~Elsie's POV
"Elsie, please," she said, her voice softer now, almost pleading as she held my hands tighter. "Just this once. I will be forever grateful, I promise you that."
I blinked at her, caught between surprise and uncertainty.
There was something about the way she said it, the sincerity in her eyes, that made it harder to refuse completely. Still, I did not know what to do with it.
"I really do not know how to help you," I said honestly, shaking my head a little. "I have no idea what I am supposed to do in this kind of situation."
She let out a small breath, then quickly added, like she was trying to fix everything at once.
"Then just tell him that you want him around you," she suggested. "That alone might keep him here."
I could not help it as a small smirk pulled at my lips.
"You really think he would believe that?" I asked, raising a slight brow. "That I suddenly want him around like that?"
She paused.
And then, slowly, she shook her head.
