The Snow and Chance families went back a long way. Madeline and Isaac had grown up together, and their bond was strengthened by their promise to marry. At one point, they'd been the model couple of Shorestone City.

While growing up, they had never expressed their feelings for each other. However, Isaac had always been there for her whenever she'd turned to look for him. He'd protected and supported her like a guardian angel. It seemed natural that they would get married once they were of age.

Things had changed when Madeline had turned 16. Her parents had died in an accident, and her shameless uncle and aunt had seized the Snow family's fortune. They'd barged into her parents' villa and treated her like a maid, even going as far as abusing her.

Isaac had protected her when her life had been at its darkest. He'd taken her back to the Chance residence and cared for her, which was how she'd completed her education and even become a doctor.

After graduating college, Madeline had thought it was time for her and Isaac to marry. She'd wanted to have an actual family that she could call hers.

Yet Isaac had become busier after taking over his family business. He kept telling her to wait, but six years had passed since then.

Isaac had gone from his initial patience to frowning whenever the engagement was mentioned. Madeline had thought it was because he was exhausted from work and told herself to be more accommodating. She shouldn't pressure him too much. It wouldn't be an issue for her to wait as long as he loved her, right?

That was what her mindset had been like before Rachel had come into the picture and destroyed all her fantasies.

It turned out Isaac could make arrangements for another person's life without losing his patience or finding it troublesome. It also turned out that he was capable of asking about every detail of someone's daily life because he was afraid of her getting bullied.

These were things he'd never done for Madeline.

Madeline's phone suddenly rang, interrupting her trip down memory lane. As the bitterness spread through her, she looked up at the lights to prevent her tears from following.

Then, she answered the call. It was from a nurse on duty. "Dr. Snow, the emergency room has just received a patient with a liver hemangioma rupture. All the other experienced surgeons are occupied. Could you take over if you have the time?"

Madeline immediately got to her feet. "Prep for surgery. I'll be right there."

It was 9:00 pm when she arrived at the hospital. Due to the severity of the patient's condition, she had to perform a partial liver removal surgery. When she emerged from the operating theater, it was past 2:00 am.

Madeline was physically and mentally exhausted after focusing all her attention on the surgery for such a long time. She returned to her office and immediately fell asleep on the cot there.

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep but was awakened when she vaguely sensed something being placed over her. She opened her eyes to see Heather Walden, the hospital dean, standing before her.

"Did I wake you up, Maddie? I thought of covering you with something when I saw you curled up like that. I didn't expect to wake you up. Honestly…" Heather looked upset with herself.

Madeline wasn't bothered. "It's okay, Ms. Walden. I've had enough sleep—I'll just take a nap when I get home after making my rounds."

Heather was Madeline's superior and also her mother's friend. She'd seen how hard Madeline had worked over the years. She was proud yet also sympathetic.

"Alright, then. Hurry up and make your rounds so you can go home." After that, she turned to leave.

Madeline hesitated before stopping her. "Ms. Walden, I… I want to tender my resignation."

Heather immediately turned back, her surprise evident. "Why? And so suddenly, too."

"I've gotten married."

The realization dawned on Heather when she heard that. She smiled and said, "Ah, yes. Your husband is the young man from the Chance family, right? Congratulations, Maddie. I'm glad to see your relationship with him has come to fruition after so many years."

Madeline forced a smile at Heather's misunderstanding but didn't explain.

Heather didn't notice this and continued excitedly, "Your grandmother's always wanted to see you get married, right? She'll have one less thing to worry about now."

Madeline's gaze softened at the mention of her grandmother, Shirley Green. This time, her smile was genuine. "All I want is for her to be happier."

It was Shirley's final wish for her to marry a nice man and start a family. If not for that, she wouldn't have been so hasty in marrying Elijah. His family had also been on his back about getting married.

She hoped Shirley would be pleased when she visited the latter and showed her the marriage certificate.

Madeline and Heather chatted some more before the former headed to the administrative department to tender her resignation. Then, she made her rounds before heading home.

She'd been up late last night and hadn't gotten much rest in her office, so her head spun with fatigue as she took a cab home. All she wanted to do was hit the sack and catch up on her sleep.

However, when she got home and entered the master bedroom, the scene that greeted her made her blood boil. Her anger burned away all her fatigue.

"What the hell are you doing, Queenie?" Madeline snatched the painting from Queenie. The oil painting had originally been an exquisite masterpiece, but black scrawls now ruined it.

Madeline's blood boiled, and her hands trembled with rage. This was the only thing her mother had left for her! She'd taken solace in it for countless days and nights, yet it had now been destroyed!

She glared at Queenie. Before she could say anything, the latter burst into tears. "You're so fierce, Ms. Snow! Hurry up and save me, Mommy! Ms. Snow wants to hit me! I'm scared!"

Rachel immediately ran over and pulled Queenie into her arms. "What's wrong, my darling?"

She soothed Queenie before turning to Madeline, seemingly having just noticed her standing there.

Then, she said almost sarcastically, "Queenie is just a child, Dr. Snow. I'll take responsibility and compensate you if she's done something wrong or broken something. You shouldn't harbor a grudge against a child."

She'd been born and raised in Marvonia, so she dressed and acted like the locals. Her blond hair fell past her shoulders in curls, and she dressed sexily. The provocation in her eyes was clear—she had no intention of apologizing.

Madeline's temples throbbed. She held up the painting and snarled, "Who allowed you to come into my room and destroy my things? You said you'll compensate me for this? How are you going to do that?"

Queenie hid behind Rachel and yapped away like a dog that knew its owner would stand up for it. "It's just a dumb painting, isn't it? I'll ask Isaac to pay you back for it, you petty woman! You're nasty!"

Madeline saw red and reached out to teach her a lesson. When Rachel saw this, she got an idea and ruthlessly shoved Queenie away, making her knock her head on the bedside table.

"Ouch! Mommy, it hurts! I'm bleeding!" Queenie screamed. She sat on the floor and wailed at the top of her lungs. Blood trickled from the wound on her forehead, and the situation looked dire.

Rachel immediately helped her up and pulled her into her arms. Her gaze was filled with heartache as she cried, "How could you have done something like that to a child, Dr. Snow? No matter how mad you are at her, you shouldn't have taken things so far! I'll apologize to you if that's what you want!"

Madeline had seen everything Rachel had done, so she frowned at her words. She didn't understand what the latter was up to. She got her answer in the next second, though.

"Queenie!" Isaac ran into the room and crouched before Queenie to check on her. Then, he turned to glare at Madeline. "Queenie is just a child, Madeline. How could you bear to hurt her?"

Madeline's heart froze over when she heard him conclude that she was at fault without even understanding the situation.

She stood there while clutching the painting, feeling like her energy had been zapped out of her. Her mouth felt dry, and her explanation was lodged in her throat.

Rachel tearfully spoke up on her behalf. "Dr. Snow isn't to blame for this, Isaac. Queenie and I got the wrong room—we thought Dr. Snow's bedroom was the guest room.

"We've always lived in the basement in Marvonia, so we couldn't help picking this room when we saw how well-lit it is. Also, Dr. Snow is only angry because Queenie touched her painting without her permission."

She sounded so pitiful that Isaac's heart immediately went out to her. He turned to Madeline again, even angrier than before. "It's just a dumb painting! Did you have to get physical over it? You've truly got a hell of a temper, Madeline! Apologize to Rachel and Queenie right now!"

A dumb painting? It was the only thing her mother had left for her!

Rachel wasn't aware of that, but could Isaac claim the same?

Madeline looked him in the eye and clutched the painting tightly. "I won't apologize. I didn't touch a hair on Queenie's head."

This pissed Isaac off even more. He snarled, "Even now, you refuse to admit your mistakes!"

Rachel tugged on his sleeve and put on an understanding act. "Forget it, Isaac. It's okay if Dr. Snow doesn't apologize. Queenie and I are the ones who have disrupted her life. It's only natural for her to be angry."

The more she said, the more Isaac found Madeline's expressionless face to be annoying.

He growled, "She doesn't deserve to get angry over every small thing! This is my apartment, and it's not up to an outsider to call the shots here! You and Queenie will stay in the master bedroom from now on, Rachel. She can take the guest bedroom!"

Isaac's words stabbed Madeline's heart like knives. She swayed on her feet.

An outsider? Was that all he considered her after all these years?

It was laughable!

Rachel was delighted to hear this but feigned concern and said, "We can talk about the sleeping arrangements later. Queenie's injury is too serious. Can you accompany me to the hospital so we can get it tended to, Isaac?"

He immediately lifted Queenie into his arms and turned to leave. Rachel followed him.

Madeline stopped him and said plainly, "Let's call off the engagement, Isaac."

He didn't believe she was being serious and thought this was another one of her tricks. He didn't even turn back as he said, "I've had it up to here with your dumb tricks. Stay here and reflect on your mistakes!"

With that, he hurried off with Rachel and Queenie.

As soon as the door was shut, Madeline felt her strength leave her. She slowly crouched on the floor with the painting in her arms. It was almost as if she were holding her whole world.

Tears filled her eyes as bitterness washed over her. Her nose prickled, and she found it hard to breathe. Her vision seemed to go black.

She didn't know how long she stayed there crouched up like that; she only moved when her phone vibrated. A notification indicated that Rachel had requested to follow her on Instagram. She approved the request, but Rachel didn't follow up with anything else.

Just then, she received a text from a colleague. "I just shared an Instagram story for a giveaway, and I need people to like it. Could you help me, Dr. Snow? Please!"

Madeline scrolled through the available stories to look for the colleague's story when Rachel's stories caught her attention. They were mainly photos of Isaac sitting by Queenie's bedside and peeling an apple for her. Rachel had captioned, "Thank the heavens for bringing you to me."

The last story was a video that hadn't been muted. Rachel and Isaac's conversation was recorded.

Rachel asked worriedly, "Are you sure things will be okay with Dr. Snow, Isaac? She looked like she was packing her things earlier. What if she's so angry that she moves out?"

Isaac sounded like he couldn't care less. His tone even carried a hint of mockery. "She's just an orphan. Where can she go? At most, she'll go out of town to perform a surgery or two. I've seen her pull this trick one too many times."

Madeline locked her phone and shut her eyes as she laughed bitterly. She felt pathetic.

Her memories of Isaac standing before her and shielding her from harm now felt like knives stabbing into her. They reached her bones and hurt her to the core.

…

Madeline didn't return home for a week after that. She stayed at the hospital and worked longer hours than before. She was genuinely busy—she needed to clear the surgeries she'd already scheduled, and it didn't help that there had been a huge fire in the city.

There was an increase in the number of patients requiring surgery, and all the surgeons were so busy that they could barely catch their breath.

"Thanks for your hard work, Dr. Snow!" a colleague said.

Madeline took off her surgical mask and nodded in acknowledgment. She changed out of her scrubs and headed to her office. Before she could even drink water, Rachel came over with Queenie in tow.

"Please don't chase Queenie and me away, Dr. Snow!" she cried. She fell to her knees before Madeline's desk and pulled Queenie down with her.

She didn't have makeup on that day and looked a lot more haggard than usual. It was almost as if she were a fragile flower, and she looked pitiful as she cried.

The nurse who had accompanied Madeline to her office had yet to leave. She was stunned when she saw this but didn't dare linger. She hurried out of the room and shut the door.

Madeline didn't even move from her seat. She frowned and asked coldly, "What's with the act when Isaac isn't here?"

Rachel continued weeping. She sounded aggrieved as she said, "I know you hate me, Dr. Snow, but know that I have no intention of taking Isaac from you!

"Queenie and I don't know anyone in Summeria—we're only temporarily living with Isaac so we can have a roof over our heads. We'll move out in the future! How do you expect us to survive if you kick us out of Isaac's place now?"

Madeline retorted, "When did I ever—"

Before she could finish, her phone rang. It was a call from Marie.