian Xueying burst into tears once more, "It’s all my fault... It’s all because of me, if only I had left that day... perhaps she wouldn’t have done this... If I had come sooner, if I had called the doctor earlier... she... she definitely wouldn’t have died..."
"No... it’s not your fault!" Locke held her, tears streaming down again, "It has nothing to do with you."
Crying in Duke Locke’s arms for a long time, Qian Xueying lifted her face again, her eyes swollen from tears, and choked out as she wiped Duke Locke’s tears, "Dad, don’t be too sad now... Nancy... Nancy is gone... from now on... I will be your Nancy!"
Looking at her swollen eyes, Locke nodded emotionally.
"Good girl." Raising his hand to wipe away his tears, Qian Xueying cast a sidelong glance at Nancy’s pillow, "Help close her eyes for her!"
Duke Locke turned his face and, with the support of Qian Xueying, lifted his arm to gently close Nancy’s eyelids.
"Dad..." Qian Xueying sniffled, "It’s getting late, I should take you back first, you haven’t been in good health recently, you... can’t stay up late!"
"Yes, sir, why don’t you let Miss Xueying take you back first?!"
The butler and the bodyguards also chimed in, comforting him. Duke Locke nodded weakly and finally bent down to kiss his daughter’s face, making the sign of the cross over his chest.
Qian Xueying helped him out of the ward, and the nurse walked in to pull the white bed sheet over Nancy’s face.