Chapter 1

As the New Year’s bells rang, I sent Samuel a message right on time.

[Dr. Nightfall, when will we make our relationship public?]

Before he could reply, my father suddenly raised his hand and pointed toward a streetlight nearby. His voice was full of surprise.

“Hey, isn’t that Samuel? He’s holding hands with a young girl. Looks like they’re very close.”

My heart skipped a beat. I followed his gaze without thinking. The next second, it felt like all the blood in my body froze.

Under the warm yellow light, Samuel leaned down slightly and kissed the girl in his arms.

I recognized her. She was the new doctor that Chief Rowan mentioned a few days ago. She was about to start work next week.

Maybe my stare was too intense that Samuel suddenly looked up. The moment our eyes met, his pupils shrank, and his Adam’s apple moved twice.

A few seconds later, he let go of the girl and walked toward us.

“Sir Bastian and Madam Helena,” he said calmly. “Let me formally introduce you. This is my fiancée, Alenna Ashcroft.”

When it was my turn, his eyes avoided mine. He didn’t dare look at me for long. He only glanced at my face and quickly introduced me to her.

“Alenna is Zoe Quartz, the child of my mentor Sir Bastian and Madam Helena. You could say she’s like my little sister.”

I smiled bitterly.

So the woman who slept beside him for 365 days was just his “little sister.”

——

Alenna turned to me and smiled politely. “Ms. Zoe, I’ll be joining the hospital soon. I hope you’ll take good care of me.”

She leaned closer to Samuel and held his hand tightly. Her eyes curved into a sweet smile.

“After all, Dr. Nightfall is always so busy. He already has more than enough work in his department. How could he have time for me?”

I looked at the matching rings shining on their ring fingers. My eyes began to burn.

Samuel was busy alright.

Busy lying to me on New Year’s Eve, saying he had a consultation. Busy holding another woman’s hand as the year changed. Busy kissing someone else while I waited for his reply with hope in my heart.

Samuel’s ears turned slightly red. He lowered his head and spoke to Alenna gently.

“Don’t talk nonsense. No matter how busy I am, I would never ignore you. Whenever you needed me, wasn’t I always there right away?”

The moment he said that, a sharp ache spread from my chest to my throat.

I remembered last week, when I had a fever of 39°C. I messaged Samuel, asking if he could bring me some fever medicine. Then, he replied that the department was extremely busy and told me to order delivery instead. That was the last message I got from him.

So it wasn’t that he had no time. His time had simply never belonged to me.

Just then, my father patted Samuel on the shoulder. His face was full of relief and happiness.

“That’s wonderful. I watched you two grow up together. Now you both have people you love. We elders are truly happy for you.”

Then he turned to me with a smile in his eyes.

“Speaking of which, Zoe also has a boyfriend. I heard they’ve been together for a year, but she never told us who he is.”

“At first, Helena and I even guessed it might be you,” he said, laughing. “After all, you and Zoe grew up together, and now you work at the same hospital. You see each other every day.”

My father laughed loudly. “But today, after meeting your girlfriend, we finally realized we were completely mistaken!”

Fireworks exploded all around us, lighting up my pale face.

Samuel almost immediately replied. His tone was calm and natural, without the slightest flaw. He even sounded helpless, as if he didn’t know whether to react on my father's comment.