Chapter 1

I stay behind to save a heart attack patient. So, I am unable to go and rescue Lucian Linton's dog.

The very next second, I receive a message from my fiancee, Christine Stafford.

It reads, "Because you stood by and did nothing, Lucian's dog ended up in the hospital! Let's postpone our wedding. Consider it your punishment."

This is the ninth time Christine postpones our wedding because of Lucian's unreasonable behavior.

This time, I don't want to play along with them anymore.

Just then, floating comments appear before my eyes.

"Hurry to the rooftop! Christine loves you. She saw through Lucian's tricks a long time ago."

"She's postponing the wedding to surprise you. She's secretly planning the wedding of the century for you."

I felt a pang in my heart. Filled with guilt, I rush to the rooftop to find her.

But the moment I reach the door, I hear Lucian chuckle. "Do you think Maxwell will come beg for your forgiveness after seeing those messages?"

Christine replies with a teasing smile, "Of course. That's our company's newest AR technology. Besides, he loves me so much that he won't question it, even if it's fake. This is his fault in the first place. He deserves to be taught a lesson."

I freeze.

So even those so-called comments claiming she loves me are merely a trick she has pulled on me just to humiliate me.

Swallowing the bitterness that wells up inside of me, I turn and walk away.

What Christine doesn't know is that after her fake comments disappear, the real comments finally appear before my eyes.

Chapter 1

After Christine Stafford's fake AR comments disappeared, I could still see comments floating before my eyes.

Every single one of them was insulting me.

"Why is Maxwell eavesdropping? He's so gross. Christine and Lucian are childhood sweethearts who are obviously meant to be together!"

"If he hadn't suddenly come back three years ago and shamelessly used the engagement agreement between their families to force Christine into marrying him, she would've married Lucian long ago!"

"Exactly! He's just a country bumpkin. He can't compare to Lucian at all! How dare he even think of snatching Ms. Stafford away for himself? He's delusional!"

"Ugh! I wish he'd just disappear. Just looking at his miserable face ruins my mood."

Every word of those comments pierced my heart painfully.

So, in everyone's eyes, I was the unforgivable villain.

Three years ago, my birth parents finally found me and brought me home.

I'd thought I finally had a home, but my parents despised me for being crude and uncultured. They gave all their love to their adopted son, Lucian Linton.

Christine was the only person who had ever shown me any kindness.

Back then, her grandfather, Atticus Stafford, had insisted on honoring the engagement agreement made between our families years before.

Mom was very reluctant to agree to the marriage, as she was afraid that Lucian would feel slighted.

Not wanting to make things awkward for everyone, I had gone to Christine myself to call off the engagement.

But that day, she had gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. Looking into my eyes, she had spoken in an incredibly tender voice. "There's no need to cancel it, Maxwell. I'm willing to marry you."

At that moment, I thought I'd finally grasped the only ray of light in my life. I had believed that she saw how sincere my feelings were.

To become worthy of her, I'd worked desperately to get into one of the country's top medical schools and spent countless hours in the operating room. I went through it all so I could stand proudly by her side.

But it turned out she had never loved me.

Perhaps all her kindness toward me had only been part of a game to please Lucian.

Just like today. To help Lucian get back at me, she had even used her company's newly developed AR visual technology just so she could watch me run to her like a fool, consumed with guilt as I begged for her forgiveness.

I looked at the engagement ring on my finger that had never fit properly.

Christine had bought it on a whim. It was so loose that I had wrapped it in layers of red thread and worn it carefully for three years.

Now, it all seemed like one big fat joke.

Calmly, I took off the ring without the slightest hesitation and tossed it straight into the trash. Then, I turned and walked away without looking back.

When I returned to the hospital and had just entered my department, a nurse named Zoe Reyes hurried over to me.

"Dr. Linton! The ER just received another patient in critical condition. The director wants to know if you can take another surgery," she said in a rush.

I took a deep breath and forced down the crushing pain in my chest. "Okay. I'll head over right away."

I went to the locker room to change into a sterile surgical gown.

But the moment I pushed open the door, the world started to spin. The nonstop high-intensity workload, combined with the emotional shock from what had just happened on the rooftop, took a toll on me.

My vision went completely dark.

"Dr. Linton? Dr. Linton, what's wrong?"

Amid Zoe's screams, I collapsed straight to the floor and passed out.

Chapter 2

The strong smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

As I lay in the hospital bed, my consciousness drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Beside me, I heard the timid voice of Kelly Pine, the nurse on duty. She seemed to have answered my phone.

From the other end, Christine's irritated voice blared through the speakers. "Maxwell, where the hell are you? How can you just disappear? Didn't you see the text message I sent you? Lucian's dog was saved, but it was badly frightened and won't even eat now. Come over here right now and apologize to Lucian!"

Kelly shuddered and stammered as she tried to explain. "M-Ms. Stafford, Dr. Linton can't answer the phone right now. He performed several major surgeries back-to-back and collapsed from exhaustion. He's unconscious and put on IV…"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Christine's tone wavered slightly. "He fainted?"

Before she could finish, Lucian spoke from beside her in an aggrieved voice. "Christie, do you think maybe Maxwell is just pretending to faint because he's afraid you'll blame him for not saving my dog?

"It's fine, really. As long as he's fine, that's all that matters. I'll calm the dog down. Please don't be mad at him anymore."

Christine's tone instantly turned frosty. "Maxwell, you've really outdone yourself. You're even pretending to faint just to gain sympathy. I'm telling you, even if you die on that hospital bed today, you'd still better come over here and apologize to Lucian!"

With that, she hung up.

Taken aback and still holding my phone, Kelly turned toward me. When she saw that my eyes were open, her lips parted awkwardly, and her expression was one of sympathy.

"Dr. Linton, Ms. Stafford just—"

"It's okay. I heard everything," I cut her off calmly, my voice hoarse and dry.

This was already the ninth time Lucian had caused trouble for no reason.

His dog had an upset stomach. His dog was depressed. His dog's coat had lost its shine…

The moment there was the slightest issue with his dog, he insisted on making me, a heart surgeon, go over to treat it immediately.

Lucian would shed a few tears, and Christine would punish me by postponing our wedding. That was her way of forcing me to give in.

Just then, floating comments appeared before my eyes again.

"Serves him right! Lucian fed the dog chocolate just to see how Christine would react. Sure enough, she trusted him unconditionally. The bond between childhood sweethearts is on another level."

"Maxwell doesn't know his place. He can't even compete with a dog. Does he seriously think he can compete with Lucian for affection?"

"Am I the only one who thinks Maxwell is kind of pitiful? Lucian is ruthless. He knew chocolate was poisonous to dogs and still fed it to his pet…"

"Is the person above some kind of social justice warrior with a bleeding heart? If Maxwell hadn't interfered, Lucian would've married Christine long ago! What's wrong with using a few tricks against the other man?"

My pupils dilated slightly.

All those times when something had happened to Lucian's dog, they hadn't been accidents at all. He had done it on purpose.

Christine had trampled all over me, time and time again, all because of Lucian's cruel little games.

"Dr. Linton, are you okay? You look awful," Kelly said worriedly.

I forced a faint smile. "I'm fine."

I no longer cared what the truth was. Whether Lucian was cruel or Christine was blind, none of it mattered anymore.

I was just too tired.

Chapter 3

Dragging my exhausted body, I returned to the home Christine and I were supposed to share after our marriage.

Calling it our marital home was a joke. It was filled with the limited-edition watches and accessories she had bought for Lucian, while all I had there was a single suitcase.

I pulled out my suitcase and began packing my clothes.

Lucian was sitting on the couch playing with his dog. When he saw that I was leaving, he couldn't hide the smug look in his eyes.

He walked over and sneered, "You're no match for me, Maxwell. You saw it yourself, didn't you? Christie even used cutting-edge technology like the AR comment system just to teach you a lesson for my sake. Here, you're worth less than a dog.

"If you know what's good for you, get out of Stafford Villa and give me back my rightful place as Christie's other half."

I couldn't even be bothered to spare him a glance. Pulling my suitcase behind me, I headed straight for the door.

Lucian was unhappy that I'd ignored him. A vicious look immediately flashed across his eyes.

He grabbed the glass music box Christine had casually given me years ago from the table. The next second, he smashed it onto the floor and threw himself onto the pile of shattered glass. The broken pieces instantly sliced open his palm.

"Ouch! It hurts!" he yelled.

Just then, the front door swung open.

Christine had just come home. The moment she took in the scene, her eyes widened with fury.

Lucian's eyes immediately reddened. "Maxwell, I was just asking you not to be angry with Christie. Why did you push me?"

Christine's face darkened with rage as she rushed over and slapped me hard across the face. The force knocked my head to the side, and blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

Shielding Lucian protectively behind her, Christine looked at me coldly. "First, you refused to save Lucian's dog and nearly got it killed. Now, you're trying to hurt him too? How could you be so evil?"

Cupping my swollen cheek, I pointed at the security camera. "I didn't push him. He fell on his own. If you don't believe me, check the surveillance footage."

Christine responded with a scoff. "Lucian won't even step on an ant since he was little. Would he hurt himself just to frame you? At least come up with a better excuse if you're going to lie!"

Right on cue, Lucian cried out in pain and pretended to faint.

Panicked, Christine hurriedly called for the family doctor. After examining him, the doctor said Lucian had a mild clotting disorder and needed a blood transfusion.

Christine turned toward me, her eyes blazing. "Take his blood! He has the same blood type as Lucian!"

I took an involuntary step backward in disbelief. "I just fainted today. If you take my blood now, it'll kill me!"

She retorted, "That fainting spell was obviously fake. What's the big deal about taking a little blood from you?"

Before I could move, several bodyguards stepped forward and pinned me down on the couch. The needle pierced my vein, and my blood flowed into the collection bag.

As I watched Christine hold Lucian's hand with concern in her eyes, I felt an intense, stabbing pain right in my heart.

Three years earlier, Christine had been in a horrific car accident and had nearly bled to death. Ignoring the doctors' warnings, I had insisted on donating 800 cc of my blood to pull her back from death's door.

But when she woke up, Lucian had claimed all the credit for himself.

Now, she didn't think twice before draining my blood over nothing more than a small cut on Lucian's hand.

As more blood left my body, I felt increasingly cold. My vision gradually blurred. Halfway through the transfusion, I could no longer hold on and completely blacked out.

When I woke up again, I was lying in the guest room. No one had cared whether I lived or died.

I picked up my phone and saw the post Christine had published on Instagram ten minutes earlier.

The photo showed Lucian leaning against her shoulder while drinking a bowl of warm soup with their fingers tightly intertwined.

The caption read, "You are my only bottom line."

Staring at the photo that was an eyesore, I realized I couldn't even cry anymore.

I pulled the IV needle, now stained with blood from the backflow, out of the back of my hand. Then, I placed the engagement termination agreement, which I had already signed, on the table.

Next, I dialed the number for Doctors Without Borders.

I said, "It's me, Dr. Foster. I've decided to join the medical peacekeeping team in the war zone. I can leave today."

Chapter 4

The next morning, Christine walked out of the master bedroom and found the guest room door wide open. The room was empty.

She frowned and walked over to the table, where she immediately spotted the engagement termination agreement.

Standing nearby with red, tearful eyes, Lucian pretended to blame himself. "Christie, is Maxwell mad at me? Maybe I should go find him and bring him back…"

Christine let out a cold snort. "Don't bother. He's just playing hard to get. He's so in love with me that he can't live without me. He'll be back begging me in three days."

She was convinced I was just throwing a tantrum.

However, an entire week passed without a single word from me. There weren't any phone calls or text messages. Even the hospital said I had already resigned.

The confidence Christine had at first gradually turned into frustration.

One day, as she walked down the hallway, she glanced at the trash can that still hadn't been emptied.

A dirty engagement ring lay inside. It was the ring she had casually told her assistant, Ethel Nash, to buy back then just to appease Atticus.

The ring was wrapped in a thick layer of red thread because it had been too large. Without the thread, it would've slipped right off my finger.

Christine's heart missed a beat as she muttered, "He even threw away the ring…"

Just then, Ethel hurried over carrying a cardboard box. "Ms. Stafford, these are Mr. Linton's belongings from the hospital. They asked us to bring them back."

Before Ethel could finish speaking, she stumbled. The box fell to the floor.

A rusty metal box rolled out, and its lid popped open. A yellowed diary and a document slipped out onto the floor.

Frowning, Christine walked over and picked up the document. The moment she read the words on it, the blood drained from her face.

It was a critical blood donation consent form from three years earlier. And the name right beneath the donor's signature read—Maxwell Linton.

The comments appeared once again.

"Holy crap! Why is Maxwell's name on that blood donation form?"

"Was it actually Maxwell who saved Christine back then? Did Lucian steal all the credit?"

Christine's hands began to tremble as her gaze fell on the diary. It took her a long while before she finally dared to open it.

My neat handwriting filled the pages.

"Today, I donated blood for Christine. The doctor said I might die. While she was unconscious, she kept holding my hand and calling me Lucian. It's okay. As long as she survives, that's enough for me."

Christine's mind went blank. She suddenly remembered my deathly pale face and hopeless eyes from just a few days earlier when she had forced me to donate blood to Lucian.

"How… How could it have been him…" Her voice shook uncontrollably, and her eyes instantly reddened.

She pulled out her phone and called my number while muttering, "Pick up, Maxwell…. Pick up the phone!"

After a long series of ringing tones, the call connected.

Christine's voice trembled as she spoke urgently. "Where are you right now, Maxwell? Who was it who saved me back then? Say something!"

But the voice that came from the other end wasn't mine. Instead, there were explosions, police sirens, and the anxious voice of a foreign man.

"Are you Dr. Linton's family member? Armed militants just attacked his team near the border. An explosion destroyed the vehicle he was in! We still haven't found his body… Please prepare yourself for the worst."