Third Person's POV

Halle pulled her gaze away from Terence and gave a faint laugh. “He agreed. In fact, he can’t wait for me to leave. Just sign off on the transfer, Captain Howell.”

Cedric let out a sigh and shook his head. “Halle, Terence’s temper is just like that. He doesn’t mean it personally. But if you leave, will you ever come back? And… what about him? Are you really going to leave him behind?”

Halle stayed silent.

Three years had already passed. Her mind wandered back to the day she first met Terence. It was a bitterly cold May in the eastern region, with the raindrops directly hitting the plains. On her very first day of the job providing medical support in Tanzania—a short-barreled gun was pressed to her head. Beside her was another man holding a gun as well.

At first, she thought they were working together—both poachers. But then the man fired his weapon, and blood sprayed into the air. Before she could even get a hold of everything happening around her, she was pulled into his arms for protection.

“Don’t be scared. I’m the leader of Wildlife Conservation Team A,” he said.

Through the fierce rain and wind, with a bullet lodged in his shoulder, Terence carried her—sprained ankle and all—back to the camp.

That was the first time Halle performed a rescue operation. When she reached for the wound on his shoulder, he suddenly stopped her.

“Don’t worry. I’m Halle Dolton, a doctor from Washington sent to aid Tanzania,” she reassured him.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want him anymore; it was that he had never wanted her in the first place.

For three years, she had openly loved him, but he acted like he didn’t notice. Her every effort, every step closer, had been met with rejection. Whenever she moved forward, he always retreated.

Reluctantly, Captain Howell signed off on her transfer request.

Just two weeks—she had only two weeks left before she would leave this place. A place that had caused her so much pain. A place where she would finally leave Terence behind.

“Halle!”

She had just stepped out of Captain Howell’s office when a familiar, cheerful voice called her name. Turning around, she saw Darlene approaching. With a warm smile, Darlene draped an arm over Halle’s shoulder.

“Don’t take what happened this morning to heart,” Darlene said lightly. “Terence has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He wasn’t really mad at you. He just…” Darlene trailed off.

'Just what?' Halle thought. 'Just care too much about your injury?' she bitterly continued inwardly.

Realizing she might have said too much, Darlene gave Halle’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t dwell on it. Let’s go enjoy the scenery and clear our heads. Everything will work out.”

The eastern landscape was breathtaking, but the weather changed quickly. By afternoon, the clear skies had given way to falling snow.

The cold wind swept through, and Darlene, still recovering from her gunshot wound, began to look pale and unsteady. Seeing that, Halle quickly reached out to help her walk back to the camp.

However, just as she turned, she saw Terence striding toward them, his face dark with anger. Before she could ask about his injuries, he pushed her aside, making her stumble a few steps.

He grabbed Darlene by the arm, steadying her, and then cast a cold glance at Halle. His tone was distant, as usual, as he snapped, “You call yourself a doctor? Don’t you know someone recovering from a gunshot wound shouldn’t be exposed to cold?”

Darlene frowned at his accusation and was about to speak, but Terence cut her off and guided her back toward the camp.

Meanwhile, Halle stood frozen, her chest tightening painfully as she struggled to catch her breath. The biting cold wind stung her face, and her nose turned red from the cold. Blinking away the tears in her eyes, she sniffled hard and turned to follow them back.

By the time they returned, the sun had already dipped behind the mountains, painting the ground a golden hue.

Inside the cabin, someone paced near the table, their shadow blurred in the dim light. Even without seeing his face, Halle knew it was Terence.

With her coat somehow wet with the mist of the cold air outside, she stepped in and met Terence’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Ridiculous. Wandering around in the snow all afternoon,” he muttered, his tone exasperated before he turned and headed upstairs.

Left alone, Halle noticed the steaming cup of coffee on the wooden table. She sat down and drank it slowly until warmth returned to her body.

Doing so, memories from the past surfaced unbidden, filling her heart with a dull ache.

Third Person's POV

Three years ago, she had stood in this very place. Back then, everything about Tanzania had been new and fascinating to her. She would often wander through the mountains and lose herself in the scenery.

But the weather in the region was unpredictable, and heavy rain quickly turned the world into swamp, obscuring landmarks and directions.

One day, she had walked alone through the mountain for hours, unable to find her way back to camp. It wasn’t until midnight that Terence, with a flashlight in hand, found her drenched in the valley.

After that incident, Terence insisted she learn navigation skills, but no matter how hard she tried, the techniques were too complicated for her to grasp.

Finally, in exasperation, Terence made her a custom compass. It wasn’t just a compass—it had a built-in tracker and an alarm. “Whenever you’re lost, just press the red button, and I’ll come find you,” he’d said.

Halle set down the empty cup in her hand and moved closer to the fire, letting the warmth seep into her. Before she realized it, she had dozed off at the wooden table, her hand still clutching the compass that hung around her neck.

Soon, the sound of cheering woke her. She stirred groggily and noticed a coat had been draped over her shoulders. But as she sat up, it slipped to the floor. So, she picked it up and then left it on the chair.

Stepping outside, she saw fireworks lit up the night sky, drawing bursts of excitement from the crowd gathered there.

Not long after, Darlene spotted her and immediately pulled her into the celebration. “Come on, have some barley wine and enjoy the fireworks with us!” she invited, her voice filled with enthusiasm.

“It’s a party for Terence,” Darlene explained, pouring her a drink. “This mission couldn’t have succeeded without him.”

The haze of confusion in Halle’s mind cleared instantly. She then felt Terence’s gaze from across the crowd and turned to meet his eyes.

But just as their gazes locked, Terence raised his cup, looked away, and downed his drink. He always avoided her like this. He’d been like that for years.

She thought back to the man who once taught her how to navigate by the stars, took her to see the beauty of the mountains, and crafted a one-of-a-kind compass just for her.

Two years ago, on her last day of service in Tanzania, she had hoped things between them might change.

They’d stood together beneath a sprawling sky full of stars. In the distance, the mountains glittered in the moonlight, and the faint sound of grazing sheep filled the air. Terence had been explaining the path of that night’s meteor shower when she turned to him.

“Terence,” she’d said softly, “I’m not leaving.”

She remembered clearly how the light in his eyes dimmed.

“Why would you stay here?” he replied firmly. “This is no place for a young woman. Go back while you can.”

But she saw through his words and reached for his hand. “I want to stay with you. I want us to be together.”

But to her surprise, he shook her hand off and turned away, leaving her with nothing but his back.

“I’m not gonna be with you. Don’t even think about it,” he said without a hint of hesitation.

From that moment on, it was as if a wall had risen between them.

He became a door she could never open, a hand that always slipped from hers, a conversation that was cut short before it could begin. He avoided her gaze like it was a burden he didn’t want to carry.

Just then, a sudden noise snapped her back to the present, and only then did he feel a lightness around her neck. She instinctively reached for her compass—only to find it missing.

Her eyes darted down, and there it was, lying at her feet. But she saw the needle had stopped moving. She knelt quickly to pick it up, but a dancer in the crowd accidentally stepped on her hand, grinding sand into her scraped skin. The sting quickly shot up her arm.

Before she could react, a large hand reached down and picked up the compass.

Startled, she looked up to see Terence standing right in front of her, his face closer than she expected.

Suddenly, a wave of frustration surged through her chest. Maybe it was anger at his recklessness the day before, or the way he had unfairly scolded her earlier that morning. Maybe it was the way he had just avoided her gaze at the celebration—or maybe it was the barley wine amplifying her buried grievances.

Without thinking, she snatched the compass out of his hand.

Third Person's POV

Terence frowned as he looked at Halle, his tone softening slightly. “It’s broken. Let me fix it, and I’ll give it back to you.”

His gaze then dropped to the scraped skin on the back of her hand. Impulsively, he grabbed her wrist. “What happened to your hand?”

But Halle quickly pulled her hand back, her eyes tinged red with unshed tears. “It’s none of your business,” she snapped, her voice trembling. “Both in compass and me, don't bother anymore. I’m done being a burden to you.”

Hearing her sharp words, a flicker of surprise flashed across Terence’s face. Something about her was different today—off.

This wasn’t the same Halle who quietly endured his scolding that morning, nor the one who usually sought his help. This Halle was resolute, even distant.

After a brief pause, Terence let out a cold laugh, tossing a dismissive comment over his shoulder as he walked away. “Halle, playing hard to get won’t work on me.”

Watching his retreating back, Halle clenched her teeth in exasperation. Hot tears then rolled down her cheeks, landing audibly on her jacket. She quickly turned away and forced herself to blend into the lively celebration around her.

What she didn’t see was Terence, now back inside, lingering by the window. He watched her for a long time before picking up the neatly folded jacket she had left on the chair and taking it back to his room.

Before long, the alcohol finally wore off, but Halle’s head remained heavy. Before she knew it, she had fainted right outside Terence’s door.

When she woke up, her face was flushed with fever, and she was lying in Terence’s bed. He sat nearby with a dark expression and faintly red eyes.

Just then, a knock at the door broke the tense silence. Terence quickly composed himself and opened the door to Darlene.

“Terence, we’ve got news about the poachers who escaped last time,” she said urgently.

As such, Terence unhesitatingly shut the door behind him and left with Darlene.

Alone in the room, Halle sat up and felt her throat dry and her mind hazy. Glancing around the room, she realized she was in Terence’s private quarters, a place she hadn’t stepped into for a long time.

Shortly, her eyes landed on the wooden table by the bed, where her compass sat. But it was now fully repaired. Seeing it, she couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

'What's this supposed to mean? Scold me one moment, then make me something special the next? Is this his way of balancing things out?' she scoffed inwardly.

Despite her thoughts, she still hung the compass back around her neck and got out of bed to look for him.

As she reached the door, she heard voices just outside. She stopped midway and pressed her ear against the wood.

“Have you thought this through?” Darlene asked, her tone laced with hesitation. “This is a lifelong decision. You can’t make it lightly.”

“Don’t worry,” Terence replied, his voice steady. “Once this is done, nothing will change between us. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

The words hit Halle like a bucket of icy water. Her body stiffened and her hands and feet turned cold.

'They must be talking about marriage,' Halle assumed mentally. 'So, the rumors in the team were true. They're indeed not just colleagues.'

Halle thought Terence had been avoiding her not just because of work, duty, or the harsh environment, he simply didn’t love her.

Because if he’d wanted to, he could have overcome any obstacle. But he didn’t.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Halle was startled. She quickly turned and pretended to search through the drawers.

But before she could open one, Terence stormed in, blocking her path and grabbing her wrist.

“What are you doing?” he snapped, his face a mix of shock and anger. “Who gave you permission to go through my things? Get out!”

His sudden outburst stunned Halle. Her throat tightened, and she swallowed back the tears threatening to spill. Without a word, she turned and stormed out of the room.

Darlene, watching the scene unfold, hurried after her. “Halle!”

In no time, Darlene found Halle by a small pond, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

One advantage of living in Tanzania was that when you needed to cry, you could run off into the wilderness. Out there, no one would see your tears.