After Marie's tears subsided, Nicolae then asked cautiously, "What can I do for you? Is there a friend I can contact to come and help you?"

Marie could only shake her head.

"What about Sanna?" Nicolae asked again.

Marie still shook her head. "Sanna is abroad with her new boyfriend. They met two months ago and now the two have decided to get to know each other better by traveling together."

"I see, hmm..." Nicolae had no idea that the girl who went on the blind date with him months ago had found a boyfriend, and in difficult times like this Sanna was not beside Marie as her best friend. "What about your other friends? Or family members? Is there someone I can call for you?"

Marie just shook her head. Her voice sounded very sad when she said, "I don't have anyone else. I don't want to bother you further. Thank you for your help all this time. You had made my mother happy before she died. I will forever be indebted to you."

The girl looked at Nicolae with a sad look and red eyes. She couldn't shed tears anymore.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. I just want to see this through till the end. Now we have to think about the funeral ... or cremation. What do you want to do for your mother?"

"My mother always wanted to die during rain and now she got what she wanted. When my father died 22 years ago, he was cremated and his ashes scattered into the sea. I think ... she would also be happy if she could join him in the ocean. So that's what I'll do. "

Nicolae nodded. "Then, I'll contact the crematorium to take care of your mother's cremation."

"No need, I'll do it," Marie raised her hand to prevent Nicolae from doing more things for her.

Nicolae held her hand gently. "Right now, you can't do anything. Let me help you. I know you are sad. Today has been such a devastating day. You'd better rest. Just be sad and let it all out. Let me help you with cremation matters and other stuff."

"But ..." Marie was still trying to refuse, but Nicolae ignored her.

"I insist," said the young man stubbornly.

After a while, Marie finally realized that this man would not give up on helping her. She then nodded gratefully.

"I want to be here to accompany my mother ..."

"All right. Then I'll take care of everything." Nicolae patted Marie's shoulder slowly then walked out. His hands were still in his pockets as usual. But his figure who had always looked indifferent now seemed overcome with sadness.

Nicolae knew what it was like to lose a mother he loved so much. When his adoptive mother died 60 years ago, he was as devastated as Marie was now.

But at that time, he still had his adoptive father and friends and extended family who loved him. And also, after decades passed, he finally found that he still had a biological father. He also had a twin brother. Nicolae had always been surrounded by family and friends all his life. He was never alone.

While Marie, she did not have anyone, and since the age of 12, she must take care of herself and grow up without experiencing parental love. Nicolae could imagine, this must be really hard for such a young girl. Because of that, Nicolae was determined to help the poor girl.

He still had four days before his departure for Italy. The next few days would be enough time for him to help take care of Mrs. Lu's cremation and make sure Marie was all right.

Nicolae wasted no time in dealing with the cremation process. After everything was settled, he returned to the hospital at nightfall. Mrs. Lu's body had been taken to the mortuary, but Marie still sat in the chair beside her mother's bed and sat absentmindedly.

Nicolae sat with Marie for half an hour. Then he patted the girl's shoulder and invited her to dinner.

"You have to eat; otherwise, you will get sick," he whispered softly, several times. Because Marie did not move, Nicolae finally took a drastic measure and carried the girl in his arms and took her out of the ward.

Marie did not respond at all. It seemed like her mother's death really hit Marie hard, and she almost lost consciousness.

"Marie ... what do you want to eat?" Nicolae asked, carrying Marie out of the hospital hallway. The girl did not reply. She was moved to tears. Finally, the young man decided to bring Marie back to her apartment.

He walked to his BMW and placed Marie in the passenger seat then drove the car to their apartment building on Robertson Road.

"Which floor do you live on?" he asked after they arrived at the lobby.

"Ten ..." Marie answered, almost without a sound. Her eyes had begun to fill with consciousness, but her body was too weak to react.

Nicolae pressed the elevator button to the tenth floor and took Marie to her floor. In the elevator, he felt Marie's pocket and found the keys with unit number 1017. As soon as the elevator door opened, he immediately rushed to unit number 1017 and took Marie inside.

Nicolae laid Marie on her bed and hurried to the kitchen to see if there was any food the girl could eat. The young man was quite impressed to see a neat little kitchen that contained lots of food.

Judging from a variety of equipment and cooking utensils and food ingredients that filled the kitchen, he could conclude that Marie liked cooking.?However, because at this moment, the girl was in a very weak state and could not do anything, Nicolae decided to make simple dishes so that Marie could eat.

He deftly worked chopping up vegetables and meat and preparing pots and other cooking utensils. Fifteen minutes later, he returned to Marie's room with two bowls of delicious chicken soup for both of them.