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Chapter 7

Penulis: Wheat Grain
At noon in the height of summer, the inside of the car felt like an oven.

The leather seats were scorching hot, stinging wherever they touched Roxie's skin.

She fumbled for her phone and called Evan, but he didn't answer.

The temperature inside the car kept climbing. Her vision began to blur, and a loud buzzing filled her head.

If she stayed in there much longer, she was going to die.

Gritting her teeth, Roxie twisted around and yanked the headrest free. She gripped the metal posts and slammed them against the window.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Again and again, she struck the same spot with everything she had.

Crash!

The window finally shattered.

A rush of cooler air poured into the car, helping her barely regain her senses.

Roxie climbed through the broken window and fell hard onto the pavement. She lay there gulping in fresh air.

It took a long time before she managed to push herself to her feet.

Only then did she realize the car was parked halfway up a winding mountain road.

Not far away, some kind of outdoor camping event was taking place on the hillside.

Roxie's eyes immediately found Evan.

He held an umbrella over Sylvia to shield her from the sun with one hand while gently holding a bottle of water to her lips with the other.

Sylvia took a sip and said something Roxie couldn't hear.

Even Evan, who rarely smiled, curled his lips in amusement.

The sight was so absurd that Roxie almost laughed.

She looked away and dragged her leaden legs down the mountain one painful step at a time before finally getting a cab to the hospital.

Not long after she arrived, Evan called.

"Roxie, why did you leave without telling me? And what happened to my car window?"

Roxie's voice was hoarse.

"Evan Shaw, you left me locked in the car so you could hold an umbrella over Sylvia and feed her water.

"Do you have any idea I almost died in there?"

There was silence on the other end for two seconds.

"I'm sorry. I got out in a hurry and forgot how hot the car would get.

"I saw Sylvia's group setting up their event. She's just a young girl, hauling all that stuff around in the middle of summer. I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. What if she got heatstroke?"

Roxie suddenly laughed at how reasonable he seemed to find that explanation.

He had been afraid Sylvia might get heatstroke.

Yet he had forgotten that Roxie already had a high fever and was locked inside a sealed car.

"Evan, I just finished getting checked out in the ER.

"The doctor said I had severe heatstroke. Another half hour in that car could have caused permanent brain damage."

Evan's breathing caught.

"Roxie..."

She didn't let him say another word.

She hung up.

Then, forcing herself to stay conscious, she called a friend.

"Put my mom's old house on the market for me. I need it sold as fast as possible. I need the money."

After that, she went through her contacts and called everyone who might have a connection to Dr. Chandler.

She had to get Dr. Chandler to operate on her mother.

Early the next morning, Evan came to the hospital.

When he saw how pale Roxie looked, guilt flickered in his eyes.

"Roxie, I didn't think things through. I'm sorry."

Roxie looked at him.

"Evan Shaw, I don't need your apology. I'm telling you again, we're over. Give me back my $55,000."

Evan took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation.

"Do you really have to pick a fight with me right now?

"Can you stop acting like a child and getting jealous of Sylvia for no reason?"

Roxie didn't even have the strength to argue anymore.

She yanked the IV from the back of her hand, threw back the blanket, and started to get out of bed.

Evan quickly pressed her back down.

"Where are you going? In your condition, you need to stay here for observation for at least a week."

Roxie looked coldly at the hand on her shoulder.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten heatstroke. If it weren't for you and Sylvia, my mother wouldn't be lying in the ICU."

Evan's expression darkened.

"Your mother's illness was an accident. Why do you insist on dragging Sylvia into everything? Can you be reasonable for once?"

A mocking smile tugged at Roxie's lips.

"Fine. Then tell Sylvia to give me back my $55,000, or call Dr. Chandler and ask him to operate on my mother."

"Which one are you willing to do?"

Evan pressed his lips together.

"I've already told you. Neither would be appropriate."

Roxie gave a cold laugh.

"Then get out of my way."

She shoved him aside and walked out of the room.

For the next few days, Roxie ran herself ragged.

She raced all over the city chasing every possible lead on Dr. Chandler. She kept vigil beside her mother in the ICU. She called every relative and friend one by one to tell them the wedding was off.

Evan was busy too.

Busy running the hospital. Busy helping Sylvia push forward the $700,000 project he had poured their money into.

Then, on the evening of the fifth day after her mother was admitted, Roxie finally got a call from her friend.

"Roxie, I found him!

"Dr. Chandler is in town. He's attending a charity gala tonight!"

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  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 23

    Three years later, Roxie Foster had become a household name in the architectural design world.She had developed a distinctive style that drew on traditional hand-embroidery techniques and translated their intricate patterns into the light, shadow, and structural details of modern buildings. Her work was widely praised, and each new design drew attention.She had also finally earned enough money to buy back her mother's old house.The day the deed became hers again, Roxie sat in it, alone inside from morning until night.Finn didn't rush her. He simply waited outside until she finally opened the door, then stepped forward."Come on. Let's go home."He took her hand as naturally as if it belonged there.Over the past three years, their relationship had grown quietly and naturally.There had been no dramatic declarations or consuming passion.When Roxie stayed up all night working on a design, Finn made sure she had a late-night meal and a blanket nearby. Before an important court appear

  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 22

    The day of the hearing arrived quickly.Evan appeared in court wearing a suit that no longer fit him properly. His hair was unkempt, his eyes were sunken, and dark stubble covered his jaw. Sylvia, meanwhile, stood under the watch of court officers with her hands cuffed in front of her. There was no trace left of the delicate, helpless woman she had once pretended to be.The judge's voice carried through the solemn courtroom."With respect to the medical malpractice case, the court finds that the defendant, Evan Shaw, committed gross negligence in the course of providing medical care."His actions resulted in a critical delay in treatment and were a primary contributing cause of the patient's death."The judge continued reading from the judgment."The court therefore orders Evan Shaw to issue a public apology to the plaintiff, Roxie Foster, through a major local news outlet and to pay a total of approximately $250,000 in damages."His medical license is hereby revoked, and he is perman

  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 21

    Evan had no idea how he made it back to his apartment.He picked up his phone and hovered over Roxie's name in his contacts. After a long time, he finally typed out a message."We need to talk."A red "Not Delivered" alert appeared beneath the bubble.He stared at the screen as the seconds ticked by, then stubbornly sent another."Roxie, meet me. Please."Another "Not Delivered."Tears fell onto the screen, but Evan kept sending messages he knew would never reach her."Roxie, I was wrong. Please forgive me.""Please...""Roxie, I'm sorry.""Roxie, I love you..."...At that moment, Roxie was sitting at her computer, completely absorbed in her work.Winning the design competition had brought her an offer to collaborate with a major company. She worked late every night preparing for it, and although she was exhausted, she felt more fulfilled than she ever had before.After pulling another all-nighter, Roxie glanced at the time and suddenly remembered that she was supposed to meet Finn to

  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 20

    Evan didn't even try to defend himself. There was no defense left.In the end, he picked up a pen and signed his name on the notice suspending him pending investigation.That same afternoon, Roxie gave an exclusive interview to the media as the victim's daughter.On camera, she clearly recounted everything that had happened from the moment her mother fell ill to the moment she died. She laid the facts bare before the public, cutting straight through the false image of principle and integrity Evan had spent years building around himself."A doctor who bends hospital rules for a woman he calls his 'younger schoolmate,' walks away from a patient who needs him, and puts that patient's life at risk..."Roxie looked directly into the camera and said each word clearly."He doesn't deserve to wear that white coat."Back home, Evan sat in front of the television as the flickering light from the screen washed over his face.He stared at Roxie on the screen, unable to tell whether what consumed h

  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 19

    Shock slammed through Evan, wiping his mind clean.Back then, Sylvia had handed him a stack of documents and told him they were personal guaranty forms for the project. He had never imagined that the sweet, innocent girl he trusted would deceive him, so he hadn't bothered reading them carefully.He never expected that she had already been setting a trap for him even then, one designed to drag him down with her.Evan slowly raised his head. His once calm, steady eyes now blazed with fury, yet held a coldness that cut to the bone.He felt like the biggest tool in the world.For this woman, he had abandoned every principle he claimed to live by. He had hurt Roxie again and again and had indirectly caused her mother's death.Because of this woman, he had lost everything he treasured most in his life, only to discover that the woman he had sacrificed it all for was this vicious and calculating."Get out."Sylvia's smile stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered her smug composure."

  • A Summer Love Worth Cherishing   Chapter 18

    Sylvia's crying only made Evan's headache worse.He pressed his fingers to his temple, his voice hoarse. "What exactly happened?""I don't know..." Sylvia sobbed, nearly falling apart. "The funding has completely dried up, and the project has been shut down. Now they want me to pay damages too! Evan, I need a huge amount of money to get my accounts unfrozen. If I can't, I'm finished. I could go to prison!"She looked at him desperately. "Can you help me?"As Evan listened to her cry, a deep sense of exhaustion and irritation rose inside him."Sylvia, I don't have any money left."I gave you everything I had. The house and car are already mortgaged. I don't have a cent left."He was already going to have to swallow his pride and borrow money from friends just to repay Roxie. Where was he supposed to find anything more?Sylvia's crying abruptly stopped. She stared at him as though she couldn't believe what she had heard.Then something seemed to occur to her."Wait, Evan. You're the med

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