The three of them ate at the buffet hall prepared for the seminar, and Connor kept getting interrupted. Every so often, a few women would approach him to ask for his number. They came in waves.Actually, Freya overheard Daniel when he was telling people that Connor was single. So, Connor must have heard it too.Finally, with no choice left, Connor put on a deep, affectionate look and stared at Daniel. "I like men."The women asking for his contact froze for a few seconds, then their gaze shifted between Daniel and Connor. They left with a knowing look on their faces.Seeing their expressions, Freya couldn't help but laugh, almost choking on her food.For the first time, the two men shared a rare moment of understanding as they both looked at the laughing Freya.Under their warning glances, Freya quickly suppressed her laughter. However, her shoulders continued to shake as she lowered her head and focused on eating her meal.The seminar included a one-hour break before continuing
Daniel remained silent and listened to Connor. "Freya is gifted in medicine. Things might be hard for her now, but she'll definitely thrive in the future. I hope as her husband, you won't hold her back.""I won't. She can do whatever she wants," Daniel said. "There's no need to doubt me.""That's true," Connor concurred. "You're the eldest son of the Talbot family and also the heir of Talbot Corporation—I shouldn't have doubted you. You're indeed a better match for her."Not surprised that Connor had found out about his identity so soon, Daniel replied, "Yeah, so the heavens sent her to me. We're a match made in heaven."Connor downed his glass. "Fine, I get it. Freya is meant to be your wife. Happy?"A smirk crossed Daniel's face as he lifted his glass at Connor and downed it. Before Connor completely blacked out, he mumbled, "Even if you're Freya's husband, you're going to lose her the moment she turns to me if you let her down.""You don't stand a chance," Daniel retorted
"It wasn't me," Connor denied it firmly. "Many people share my physique and height."But this taller man is indeed your husband. Look at his wedding ring, and he did wear this suit yesterday," he said, pointing at the photo and analyzing it for Freya. Attempting to escalate the situation, Connor continued, "Dr. Somner, do you think your husband is cheating on you with another man? Was he very clingy last night, and did he also sleep in a separate room?"The scene of Daniel making out with a man immediately appeared in Freya's mind. She couldn't help but gag. "Connor! Get out of my car," Daniel threatened, jamming the accelerator despite his words. Noting his grim expression, Freya stopped probing Connor and sat still, clutching the armrests. Once they exited the highway, Daniel found a spot and abandoned Connor by the roadside. Only Freya and Daniel were left in the car. She glanced at his set expression and began tentatively, "I didn't mean it earlier… I just couldn't acce
Midnight fell, and the moon gleamed under the night sky. It was almost winter. Freya nestled in Daniel's embrace to keep herself warm. "You can't sleep?" His gentle voice echoed from above her. "Yeah, I can't," Freya said. "Perhaps I napped too long in the car today."After the seminar ended, the three of them ate lunch before returning to Sureton City. Having eaten to her heart's content, she took a cozy nap in the front passenger seat. Even now, sleep still eluded her after an intimate moment with Daniel. "Do you want to chat for a bit?" he asked."What are we going to talk about?""When Connor and I were drinking, he said you're perfect for a career in medicine. He also reminded me not to drag you down," Daniel said calmly, despite his initial defiance when he first heard those words from Connor. How could he ever drag Freya down?Looking at Freya's performance over the past two days, though, he had to admit that she truly excelled as a doctor. "How could you ever dr
Freya and Daniel grew closer after a heartfelt talk. Every time she returned to Talbot Manor, no one badgered her about having children anymore. Her work had settled into a steady rhythm. Her days were structured, and her life was blissful. With Daniel away on a business trip lately, no one was there to urge her to sleep early, giving her a newfound sense of freedom. Just as Freya finished an emergency resuscitation and was approaching the end of her shift, a large number of patients were suddenly rushed into the emergency department. A severe car accident had occurred near the hospital, and all victims were sent to the nearest hospital. Patients were triaged and distributed to various departments for further hospitalization and treatment. The ICU alone admitted ten patients in one afternoon, forcing everyone to work overtime. It wasn't until after 8:00 pm that Freya finally got off work. Under the dim streetlights, she headed toward the subway station to go home. Not many pe
Leering over Freya's attractive looks, Noel indulged in the fantasy of being with her. "That's perfect!" He cackled. "Let the viruses in our bodies combine, then. Who knows, maybe they'll become stronger. I can infect even more people afterward!"Infect others? Freya thought he was a lunatic. Her priority now was to protect herself and find a way to escape safely. "I've never experienced the thrill of being on cloud nine with someone else. All the others I had been with before were boring as hell."Seeing that they were getting closer to the garden, Freya could no longer bother about gathering sufficient evidence. "Do you know about performing anesthesia with acupuncture? By targeting specific acupuncture points and controlling the intensity, it can render a person powerless or even unconscious."Noel became intrigued. "Oh? Is that how you dominated men before?"Freya merely smiled at him and remained silent. In the next instant, Noel froze and stared at her in disbelief. A
Hearing the voice, Freya turned to the door and saw Ben in a police uniform. "Do you work here?""Yes. I joined this department after I retired from the military. I only knew it was you after watching the surveillance earlier." Ben looked at her in concern. "Are you okay? Are you injured?""I'm fine." Freya was scared at that time, but she was completely fine now."Who's Freya?" the policeman asked Ben curiously.Ben shoved him. "You've never seen Freya's photo. She's Mrs. Talbot."Immediately, Nathan stood upright. "Hello, Mrs. Talbot. I'm Nathan Sanders.""Nice to meet you. I'm Freya Somner," Freya replied politely, not expecting to run into Daniel's comrade here."Freya, we've got to the bottom of the matter. But how did you knock him out?" After watching the surveillance three times, Ben still couldn't figure this out."My grandfather is a traditional medicine practitioner, and I've been learning from him since I was young. Acupuncture anesthesia is used when treating exter
Harper, who was still worried, asked, "Are you okay, Fae?" "Yeah, I'm fine. I've encountered quite a few situations in the ER and have been to the police station a few times. This isn't a big deal. It was just a little scary at that time because I was alone.""Okay. I'll buy some pepper spray and other types of self-defense equipment online. We'll bring them around with us," Harper said, whipping out her phone to shop online. After a busy afternoon, Freya had yet to eat, but she was feeling a little lazy. So, she decided to cook instant noodles. "Harper, would you like some instant noodles?""Yes." Setting her phone aside, Harper strolled to her in the kitchen."Fae, what's your husband's occupation?" It had been a while since Freya was married, but Harper had never asked her this question."I'm not sure about the details. I've only heard people addressing him respectfully, so I reckon that he's the CEO of Talbot Corporation.""The CEO of Talbot Corporation? Our department has
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