Connor walked Freya to the door after dinner and waved to stop her a cab. He saw her off into the car like a gentleman before turning around to leave.His mother stood behind the counter and fumed. "You fool! Why did you let her pay for dinner?""She offered to treat me. It's an appreciation dinner, so of course, she should pay," Connor replied as if it was the most natural thing.His mother threw her pen at him in frustration. "No wonder you're still single!"Connor just laughed. He bent down to mask the slight sadness in his eyes as he picked up the pen and handed it back. "Mom, I'm going to bed now. Last night's shift wore me out."She looked at the redness at the corners of his eyes with distress. "Go on, get some rest."A tall figure emerged from the private room next door where Connor had been dining with Freya. He had a darkened expression as he left."Mr. Talbot, I'm looking forward to our collaboration." A middle-aged man mustered up his courage to extend his hand.Dan
Freya trailed closely behind Daniel. She could sense his low spirits and thought he might have encountered some challenges at work.She assumed he had something to do back home when he offered to pick her up earlier. However, he just came upstairs to escort her down. She didn't see him doing other things.He had been staring intently at her during dinner, occasionally placing food on her plate without saying anything.His unusual behavior left her feeling uneasy."You—""Mr. Talbot." A deep voice interrupted the question she had been about to ask.Daniel shook the man's hand. "Mr. Stone."Marcus Stone's gaze shifted to Freya. "No wonder you declined my dinner invitation. I see you had plans with your lovely sister."Daniel extended his hand toward Freya. She quietly stepped forward. Her hand was enveloped in his large hand as he introduced her to Marcus, "This is my wife, Freya."She offered a polite smile and a nod by way of greeting.Marcus was slightly shorter than Daniel.
Freya and Daniel returned home after their trip to the grocery store. Daniel suddenly held the box with their wedding rings and sought out Freya, who was organizing the groceries."Babe."The way he called her still felt foreign to her ears. She awkwardly set down the things and looked at him."Give me your hand." Daniel took the smaller ring and gently held her hand before slipping it into her ring finger. "You're not allowed to take it off once it's on."He asked again when she didn't respond, "Did you hear me?"Freya nodded. "I heard you."He then took another ring and placed it in his palm.She caught on and slid the ring onto his ring finger.…The place was quiet at night.Daniel was still working in the study while Freya lay in bed alone. She stared at the ring on her ring finger by the soft glow of the bedside lamp and was lost in thought.His mood had noticeably improved after buying the rings. She couldn't quite decipher what was on his mind.Did he buy the rings
Three new doctors were joining the department, including Freya. The other two were men.One of them was Theo Brightwell, who had transferred from another hospital. The other was Dylan Brooks, who was a fresh graduate like Freya.There were seven doctors in the department now, including the department heads who were not involved in night shifts. Freya was assigned to cover the night shift with Theo as she had some prior experience during her internship in the department.Monday mornings were always busy. After the department heads completed the rounds, Freya found herself without assigned patients. She had no pending matters to deal with right now. Therefore, she stationed herself by the medical records cabinet, reviewing patients' files to familiarize herself with their conditions and keep track of the key information.The hospital's interns came and went in waves. Connor not only had to tend to patients but also had to supervise the interns.Although she shared a meal with Connor
Freya calmed her racing heart and asked, "Since we've all met here, is it okay if I tell Daniel about it?""Sure, just go ahead. We also have good news to inform the captain anyway," Ben replied, casting a gentle gaze at Loren's abdomen."You can go back to your work, miss. I'll go give the captain a call," Loren said before taking her phone and walking out. "If not, he might give us a hard time later."Freya did not want to intrude on the couple's conversation upon Loren's return. She excused herself and returned to her office.…Staring blankly at Ben's physical examination report on her computer, Freya realized she'd only seen one scar on Daniel's body—the one from when she changed his dressing.She figured that he probably did not suffer too many physical hardships during his time in the military.However, she had underestimated the severity of that one knife wound.After some time, the interns started whispering among themselves behind her."Did you see that visitor who j
Freya's first day of work flew by just like that.She finished up her handover notes and dropped by to check on Ben again. After informing him to contact Lucas, who was on duty, if there was anything urgent, she got off work.Daniel had texted her over ten minutes ago and said that he was waiting for her at the basement parking lot.Freya took the elevator down to level B1. As soon as the elevator door opened, she saw him immediately. He had been standing right in front of the elevator.She was stunned when she walked out of the elevator.Daniel explained, "My car was parked somewhere farther away, so I was worried you might not be able to find it."After that, he naturally reached for Freya's hand. She tried to remove it from his grip, but he just held her hand tighter.Daniel turned around and looked at her, confused, "What's wrong?"Freya looked around and noticed cars passing by. She figured they should talk once they were back and instead replied, "It's nothing. Let's head
Freya only came to her realization when she was preparing dinner. Daniel only told her that he liked her, but had never asked if she liked him back.She wondered what he was trying to get out of it.He was only confessing his feelings when he told her he liked her. As for whether she liked him back or not, it was another matter entirely.Although Daniel liked her, Freya was free to decide on her feelings. But could she still interact with him in the same way as before?That seemed unlikely. After all, no one was able to interact with someone else the same way as before after finding out that they had feelings for them.Freya wasn't sure if she liked Daniel back.She set the soup on the stove to reheat it and started preparing the rest of the meal. She had already chopped the vegetables and assembled the casserole during the weekend, so she only had to put it into the oven now.By the time the soup was hot and ready, her casserole was also fresh out of the oven.A wave of cedarw
Freya's and Daniel's lives continued quietly. As time passed, their relationship began to change in subtle ways.Daniel was waiting for Freya to get off work outside the hospital as usual. As soon as she got in, she noticed a box of sweets and a wedding invitation on the seat."Can I have some of those sweets?" she asked, glancing at him with hopeful eyes."Go ahead—they're all for you." Daniel glanced at her before continuing to drive. "I need you to come with me to a wedding this Saturday.""Do we have to go?" Freya asked reluctantly. She wasn't big on overly crowded events as they always made her feel out of place and alone.Besides, her new novel had just been signed. She was hoping to get some serious writing done during the weekend.Daniel replied, "We don't have to go if you don't feel like going. I'll just get Michael to deliver the wedding gift instead."Freya felt relieved hearing it as she unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth. As it tasted good, she got
Daniel and Freya went home after dinner. Kate didn't make Freya stay for tea as the Talbots could tell that something had shifted between the couple, even though Freya behaved nicely just like before.At home, Daniel stood beside Freya and reached out for her hand, but she stubbornly pried his fingers away and shoved her hands into her pockets.Daniel called the hospital director and got to the bottom of Freya's transfer to the ICU. He explained, "My love, all I wanted was for them to transfer you to the ICU. That's your specialization, isn't it? You've rotated through all the departments in the hospital by now. The emergency department is simply too dangerous."She shut her eyes without a word. She was fuming."I had nothing to do with the letter. The director ordered the intern supervisor to inform you, but it ended up this way," said Daniel."Yeah, you might have nothing to do with the letter, but things wouldn't have happened if you hadn't forcefully transferred me out of th
"Daniel was handsome back in school—the campus hottie, in fact. We studied at an international school. Cole and I had heard about his fame even when we were in middle school." Standing beside Freya, Yvonne explained, "Thankfully, Daniel was a simple-minded guy who spent his time studying and playing basketball."Freya could not recall much from her school. She remembered studying a lot. During break, she rarely stepped out of the classroom apart from going to the bathroom or filling up her water bottle. She had no idea who the campus hottie and campus belle were."Is a campus hottie very popular?"Yvonne looked at her in shock. "Of course! Daniel could never fit his bag into his locker.""Why so?""His bag was filled with love letters and snacks from girls. His classmates often went to him for snacks when they were hungry. Only the love letters were left in the end.""Did many girls write love letters to him?""Of course. The basketball court was super crowded whenever he play
Freya and Daniel visited Talbot Manor for dinner again. Yvonne immediately pulled Freya to her room when Freya stepped foot in the living room. Daniel was accustomed to his family taking Freya away from him whenever he was home."Freya, let me show you something. This is the novel I told you about." Yvonne placed a stack of papers in Freya's hands. She explained, "This is the script that was edited. I got it yesterday. The scriptwriter did a great job adapting the novel.""I'll take a look." Freya flipped through the papers with much interest and read a few pages. From the highlighted dialogues and the notes Yvonne scribbled across the pages, one could tell she was eager to act in the play.The scriptwriter did not change much of the story in the novel except for changing the sequence of events and moving some conflicts to the beginning to suit the audience's taste and to make it easier to film. "So, Freya, how is it?" Yvonne waited eagerly for Freya's review after Freya set the s
Freya comforted Harper, "Both of you willingly arrived at this decision, didn't you? I think Nathan is a decent guy. He can be quite talkative, but he made your mom really happy with his sweet talking on the day your families met for a meal."A smile blossomed on Harper's lips when she recalled the scene. "My parents are very happy with Nathan. They always complain that I'm too mature and calm. I guess that's the nature of women in STEM. Nathan is my complete opposite."Freya thought it was a magical fate. "Your families get along well with each other. The two of you are the only child at home. Your families are small and simple, and your parents are supportive of the marriage. You have no worries in the future. Most importantly, Nathan really loves you."They waited until the waiter served the food before they continued chatting."Harper, a woman is emotional and easily moved. I, too, thought I could casually date Daniel without putting in too much feelings. I thought that was the
Freya was on duty on Tuesday and had the rest of the day off after Monday afternoon.After she wrapped up her Monday afternoon shift, she came across Daniel, Harper, and Nathan at the hospital entrance.It struck her how good Nathan and Harper looked together. Harper was an icy beauty when she stood there in silence, while Nathan always looked like an excited puppy by her side; he wouldn't stop talking.Daniel leaned against his car with a look of disdain, trying his best to keep the couple at arm's length."Why are you guys here? Are you here to pick me up?" chirped Freya.Harper reached out to hold Freya while resting an arm on her shoulder. "Yeah. We're all here to pick you up, Fae."Harper then turned to Daniel. "Mr. Talbot, I'll borrow Fae for the entire afternoon. I'll drop her off at your lobby before 8:00 pm."With that, she left with Freya."Harper, aren't we having lunch together? It's our first day of marriage. Can Daniel and I join you?" Nathan yelled from behind.
At home, Daniel hugged Freya. "My love, when's our wedding?"She dodged his kiss. "I don't want one.""Why?"Smiling, she replied, "For no reason other than it's a chore.""You seemed very absorbed in the event just now to the point you forgot to eat." He greedily kissed her on the neck. "Why aren't you interested in throwing your own wedding?"She smiled. "Well, I had to listen to what they were saying. I'd look bad if I ate without paying attention."Daniel cupped her pretty face in his hands and gave her a tender look. "Do you not want a wedding because of fear?"She retorted, "Tell me, what do I have to fear?""Well, you don't have a family."She immediately teared up."Alright, alright, I shall shut up now. Come, give me a hug." Daniel felt sorry when he saw her eyes, which were red from crying. He pulled her into his arms and coaxed her, "We won't have a wedding if you don't want one. You have the final say. Please don't cry. I was wrong. I won't bring it up again or fo
Freya sat at the dining table in a private room of a hotel. She was surrounded by the six members of the York and Sanders families. Daniel was by her side. What had started as Harper's blind date with George that morning had now turned into a discussion about marriage between Harper and Nathan. Watching the joyful harmony between the two families, Freya felt happy for Harper. Since Nathan had appeared at the café, Freya hadn't had a moment to speak privately with Harper. Initially, she and Daniel weren't meant to be part of this meeting. But Harper insisted, saying, "Freya is family to me. I need her here." Nathan also invited Daniel along. Under the table, Freya reached for Daniel's hand. He grasped hers firmly. Leaning in, he whispered, "What's on your mind?" "Nothing. I've never gone through this process before. I can see that Erica is happy on the surface, but deep down, she's a little reluctant and worried." "It makes sense. A mother's heart is always heavy when
Harper understood now. She glanced at Nathan, who was slumped over with his head hanging low. "Mrs. Turner, let me briefly introduce myself." Freya stared at Harper in disbelief. What was she doing? Was she trying to sell herself too?"I'm 26 years old, a certified architectural engineer employed by a state-owned enterprise. I've passed all the professional certifications I'm eligible for at this stage. My parents recently retired, and we've fully paid for a new house, which is currently being renovated. We're also refurbishing a shop, so at the moment, I'm carrying some debt." Nathan, who had been dejected moments earlier, perked up immediately. "Debt isn't an issue! I have savings, a salary, and even some retirement benefits from my service…" "Don't interrupt her." Kelly patted Nathan's shoulder, signaling him to calm down. "I've been in a relationship before. It started in my freshman year and lasted seven years. But we never lived together." She then looked at Nathan
Freya followed the voice and noticed a woman approaching them with a warm smile. She was dressed in a long back down coat. Though she showed signs of age with fine wrinkles on her face, her demeanor exuded elegance and composure. Her every movement was a delight to watch. "Mom!" Nathan stood up. Her presence caught him off guard. Ignoring her son, Kelly Turner placed her belongings with him and squeezed into the seat beside him. Nathan shifted to make room for her. He silently prayed that she wouldn't ruin his plans. Without hesitation, Kelly grabbed his phone and opened up his Venmo QR code. She smiled and held it up to Harper. "You must be Harper, right?" "Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, ma'am." Like Freya, Harper was taken aback. She was unsure what Kelly was up to. Nonetheless, she had to be polite. "Ma'am? You can just call me 'Mrs. Turner.'" "Uh… Mrs. Turner. Mr. Sanders and I are not really that close. This is only the second time I've met him." "It doesn't m