"Go out with hands like that, and people will think I—your brother-in-law—bully you at home."

Stellan’s gaze flickered toward the blood-soaked gauze Elara had tossed into the trash. A trace of something—guilt, perhaps—flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before it could take root.

His expression darkened when his gaze landed on Elara’s desk. Without warning, he strode over, his movements sharp with anger.

Elara’s heart clenched.

His hand reached toward the appointment form—

But then, his fingers bypassed the document entirely and picked up a photograph instead.

"This is the man you've been thinking about all these years?"

His voice dripped with accusation.

Elara’s stomach twisted as she saw what he was holding—a picture from her college days, a group photo with her classmates.

Stellan’s grip tightened as he yanked her closer, his eyes boring into hers as if trying to see through her soul.

"Elara, are you that desperate? After all these years, you still can't forget a man?"

Elara met his gaze, unflinching.

"I'm not. That’s just my classmate."

Her voice was steady, but the defiance in her dark eyes only seemed to provoke him further.

Without thinking, Stellan lowered his head and kissed her.

Elara immediately turned away, but that only fueled his anger.

"Aren’t you cheap? Didn’t you miss a man? Then I’ll satisfy you today—"

With that, he shoved her onto the bed, his presence suffocating, his weight pressing down on her. Elara opened her mouth, about to fight back, to tell him the truth—

But then, a voice rang from outside.

"Stellan, my stomach feels a little uncomfortable… I wonder if the baby is hungry."

Juliet.

Stellan froze.

In the next second, he pushed Elara away as if burned.

"You’re nothing special."

The words cut through her, peeling back layers of pain and humiliation and throwing them into the gutter.

He stood, his face cold, his presence even colder. When he reached the door, he glanced back, his tone emotionless.

"Go to the kitchen and make something for Juliet."

Then he was gone.

Through the crack in the door, his voice drifted down the corridor, soft, gentle—so unlike the man who had just been in this room.

"Juliet, you’re pregnant and you’ve sprained your ankle. If you need anything, just ask your useless sister to do it. Just rest."

Elara sat up slowly, the weight in her chest suffocating.

Her gaze fell on the appointment form.

This time, there was no hesitation.

She picked up a pen and signed her name.

After tending to her wounds, she went to the kitchen, prepared a bowl of noodles, and carried it to Juliet’s room.

The door was slightly ajar.

Inside, the two figures on the bed were entwined.

"Stellan, the doctor said to be careful in the first three months," Juliet’s voice was sweet, coy. "Can you be a little gentler?"

Stellan’s deep voice murmured against Juliet’s neck, “Juliet, I love you.”

Elara clutched the bowl of noodles so tightly that tears slipped from her cheeks and fell into the broth. Outside, fireworks lit up the sky, but inside the mansion, she felt utterly alone—a discarded soul amidst the celebration.

The next day, Elara went downstairs and found the old nanny, Celeste, bustling in the kitchen.

“Miss, please wake up. I made chicken soup for Miss Juliet. Would you like some?”

Juliet shook her head and prepared to head out. Celeste’s eyes fell on the bandaged wound on Elara’s hand, and she sighed.

“Miss Elara, what about your hand? Aren’t you going to explain what happened to the team leader?”

Celeste, a long-serving member of the Whitmore household, had once been destined to return to her hometown when things went awry. But Stellan, fearing that Juliet wouldn’t adjust to life on her own, had asked her to stay and care for her instead.

For a moment, Elara remembered the echo of “I love you” that Stellan had whispered to Juliet. The memory only deepened her sorrow.

“There’s no point in explaining,” she replied quietly, resigning herself to her fate.

With that, Elara gathered her resolve, left the mansion, and went to the hospital to hand in her appointment form.

The director regarded Elara with a trace of regret in his eyes.

She had been the most outstanding doctor he had ever mentored—losing her was a true waste of talent.

After leaving the hospital, Elara walked to a nearby phone booth and dialed a familiar number.

"Van, the hospital has approved my appointment for the rural support program. I'll be leaving on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

On the other end, Evander’s voice burst with excitement.

"That’s great! I knew you’d figure things out. Everything’s been arranged—I’m just waiting for you to get here."

After hanging up, Elara stepped out of the phone booth, only for a military jeep to screech to a stop in front of her.

The window rolled down, revealing Stellan’s cold, unreadable expression.

"First day of the new year, and instead of being on duty at the hospital, you’re out wandering around. What are you up to? Looking for another wild man?"

Elara’s face paled. Just as she opened her mouth to retort, a familiar, sickeningly sweet voice cut in.

"Stellan said he’s going to marry me soon," Juliet chimed, poking her head out from beside him. "Today, as a soon-to-be son-in-law, he should pay respects to his future in-laws. You should come too, Elara!"

Stellan cast Elara a cold glance and scoffed.

"Someone as heartless and ungrateful as her? How could she possibly remember the adoptive parents who raised her?"

Stellan blocked her path before she could refuse, leaving Elara with no choice but to get into the car.

At the cemetery, she stood motionless in front of the tombstone, watching Juliet sob dramatically, pouring her grief into the cold stone as if she were the only daughter who had ever mattered.

Elara had come to the Whitmore Family when she was ten years old—along with a fortune.

Her parents, maritime traders, had perished in a tragic accident at sea, leaving her in the care of her aunt, Sylvia Whitmore. With her inheritance, the Whitmore Family quickly secured their place in Westbridge, using the power and wealth she brought to elevate themselves. Eventually, they even leveraged that very fortune to separate her from Stellan.

To say she didn't hate them would be a lie.

A mocking voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"You really are ungrateful," Stellan sneered. "Your adoptive parents raised you all those years, and you can't even shed a tear?"

"Stellan, don't say that about Elara," Juliet interjected with a gentle, understanding tone. "After all, she's not their biological daughter. I can understand her indifference. As long as our Whitmore Family has a clear conscience, that's what matters."

Stellan pulled Juliet into his arms, looking at her with heartache.

"You’re too kind, Juliet. That’s why you’ve always been bullied by this adopted daughter." His voice turned softer, yet his gaze remained locked on Elara, sharp and unrelenting. "Don't worry. From now on, I'll protect you. No one will ever dare to hurt you again."

Elara clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palm, tearing open the wound she had yet to treat.

The ride back was suffocatingly silent. Just as Elara was about to ask Stellan to drop her off at the next intersection, a speeding car suddenly lost control and veered straight toward them.

Stellan reacted instantly, yanking the steering wheel to the side. The impact sent their vehicle careening into a wall.

Elara and Juliet, both seated in the back, were thrown forward at the moment of collision.

At the last second, Stellan turned, shielding Juliet with his body.

Elara, unprotected, crashed headfirst into the windshield.

When the car finally came to a jarring stop, Stellan immediately turned to Juliet.

"Juliet, are you hurt?" His voice was laced with concern.

Juliet clung to him, trembling violently. "Stellan, my stomach... it hurts so much."

Without hesitation, Stellan kicked the car door open and carried her out in his arms.

Blood streamed down Elara’s forehead, blurring her vision. Every breath she took sent sharp, searing pain through her chest, as though her internal organs had been crushed. She tried to lift a hand—perhaps to call out, perhaps just to move—but no one even glanced back at her.

"Stellan," Juliet murmured weakly, her voice laced with hesitation. "What about Elara? She… she looks injured."

Juliet clung tightly to Stellan’s neck, her delicate fingers pressing into his shoulder. As they walked away, she glanced back at Elara, who lay motionless on the ground, her breath faint, her body barely holding on.

Stellan didn’t pause. If anything, his steps quickened, his grip on Juliet tightening.

"If she dies, she dies," his voice was cold, devoid of emotion. "You and the child are all that matter to me."

The words sliced through Elara like a blade, severing the last fragile thread of love she still held for him. The warmth in her eyes dimmed, and as darkness swallowed her, she let her lids fall shut.

---

When she woke again, she was in a hospital ward, the sterile scent filling her lungs.

"Doctor Whitmore, you’re finally awake!" A nurse’s relieved voice broke through the haze. "Any later, and we might’ve lost you."

The city was already buzzing with news—Captain Pierce’s car had burst into flames on a busy street.

"Luckily, a group of migrant workers was passing by. They risked their lives to pull you out. If not for them, you’d have burned to ashes."

Elara’s throat felt dry. She licked her lips, the bitterness in her chest heavier than before.

"Where’s Stellan?"

The nurse hesitated, her expression softening into pity.

"Captain Pierce hasn’t left your sister’s side since the accident. Juliet was so shaken she almost miscarried. He called in the best gynecologist, turned the entire hospital upside down for her."

Elara reached up, pressing her fingers against her forehead, a wry chuckle escaping her lips.

---

By afternoon, she forced herself out of bed, her steps unsteady but determined. As she reached the corridor, hushed whispers drifted from a group of nurses nearby.

"Captain Pierce truly spoils his fiancée. Her ward is overflowing with flowers and gifts."

"I heard the wedding date is set for the fifteenth. He even handed out wedding candy today."

"And Elara? She nearly died, yet Captain Pierce hasn’t even visited her."

"She deserves it. She abandoned him for another man, and now she has the audacity to try and win him back? Shameless! And let’s not forget—he’s her brother-in-law now."

Elara’s fingers tightened around the railing, her nails digging into her palm.

A presence loomed behind her.

She turned, meeting the familiar gaze of Juliet.

"You heard everything, didn’t you?" Juliet’s voice had lost its usual softness, now sharp and edged with triumph. "Stellan and I are getting married soon. If you have any sense, you’ll move out of the Pierce Family mansion before then."

Elara held her gaze, her own voice turning cold.

"Don’t worry. I’ll leave."

Juliet let out a light chuckle, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"I know you’re bitter. After all, you were the one who met Stellan first. But what can you do? You just weren’t good enough to keep him."

Elara’s expression darkened. "If Stellan knew the truth about what happened back then… do you think he’d still love you?"

Juliet’s smirk wavered—just for a second—before twisting into something even crueler.

"Go ahead. Tell him," she sneered. "Do you really think he’d believe you?"

Then, without warning, she staggered backward, her body tilting precariously.

And she fell.

Before Elara could react, Juliet had already collapsed onto the ground, tears streaking down her delicate face.

"Elara, I know you're angry with me because of Stellan," she choked out, her voice trembling. "But you were the one who looked down on him and left him. How can you blame me for stepping in?"

Then, as if struck by a sudden realization, she gasped softly, her fingers gently resting on her stomach. "If you love Stellan that much… I can get rid of the baby and give him back to you, okay?"

The words had barely left her lips when a sudden force slammed into Elara. She staggered backward, crashing onto the cold hospital floor. The IV needle ripped from her hand, sending blood splattering across her hospital gown in thin crimson trails.

"Elara, you dare lay a hand on Juliet?!"

Stellan’s voice was laced with fury. His sharp gaze bore into her like a blade, his whole body seething with rage. He loomed over her, his expression dark and menacing, as if he wanted to crush her beneath his heel.

"I… I didn’t push her," Elara gasped, her breath shaky. Pain radiated through her limbs as she forced herself to meet his gaze, her bloodshot eyes filled with disbelief. "She did it herself."

"You’re still lying?" Stellan’s voice dropped to a dangerous low, his disgust palpable.