Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Lucas Carter, and my best friend, Kimberly Wendell, turned the corner and disappeared from my sight. Not once did they bother to turn back to see if I was still following them.

I stood rooted to the spot for a moment before spinning on my heel and leaving.

After I returned to the hospital, my colleague quirked a brow and sidled over.

"Didn't you change shifts so you could go on a date? Is it over already?"

"Yeah, it's over."

Changing into my nurse uniform, I sat back down at my workstation.

Due to the busy nature of our jobs as a nurse and a doctor, Lucas and I hardly ever got the chance to go out on an official date. It was probably less than ten times a year.

Since it was a rare opportunity for him to have a day off, I had asked my colleague in advance to switch shifts with me. Even if it was just to hold hands as we strolled through the mall, that was still better than nothing.

However, Kimberly's sudden decision to join us thoroughly messed up my plans.

Before leaving, I had sternly stressed to them that they weren't allowed to discuss anything work-related that day.

Both of them had pinched my cheeks and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, got it."

Yet, halfway through our meal, I didn't know who started it, but they began talking about their patients again. I was left to the side, neglected, and could only poke sourly at my food. I didn't even remember when we got up to pay the bill.

Suddenly, the hospital's landline rang.

By the time I finally pulled myself from my thoughts, my colleague had already answered the phone.

There had been a terrible car crash, so several wounded people were currently being sent to the emergency room.

Just as I was about to notify Lucas, I received a message from him first.

"Kimberly and I are heading back to the hospital first since we've been called in."

I turned off the screen, dumbfounded that he hadn't even bothered to ask where I'd gone.

It wasn't until the very last patient's surgery was over that I ran into an exhausted Lucas in the corridor.

Instead of latching on to him and fussing over him as I would have in the past, I kept my gaze forward as I continued walking.

However, I had barely brushed past him when he seized my wrist and buried his head into my neck with familiar ease.

"What's this? Don't you recognize your boyfriend anymore?"

Every time he came home from work, he would do the same thing, claiming it helped him recharge.

My mind screamed at me to push him away, but my heart ached inexplicably.

It had taken me three years to go from crushing on him to finally standing by his side as his official girlfriend.

The day we got together, our classmates had immediately started a betting pool to see how long our relationship would last. After all, there was just too big a gap between Lucas and me.

Lucas was always at the top of his class, while I was someone my elementary school teacher had outright called an idiot. At the time, I had been so terrified that my eyes had reddened, and I didn’t dare make a sound. It was Kimberly who had stepped in front of me and spread her arms protectively.

I was well aware that I wasn't smart and that I was always seeking reassurance and acceptance from my boyfriend and best friend.

So even though I had already made up my mind, the moment Lucas leaned against me, all the resentment I had accumulated began to fade away, bit by bit.

We sat together in an empty stairwell, grateful for this rare moment alone.

After a brief silence, Lucas suddenly spoke.

"Anna."

"Hmm?"

"Could you be more mature from now on?"