New Year's Eve
St. Vincent’s Hospital – Director’s Office
"Elara, are you certain you want to join the medical team in the countryside?"
The director of surgery looked at her with regret. She was still recovering, her hand a painful reminder of all she had lost.
"I understand your concerns about your brother-in-law," he continued. "Take your time to think it over. When you're sure, come back and sign."
Elara Whitmore glanced down at her injured hand. Once the hospital’s most promising surgeon, she had been hailed as a medical genius. Now, she could no longer even hold a scalpel.
Without hesitation, she picked up the pen and signed the application form.
"I've made my decision."
The director sighed, accepting the paper. "Since you're certain, go home and prepare. You’ll depart with the team on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."
——
Elara nodded and left the office.
Outside, a voice called out. "Doctor Whitmore, you're not going home for New Year's Eve?"
A colleague spotted her from a distance, about to greet her, but a nearby nurse quickly pulled them aside.
"Don't you know? She tried to seduce her own brother-in-law and got thrown out. How shameless can she be?"
Elara tightened her grip on the resignation letter in her hand. She had heard the whispers a thousand times before, yet each word still pierced her like a needle to the heart.
After leaving the hospital, Elara wandered the streets like a homeless vagrant, aimless and lost.
The cold night air bit at her skin, but it was nothing compared to the chill seeping into her bones. Just as she was about to turn a corner, a couple appeared before her—leaning into each other, their bond unmistakable.
Her breath caught.
She wanted to flee, like a guilty child caught in the act. But before she could move, a mocking voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Sister-in-law, out so late? Sneaking off to meet some wild man?"
The words dripped with disdain.
Elara’s body tensed. Slowly, she turned to meet Stellan Pierce’s piercing gaze, his eyes filled with contempt.
She bit her lower lip, refusing to respond.
Seeing her silence, Stellan stepped forward, gripping her chin with one hand, his touch forceful and unyielding.
"Why aren't you answering?"
Elara tried to pull away, but his military-trained strength held her in place. The weight of his presence—his authority—made resistance futile.
"I didn’t," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Stellan didn’t let go. Instead, his fingers tightened.
"Didn’t you?" His voice was laced with mockery. "Funny, because I remember my sister-in-law as a fickle woman with no moral bottom line. One who even dared to seduce her own brother-in-law."
Elara’s face drained of color.
"I never seduced anyone," she said, her hands clenching into fists.
Stellan let out a cold laugh. "Really? Then tell me, five years ago—did you not seduce me?"
His words dragged her back to a bitter winter five years past.
For three years, they had been together. She had been his everything. Until, on a night colder than this one, she shattered his heart.
"I've fallen for someone else. You're just a low-ranking officer—how could you ever be good enough for me? The man I marry needs to be a high-ranking commander."
No matter how desperately he tried to hold onto her, she never looked back.
Later, he rose through the ranks, working relentlessly until he became the head of the regiment. And when he did, he turned and proposed—to her sister, Juliet Whitmore.
No one knew that on the night of their engagement, Elara had jumped into the river. No one knew how she had been rescued.
She had been the adopted daughter of the Whitmore Family, and from the start, they had controlled her fate. They had threatened her with Stellan’s future, forcing her to walk away from him.
The more he hated her, the more pain coiled in her chest.
A soft, delicate voice suddenly broke through the tension.
"Stellan, my feet hurt."
Elara’s thoughts shattered.
She watched as Stellan instantly released her, turning his full attention to Juliet.
"Your feet aren’t healed yet, and you walked so far today?" he said, concern evident in his tone.
