As soon as I had the prescription in hand, I went to pick up the medicine. Before I even left the hospital, I followed the doctor’s instructions and swallowed a pill.

My head hurt so damn much.

A faint sweetness spread across the tip of my tongue. I hadn’t expected the pill to be sweet, like candy.

After I took it, the pain eased a little, but I could still feel someone watching me.

Maybe the medicine just hadn’t fully kicked in yet, I told myself.

“Nora Trent, over here!” My best friend, Yara Flynn, spotted me from a distance and waved me over.

It was the weekend. My plan was to see the doctor first and then go out with Yara. She knew what I’d been going through lately and had been especially worried.

“So, what did the doctor say?” she asked as she handed me an ice cream. “Just bought it for you—strawberry, your favorite.”

I told her about all my previous diagnoses. When I finished, she finally let out a breath. “As long as you’re okay.”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here and walk around for a bit.”

“By the way, where’s Harvey? I haven’t seen him in days.”

Harvey West is my boyfriend. He runs his own company, and it’s been on the rise lately.

“Him? He’s probably buried in work. We haven’t really talked much.”

“Why do you two sound like you barely know each other? Did you fight?” Yara’s gossip radar instantly lit up.

“No. It’s just that he barely has time to worry about me when he’s so busy worrying about his career.”

“So you’re lonely and bored, is what you’re saying.” Yara teased, her tone playful. “I’m telling you, you’re so on edge lately, it’s got to have something to do with him.”

“Let’s not talk about him today. Total mood killer.”

“Fine, fine. As long as you’re okay. Come on, let’s go catch a movie. I heard there’s a new one out that’s supposed to be really good.”

“Anything’s fine.” I scraped the last streak of strawberry sauce from the cup with my spoon and put it in my mouth.

“You’re eating way too fast, Nora,” Yara frowned. “Your stomach’s going to hurt later.”

“No way.” I said, and gave the spoon another slow lick, still wanting more.

I met him for the first time in the middle of a rainstorm.

That day, I’d had a huge fight with my ex-boyfriend and stormed out of the house.

I’d left in such a rush that I didn’t bring an umbrella. Hurt and furious, I ran alone through the streets, crying as I went.

I had no idea how long I ran before I finally collapsed onto a bench at a bus stop.

“Miss, in rain like this, why are you running around without an umbrella?”

A dark umbrella appeared over my head, along with a gentle, cultured voice.

I looked up toward the sound.

The heavy rain blurred my vision, but I could just make out a man in his late twenties or early thirties.

He was wearing a suit, and barely a drop of rain had touched him.

I didn’t want to talk. I just hugged my knees and curled up on the bench.

He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. “I don’t know what’s going on with you,” he said softly, “but whatever it is, it’s not worth wrecking your health over. There’s a café nearby. How about we go sit down for a bit?”

His jacket was still warm from his body, and a faint trace of cologne slipped into my nose. Almost against my will, I nodded and followed him into the café.

He led the way, clearly familiar with the place, and brought me into a private booth. He ordered a coffee for me. “I figured a lady like you would enjoy this.”

“You guessed right,” I said, surprised. “What do you do for a living?”

“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself.” He smiled. “I’m Harvey West, founder of MindMatch Inc. This is my card.”

With that, he handed me his business card.

I knew this company. Their main app was something called “SeeYou.”

It was a local social networking app, insanely popular among young people lately. The big selling point was this: once you completed a personality test, it would automatically match you with people who really “got” you.

No wonder he could so easily figure out some of my interests. Turned out this was literally his field.

After that, we started chatting more and more. He was frighteningly good at reading people. He could tell what kind of personality I had at a glance, then, based on that, infer my hobbies and daily habits. I was honestly blown away.

I told him about the fight with my ex, and some of the emotional mess between us.

He patiently walked me through it all, even trying to stand in my ex’s shoes to help me understand why he might have acted the way he did.

In the end, he said, “The misunderstanding between you two isn’t that deep. It wouldn’t be hard to clear things up. If you’re okay with it, I can get to know him, talk to him for you in a different way, and help you tell him what you really feel inside.”

I was moved by how he put it, so I gave him my ex-boyfriend’s contact info.

That day, he was the one who took me home. Every gesture was so gentlemanly, never crossing any lines. That alone made me start to feel a little something for him.

Later, my ex and I got back together. But it didn’t last long before we were arguing again.

In a fit of anger, I broke up with him. As soon as Harvey found out, he rushed over to comfort me.

That day, I asked him, “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t.”

“Would you be willing to be with me?”

He froze. It was a long moment before he finally said, “I’m truly honored that you like me. But you can’t build a relationship on a brief encounter or a twist of fate. What matters more is long-term companionship and growing together. I think we should take our time to really get to know each other, then move our relationship forward from there.”

I had to admit, he was right.

After that, we started seeing each other more and more often. A few months later, we finally made it official and became the kind of couple everyone else envied.

“Nora, hurry up, the movie’s about to start!” Yara grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the theater.

We slipped into the auditorium at the last minute. The place was packed; the movie really was as popular as everyone had said.

The story was about a loving couple who separated because of a misunderstanding. In the end, the heroine discovered that the hero had only left temporarily to help her achieve her dream. She was deeply moved, and once the misunderstanding was cleared up, they got back together.

The plot was simple, but the atmosphere was so warm and tender it was hard not to shed a few tears.

But just as the hero got down on one knee to propose, a harsh roar exploded in my ears.

A second later, a sharp pain shot through my head. I fought to pull myself together, to stay conscious, but it was useless.

In the final instant before I blacked out, I vaguely heard Yara shouting my name.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. Sitting in front of me was Dr. West, the same doctor who had examined me that morning.

Yara was right beside me, watching me with worry written all over her face.

“You’re finally awake. Are you okay?” She let out a heavy sigh of relief when she saw my eyes open.

“I’m fine. How did I end up here?”

“When we were watching the movie, you suddenly shouted, ‘Men are all assholes!’ and then started attacking the screen. You kept at it until you collapsed on the floor and passed out. I was scared to death—and on top of that, I had to pay a shitload of money for the damages.” Yara huffed. “You owe me at least a few really good meals to make up for it.”