Chapter 1

Chapter 1

This was the tenth time I stood waiting to sign our marriage certificate.

And for the tenth time, Nathaniel Beckett stood me up for the sake of his precious first love.

I was finally done. I decided to pack my bags and join a medical mission to the most dangerous border region.

Later, Nathaniel went out of his mind begging me to come home.

But I didn't want him anymore.

......

After shivering in the cold wind outside City Hall for an hour, I finally decided to give up on Nathaniel.

They say three times is a charm, but he had lied to me about our marriage ten times. Ten whole times.

Every single time, he acted like it was no big deal.

"Maddy's health is fragile," he would say with total indifference. "We can sign the papers anytime, but Maddy is different. If I don't go to her and something happens, can you live with that guilt?"

With just a few words, he made himself sound like a saint and turned me into a villain.

It was pathetic.

I returned to the hospital with the chill still in my bones. When the Chief of Medicine saw my hollow expression, he looked confused.

"Zoey? Today was supposed to be your big day. Why are you here?"

Yesterday, I had handed out wedding cupcakes and taken a leave of absence just for today.

Everyone in the hospital knew, and the Chief was even more baffled than the rest.

"Did something happen?"

Seeing my lips tremble, the Chief quickly brought me a cup of hot water. His gaze turned sharp and protective. "It's freezing outside. Talk to me."

"Professor," I whispered, using the title from my med school days.

I had come to this hospital because he was my mentor. He had personally trained me and was proud of my career. Now, his star pupil was falling apart.

"What's wrong? Tell me everything. I'll help if I can."

He sat down beside me, showing the kind of concern only a father figure could offer.

I swallowed hard. "Professor, that secret medical mission to the border... I want in."

I didn't say I was thinking about it. I said I wanted it.

The project had originally chosen me as the lead. But the Chief had replaced me with someone else, thinking I'd want to stay home with my new husband.

"Did you and Nathaniel have a fight?"

The Chief looked stunned. He reached for his phone to call Nathaniel right then and there.

"Professor, please," I stopped him, shaking my head firmly.

"Ten failed attempts at a marriage license is proof enough that we aren't meant to be. There's no point in dragging this out anymore."

"Please help me. I just want to serve my country now. This petty heartbreak isn't going to stop me."

I lifted my head, my eyes burning with a cold, fierce determination.

The Chief saw the old Zoey Rivers―the girl who was the top of her class and full of fire. He couldn't help but clap.

"Good. Very good. I should support this kind of ambition. But I have to be honest with you."

"The conditions at the border are brutal. Once you commit, there is no backing out until the mission is over. Can you handle that?"

His voice was loud and commanding, drowning out my sadness and hardening my resolve.

"I won't let you down, Professor. I'll stay until the very end."

I would never betray my Hippocratic Oath. That was my true faith, not Nathaniel.

"I believe you. Go home and pack. You leave in two days."

Maybe I imagined it, but while the Chief seemed happy about my choice, he wiped a tear from his eye as he walked away.

Maybe it was grandfatherly affection, or maybe it was worry.

Either way, I was grateful.

"Thank you," I whispered to his retreating back.

He paused for a second and waved his hand dismissively without turning around. He knew as well as I did that once I started this journey, there was no looking back.