Chapter 2

The strong smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

As I lay in the hospital bed, my consciousness drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Beside me, I heard the timid voice of Kelly Pine, the nurse on duty. She seemed to have answered my phone.

From the other end, Christine's irritated voice blared through the speakers. "Maxwell, where the hell are you? How can you just disappear? Didn't you see the text message I sent you? Lucian's dog was saved, but it was badly frightened and won't even eat now. Come over here right now and apologize to Lucian!"

Kelly shuddered and stammered as she tried to explain. "M-Ms. Stafford, Dr. Linton can't answer the phone right now. He performed several major surgeries back-to-back and collapsed from exhaustion. He's unconscious and put on IV…"

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Christine's tone wavered slightly. "He fainted?"

Before she could finish, Lucian spoke from beside her in an aggrieved voice. "Christie, do you think maybe Maxwell is just pretending to faint because he's afraid you'll blame him for not saving my dog?

"It's fine, really. As long as he's fine, that's all that matters. I'll calm the dog down. Please don't be mad at him anymore."

Christine's tone instantly turned frosty. "Maxwell, you've really outdone yourself. You're even pretending to faint just to gain sympathy. I'm telling you, even if you die on that hospital bed today, you'd still better come over here and apologize to Lucian!"

With that, she hung up.

Taken aback and still holding my phone, Kelly turned toward me. When she saw that my eyes were open, her lips parted awkwardly, and her expression was one of sympathy.

"Dr. Linton, Ms. Stafford just—"

"It's okay. I heard everything," I cut her off calmly, my voice hoarse and dry.

This was already the ninth time Lucian had caused trouble for no reason.

His dog had an upset stomach. His dog was depressed. His dog's coat had lost its shine…

The moment there was the slightest issue with his dog, he insisted on making me, a heart surgeon, go over to treat it immediately.

Lucian would shed a few tears, and Christine would punish me by postponing our wedding. That was her way of forcing me to give in.

Just then, floating comments appeared before my eyes again.

"Serves him right! Lucian fed the dog chocolate just to see how Christine would react. Sure enough, she trusted him unconditionally. The bond between childhood sweethearts is on another level."

"Maxwell doesn't know his place. He can't even compete with a dog. Does he seriously think he can compete with Lucian for affection?"

"Am I the only one who thinks Maxwell is kind of pitiful? Lucian is ruthless. He knew chocolate was poisonous to dogs and still fed it to his pet…"

"Is the person above some kind of social justice warrior with a bleeding heart? If Maxwell hadn't interfered, Lucian would've married Christine long ago! What's wrong with using a few tricks against the other man?"

My pupils dilated slightly.

All those times when something had happened to Lucian's dog, they hadn't been accidents at all. He had done it on purpose.

Christine had trampled all over me, time and time again, all because of Lucian's cruel little games.

"Dr. Linton, are you okay? You look awful," Kelly said worriedly.

I forced a faint smile. "I'm fine."

I no longer cared what the truth was. Whether Lucian was cruel or Christine was blind, none of it mattered anymore.

I was just too tired.