Chapter 1

After Christine Stafford's fake AR comments disappeared, I could still see comments floating before my eyes.

Every single one of them was insulting me.

"Why is Maxwell eavesdropping? He's so gross. Christine and Lucian are childhood sweethearts who are obviously meant to be together!"

"If he hadn't suddenly come back three years ago and shamelessly used the engagement agreement between their families to force Christine into marrying him, she would've married Lucian long ago!"

"Exactly! He's just a country bumpkin. He can't compare to Lucian at all! How dare he even think of snatching Ms. Stafford away for himself? He's delusional!"

"Ugh! I wish he'd just disappear. Just looking at his miserable face ruins my mood."

Every word of those comments pierced my heart painfully.

So, in everyone's eyes, I was the unforgivable villain.

Three years ago, my birth parents finally found me and brought me home.

I'd thought I finally had a home, but my parents despised me for being crude and uncultured. They gave all their love to their adopted son, Lucian Linton.

Christine was the only person who had ever shown me any kindness.

Back then, her grandfather, Atticus Stafford, had insisted on honoring the engagement agreement made between our families years before.

Mom was very reluctant to agree to the marriage, as she was afraid that Lucian would feel slighted.

Not wanting to make things awkward for everyone, I had gone to Christine myself to call off the engagement.

But that day, she had gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. Looking into my eyes, she had spoken in an incredibly tender voice. "There's no need to cancel it, Maxwell. I'm willing to marry you."

At that moment, I thought I'd finally grasped the only ray of light in my life. I had believed that she saw how sincere my feelings were.

To become worthy of her, I'd worked desperately to get into one of the country's top medical schools and spent countless hours in the operating room. I went through it all so I could stand proudly by her side.

But it turned out she had never loved me.

Perhaps all her kindness toward me had only been part of a game to please Lucian.

Just like today. To help Lucian get back at me, she had even used her company's newly developed AR visual technology just so she could watch me run to her like a fool, consumed with guilt as I begged for her forgiveness.

I looked at the engagement ring on my finger that had never fit properly.

Christine had bought it on a whim. It was so loose that I had wrapped it in layers of red thread and worn it carefully for three years.

Now, it all seemed like one big fat joke.

Calmly, I took off the ring without the slightest hesitation and tossed it straight into the trash. Then, I turned and walked away without looking back.

When I returned to the hospital and had just entered my department, a nurse named Zoe Reyes hurried over to me.

"Dr. Linton! The ER just received another patient in critical condition. The director wants to know if you can take another surgery," she said in a rush.

I took a deep breath and forced down the crushing pain in my chest. "Okay. I'll head over right away."

I went to the locker room to change into a sterile surgical gown.

But the moment I pushed open the door, the world started to spin. The nonstop high-intensity workload, combined with the emotional shock from what had just happened on the rooftop, took a toll on me.

My vision went completely dark.

"Dr. Linton? Dr. Linton, what's wrong?"

Amid Zoe's screams, I collapsed straight to the floor and passed out.