The nurse quietly told the doctor that Arlo Seys was the patient's husband and requested to enter the operating room to accompany her. No one knew Arlo Seys's identity, but someone who could invite the director to have four specialists perform surgery on his wife was undoubtedly famous throughout City C. The doctors said nothing about his request to accompany his wife during the surgery and granted it.
Arlo Seys crouched by the bedside, holding Ariel Morris's hand with one hand and gently stroking her features with the other.
Arlo Seys's thin lips trembled slightly, and before he could speak, tears gathered in his eyes and began to flow. He pressed his face against Ariel Morris's cold, pale cheek, hoping to use his warmth to comfort her chill.
One by one, warm tears slid down his cheek, falling onto Ariel Morris's face, which was pressed against his.
With a hoarse voice, Arlo Seys gently called into Ariel Morris's ear, "Ariel, promise me, don't let go, stay with me to the end."
