2. The Beginning

Six months earlier, at the funeral home.

Rose's teeth chattered at the man standing a few meters in front of her. A handsome man with short dark hair combed neatly with a touch of hair oil. The man was currently standing proudly toweringly staring intently at him.

"How dare he show the bridge of his nose in this place." Rose thought with hatred.

Rose's short fingernails had sunk into her hands, digging deeper and deeper into the skin. The woman was trying so hard to hold back the emotions that were about to overflow when the unwanted man came to her sister's funeral.

Rose wanted to scream to get rid of the man who had hurt Ruby until the end of her life. She really wanted to scream so that everyone would know what a handsome man who is so adored and even respected by many people looks like.

Rose's jaw tightened as the man approached her. Spontaneously she pulled a five year old little boy to stand behind her. She wouldn't let that bastard touch the boy with the tip of his finger.

"Rose, I'm sorry." The deep voice sounded sympathetic, but not to her.

The man's face looked cloudy with his head slightly lowered, showing clearly the deep sorrow caused by Ruby's departure. However, that didn't move Rose's tender heart to believe it either. To Rose, that man was the most accomplished con artist in this world.

"Take off your mask and get out of here, Robert Miller," Rose hissed hatefully.

Robert Miller was stunned by the sharp words that came out of the soft and fragile figure before him. The beautiful woman who is the sister of Ruby, his ex-lover, doesn't really want his presence. The woman's face reddened with hatred.

"You're angry, I understand. But don't expect me to leave without my child." Robert's firm words in a low voice took Rose by surprise.

"Your son? Since when did you have children?" Rose scornfully glared at Robert.

"Rose." Robert growled and stifled.

Robert sighed slowly remembering that it wasn't the right time for him to act tough right now. The funeral home was filled with many guests who came to sympathize as a final tribute.

He couldn't just force his will and cause trouble, because after all, his image as a famous doctor who always appeared in health shows on television and also a symbol of the face of the hospital, should not be tarnished. Robert chose to remain silent and relented at this point.

"Kenzie, Daddy's coming back for you." Robert tilted his head to look at the little boy hiding behind Rose's back.

"No! You're never coming back because you don't have any rights over Kenzie." Rose hissed furiously at Robert.

The handsome doctor just gave Rose a cold look with a haughty expression. He wanted so badly to drag the woman over and then cover her sharp mouth with gauze, bandaging it like a mummy so those lips could no longer underestimate her.

Robert chose to stay away, he sat in the middle of the room where his eyes could freely stare directly at Rose. Rose's provocation aroused the spirit in Robert to make the woman die and kneel to beg for mercy.

Robert's gaze turned to the little boy who had a very pale face. Handsome boy with Miller family genes he never acknowledged before. Those innocent eyes were so puffy it made Robert's hard heart melt.

"I didn't think Ruby would actually give birth to that child without my permission." said Robert to himself.

It is still clear in Robert's memory when he suspected that Ruby was deliberately pregnant and held him accountable. Ruby was one of Robert's favorite lovers when he was not yet a specialist in medicine.

Ruby's pregnancy infuriated him, how could an aspiring nurse not be able to take care of herself to prevent pregnancy, when Robert trusted her so much that she never used protection when they had sex.

"Father!" The shrill screams and mournful cries that escaped Kenzie's lips snapped Robert out of his thoughts.

His eyes fell on the figure of the man Kenzie called father. He could see how the boy was crying and hugged the man very tightly. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his chest when he saw his biological son more intimately with other men.

Rose's jaw tightened as the man approached her. Spontaneously she pulled a five year old little boy to stand behind her. She wouldn't let that bastard touch the boy with the tip of his finger.

"Rose, I'm sorry." The deep voice sounded sympathetic, but not to her.

The man's face looked cloudy with his head slightly lowered, showing clearly the deep sorrow caused by Ruby's departure. However, that didn't move Rose's tender heart to believe it either. To Rose, that man was the most accomplished con artist in this world.

"Take off your mask and get out of here, Robert Miller," Rose hissed hatefully.

Robert Miller was stunned by the sharp words that came out of the soft and fragile figure before him. The beautiful woman who is the sister of Ruby, his ex-lover, doesn't really want his presence. The woman's face reddened with hatred.

"You're angry, I understand. But don't expect me to leave without my child." Robert's firm words in a low voice took Rose by surprise.

"Your son? Since when did you have children?" Rose scornfully glared at Robert.

"Rose." Robert growled and stifled.

Robert sighed slowly remembering that it wasn't the right time for her to act tough right now. The funeral home was filled with many guests who came to sympathize as a final tribute.

He couldn't just force his will and cause trouble, because after all, his image as a famous doctor who always appeared in health shows on television and also a symbol of the face of the hospital, should not be tarnished. Robert chose to remain silent and relented at this point.

"Kenzie, Daddy's coming back for you." Robert tilted his head to look at the little boy hiding behind Rose's back.

"No! You're never coming back because you don't have any rights over Kenzie." Rose hissed furiously at Robert.

The handsome doctor just gave Rose a cold look with a haughty expression. He wanted so badly to drag the woman over and then cover her sharp mouth with gauze, bandaging it like a mummy so those lips could no longer underestimate her.

Robert chose to stay away, he sat in the middle of the room where his eyes could freely stare directly at Rose. Rose's provocation aroused the spirit in Robert to make the woman die and kneel to beg for mercy.

Robert's gaze turned to the little boy who had a very pale face. Handsome boy with Miller family genes he never acknowledged before. Those innocent eyes were so puffy it made Robert's hard heart melt.

"I didn't think Ruby would actually give birth to that child without my permission." said Robert to himself.

It is still clear in Robert's memory when he suspected that Ruby was deliberately pregnant and held him accountable. Ruby was one of Robert's favorite lovers when he was not yet a specialist in medicine.

Ruby's pregnancy infuriated him, how could an aspiring nurse not be able to take care of herself to prevent pregnancy, when Robert trusted her so much that she never used protection when they had sex.

"Father!" The shrill screams and mournful cries that escaped Kenzie's lips snapped Robert out of his thoughts.

His eyes fell on the figure of the man Kenzie called father. He could see how the boy was crying and hugged the man very tightly. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his chest when he saw his biological son more intimately with other men.

"Robert, are you… coming?"

Robert turned his gaze towards the gentle voice that greeted him.

"Jasmine." he said back to his younger sibling who had just arrived.

"I'm glad you wanted to come, Robert." Jasmine's sincere words made the irritated feeling of Rose's haughty attitude subside a little.

"I should at least come, shouldn't I?" His nonchalant words were the exact opposite of the regret in Robert's heart.

Robert's hands went into the pockets of the navy blue coat he was wearing. In that pocket, he crumpled a letter he had just obtained from the laboratory. A proof that he should have done a long time ago to prove if Ruby's child was really his biological child.

The evidence he got too late when Ruby was gone before he could swear at himself. Robert smiled bitterly in his heart, imagining that if Ruby was currently looking at him angrily, maybe even berating him.

It wasn't protection he gave when Ruby was pregnant but humiliation. If other people knew, would they still bestow the title of honorary doctor on him?

"Are you okay seeing Conrad get along so well with Ruby's child?" Robert glanced at Jasmine briefly with a faint smile on the corners of his lips.

"Did you forget that Ruby's child is yours too? Why should I feel uncomfortable about that?" Jasmine's thoughtful answer made Robert feel sarcastic.

"Isn't Ruby your husband's ex-girlfriend Conrad, what if his sudden friendship with Kenzie makes Conrad close to Rose?" This time Robert glared at his sister.

"Older brother!" Jasmine shook her head in disbelief at what Robert had said. "I can't believe you're my real brother." Jasmine hissed furiously.

"Well… you can't deny that I'm your real brother, can you? It was thanks to me that Conrad finally parted ways with Ruby, so you could get that guy." The sly grin on Robert's face made Jasmine very angry.

"From the start I put pressure on you if I wanted a fair competition! I never asked for any favors from you!" Jasmine kept her voice as low as possible so that no one could hear the argument between them.

She looked up at her sister whom she loved dearly, even though she often did things that went against the logic of a gentle woman like Jasmine.

"Tell me, did you really never love Ruby? Did you intentionally ruin my best friend and destroy her dream of becoming a nurse?"

Jasmine's question instantly became a very strong slap to Robert. A series of past events flashed through his mind. The sweetness of love and the bitterness of betrayal blend into one.

"Love? Heh! Don't ever teach me about love, because the sincerity of love is only zero point zero one percent in this world." said Robert coldly.