Leanna turned her face away almost immediately.

Why did she run into Shane again?

"No, thanks," she muttered under her breath.

Keeping her head lowered, Leanna stepped forward and picked up her pace, trying to slip away as quickly as possible.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman walked in, accidentally blocking her path. "Leanna? What a coincidence. You are here to pick up medicine for your grandmother, right?"

Shane's eyes moved slowly over Leanna.

She was dressed in a white silk blouse paired with a light blue denim pencil skirt. Large hoop earrings accentuated the graceful line of her neck, and the bold shade on her lips stood out sharply against them.

He suddenly remembered her.

"You were patient No. 156 yesterday," he said.

He saw countless patients every day, but she had left an impression.

She was the only patient who had directly asked if she could see another doctor the next time.

Leanna looked up and flashed a small smile. "You've got quite the memory, Dr. Lloyd."

Remembering people by numbers, really? That level of detachment was precisely what she associated with Shane.

"Follow me," Shane said, already turning away without waiting for her response.

Left with no choice, Leanna followed him into the consultation room.

Shane hung his stethoscope around his neck, his tone casual as he asked, "Were you up late last night?"

Leanna sat down, hunching her shoulders slightly. "The dark circles have always been there."

Her probation evaluation was approaching, so she couldn't afford to slow down.

She couldn't help but wonder what had happened that caused the client to hold back from making a decision.

Shane raised his head and studied her quietly through his glasses.

He couldn't explain it, but something about Leanna felt oddly familiar.

Being alone in the room with Shane made Leanna uneasy. She fiddled with her phone, unable to stay still.

Suddenly, a gentle tune rang out.

Shane recognized the tune immediately and, without thinking, looked toward the phone on the desk, where a large alarm icon blinked on the screen.

Leanna had already brought the phone to her ear. "Hello, Mr. Wallace? Yes, there's still a proposal that hasn't been finalized. Okay, okay. I'll come over right away."

She pretended to end the call. Before she could speak, Shane placed a small medical kit in front of her with a soft thump.

He lowered his voice. "Using an alarm as an excuse to leave?"

Leanna ducked her head even lower.

Could this get any more uncomfortable?

Shane calmly opened the kit. Inside, slender medical instruments gleamed under the light, arranged with precise, clinical order.

A chill crept into Leanna's palms, damp with sweat.

Just then, several nurses walked in together, laughing and chatting.

"Oh my God, there's a really handsome guy outside," one of them said excitedly. "Like, insanely handsome."

"Seriously? Where? Did you get his contact information?" another asked.

"No. He said he came here with his girlfriend."

Leanna hardly noticed their talk about the so-called handsome man. Her thoughts were already spiraling, focused solely on finding a way to escape.

At that moment, Evan walked in with an easy smile, heading straight toward her.

"Hey, Leanna, are you okay?" he asked, standing by her side.

Nearby, the nurses exchanged whispers among one another.

"That's him. So the handsome guy really has a girlfriend. I'm officially heartbroken."

Shane glanced at Evan before he could stop himself.

"I'm fine," Leanna blurted in reply. "I just remembered something I need to handle at home. Let's go."

She reached out, grabbed Evan's arm, and pulled him toward the door.

She couldn't stand being in the same space as Shane for even a second longer.

Evan glanced briefly back at Shane before following Leanna outside.

The moment they stepped out of the community health center, Leanna sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?" Evan asked, lifting his arm and lightly pressing the back of his hand against her forehead.

She stiffened for a second, and then pulled his arm down and strode straight toward the parking lot.

"I'm okay. Let's leave; dinner's on me," she said.

Evan scuttled after her, his tone apologetic and slightly awkward. "Sorry about earlier, Leanna. I didn't want to give my number to strangers; that's why I told them you were my girlfriend."

"It's alright," Leanna blurted, barely processing his words. The only thing she cared about was leaving that place as quickly as possible, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Shane.

Soon after that, she received a wedding invitation from a former high school classmate.

Back in high school, she had created an email account she hardly used anymore, and the invitation was sitting in its inbox.

Logging into an old social media account she hadn't accessed in years, she found it filled with private messages from Lanny.

"Hey, why aren't you responding? Don't tell me you actually died on an operating table while getting cosmetic surgery."

"Melinda, if you're seeing this, please say something. Everyone's so worried about you."

Leanna read through all the messages, one after another, until she reached the most recent one.

"I'm getting married, Melinda. Don't forget to come to the wedding."

The invitation was, without question, a dilemma.

Lanny had always been one of the genuinely kind people in their class. He had never openly defended her, but whenever she was bullied, he had quietly reported it to a teacher and stopped things from escalating.

Not going would be an unfair thing to do.

But if she did go, what kind of ridicule would she face this time?

She spent the night restless, tossing and turning, before finally sending a message to her friend living overseas. "What do you think about me going to Lanny's wedding?"

Her friend replied almost immediately, "When is the wedding? Let me go with you."

"It's next weekend. But concentrate on your work; I'll be fine on my own."

Just a day before Lanny's wedding, there was a get-together event at Time & Taste, a restaurant located in the Lakeside Building.

Coincidentally, Leanna went by invitation to the same restaurant—her former part-time workplace—to join a tasting event organized by their newly appointed head chef.

By seven in the evening, most of the attendees were already there. Even Shane had arrived early for a change.

Former classmates joked casually around him. "Dr. Lloyd, when are you going back to take over the family business?"

Another person laughed and added, "Obviously after he marries Averie. That's the plan, right?"

Shane didn't touch the glass in front of him. He was worried that an emergency might come up at either the community health center or the hospital, and he stayed mentally prepared to leave at any second.

The groom-to-be, Lanny, walked onto the small stage in the middle of the room with a microphone. "Is everyone here now? If so, I'll give a short speech."

"Not yet!" someone shouted from the crowd. "Beth and Melinda still aren't here!"

"Melinda? Who's that?"

"You know, the girl with all the freckles."

"Oh, stop it. Melinda's been dead for years. What is this, a ghost story?"

At those words, Shane's water glass tipped over. Water splashed across the table, wetting the cuff of his white shirt.

At once, the room plunged into a suffocating silence.

Laughter vanished on the spot, with no one daring to make a sound.

Shane reached for a napkin and hurriedly dabbed at the water that had splashed near his cufflink.

Ten years earlier—on his first birthday after Melinda disappeared without so much as a goodbye—he had received that very pair of cufflinks.

They had no brand name and weren't worth even a fraction of the cheapest accessory he owned.

He had tried calling Melinda then, but her number was already out of service.

She had simply erased herself from his life, leaving no trace behind.

For an entire decade after that, Shane heard no word from her.

The cufflinks had faded with time, but he never understood why he couldn't bring himself to throw them away.

As Shane was about to say something, Jeff reached out and gave his shoulder a light pat. "Melinda's dead?"

"Yeah," someone answered. "She went overseas after high school. A few years back, there was that plane crash in Buevine. They recovered a violin from the wreckage, and her name was on it. It had to belong to her."

"We don't see these kinds of coincidences every day," another said.

Shane felt his breath hitch.

The private room became so quiet it seemed every inhale and exhale was audible.

Every eye settled on Shane.

His face remained composed, but his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Jeff lifted his glass, attempting to break the tension. "Alright, enough of that. Let's drink."

For the next hour or so, Shane stayed tucked away at one side of the round table, emptying one glass after another.

The chatter around him dissolved into a dull haze. But inside his head, the sound of a violin played on repeat.

It was obvious to anyone watching that something was wrong with Shane.

Small groups of former classmates leaned together, whispering under their breath.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed, bringing up Melinda in front of Shane?"

"Didn't you hear? She used to go after Shane."

"That wasn't 'going after' him. It was just pathetic. Watch how you talk."

"She really had the nerve. Shane's family already chose his future wife—Averie from the Willis family."

"And look at Melinda. So rundown. Depending on her uncle, yet she actually thought she belonged among high society."

Up on the third-floor open-air terrace, Leanna was deep in conversation with her former boss from the part-time job she'd worked ten years earlier.

She had saved every bit she could from that job to buy the violin, a violin she barely dared touch herself. And yet, to Shane, it had never meant anything at all.

The owner slid a worn black wallet across the counter toward her. "Here. This should be yours. Check and see if anything's missing."

He had already gone through it. Inside were a couple of old photo booth strips from her school years and a few bills folded neatly together.

Leanna accepted the wallet with both hands and went still for a brief second.

She remembered buying it back when she was still in school. Not long after, it had vanished, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn't find it. She never imagined she'd left it behind at the restaurant where she used to work part-time.

She thanked him sincerely and took the wallet with her.

By nine o'clock, Leanna was heading downstairs to leave when a figure suddenly emerged from the corner near the stairwell.

Startled, she stepped back on instinct, only to bump straight into him.

Two identical wallets landed on the floor.

Before she could crouch down, the man bent first, picked up the wallet on the left, and held it out to her.

She lifted her head and met Shane's eyes. They were hazy, dulled by alcohol, and the sharp scent of liquor clung to him.

"Thank you," she said, quickly taking the wallet from his hand.

It hadn't even been that long, yet somehow she had been running into Shane almost every day.

Back when they were together, she hadn't even seen him this often.

Shane seemed completely unaware of her presence. He didn't even show any sign of recognition.

He slipped the wallet on the right into the pocket of his suit jacket and walked off in a hurry. His long strides carried him down the corridor, his figure lengthening into a solitary shadow against the empty hallway.

By the time the sound of his footsteps disappeared, Leanna was still standing there, staring after him, the faint smell of alcohol lingering in the air.

Shane was usually careful and controlled. He rarely drank to excess.

Was anything wrong with him?

When she realized she had started worrying about him again, Leanna gave her head a small shake, pushing the thought aside.

After returning home, she finished getting ready for bed and turned in early.

A knock sounded at the door. Rhonda walked in and casually tossed the wallet onto Leanna's bed. "Melinda, don't leave your wallet by the door."

"Alright, Grandma," Leanna replied, sitting up as she reached for it.

A business card fell out.

Printed on it was "Shane Lloyd, Chief of Breast Surgery."

All of a sudden, Leanna's fingers stiffened.

Shane?

How had Shane's business card ended up inside her wallet?

Her mind jumped back to the moment she'd collided with him at the restaurant. Had they accidentally picked up each other's wallets then?

Still, it made no sense. She couldn't understand why Shane would be carrying the same wallet she'd once bought on impulse from a street stall.

Deciding not to overthink it, Leanna picked up the wallet, ready to set it on the table when a slip of paper fluttered out.

She bent down and retrieved it.

It was a concert ticket from ten years ago, dated just a few days after she had left Clegend.

She hurriedly shoved the ticket back inside the wallet.

She resolved to return the wallet to Shane at her follow-up appointment the next day.

As for her own wallet, there was nothing in it anyway. She decided to let it go.

Leanna dropped the wallet onto the nightstand. It was only then that she noticed the glass bottle filled with small stones sitting beside the lamp.

Perplexed, she asked, "Grandma, why did you bring this bottle back?"

She lifted her hand, intending to toss it into the trash.

Rhonda rushed over and snatched the bottle away. "You can't throw this out. Your grandfather gave it to me."

Clutching the bottle tightly, Rhonda watched Leanna with guarded eyes.

Leanna wanted to explain everything, but seeing that expression, she swallowed her words and chose silence.

Instead, she spoke gently. "Since Grandpa gave it to you, let's put it in the bookcase for now. That way it'll be safe."

Once it was out of sight, it would be easier. She planned to throw it away later, after Rhonda had forgotten about it.

The next day, when it was her lunch break, Leanna hailed a cab and headed to the hospital for her follow-up appointment, which she had booked for the earliest available slot that afternoon.

She had already checked—Shane wasn't scheduled to be on duty that day.

When she arrived, she found the door to Shane's office wide open. She stepped inside quietly.

After confirming no one was there, she closed the door, walked over to his desk, and placed the black wallet on its surface.

Without warning, the office door creaked open, and a low male voice followed. "What are you doing here?"

Leanna's back went stiff instantly.

She turned around to see Shane standing in the doorway, tall and imposing.

"I didn't send you any notice of a follow-up appointment," he said, scowling as he recognized her.

"I won't be free next week, so I decided to come today," Leanna answered, her head lowered.

Earlier, she had inquired at the front desk about changing doctors. The nurse had explained that Shane was in extremely high demand and that patients under his care generally couldn't be transferred.

In an attempt to avoid him, Leanna had deliberately chosen one of his days off, only to discover that he was still at the hospital.

Glancing at her briefly, Shane said, "Wait behind the curtain."

He reached for the wallet and casually slipped it into the suit jacket hanging on the coat rack.

Noticing that Shane hadn't reacted or shown any sign of suspicion, Leanna finally breathed a little easier.

While she remained seated and Shane stayed outside, she hurriedly raised her shirt and took off her bra.

When Shane returned, he was wearing a mask that concealed most of his face. Still, the instant Leanna met his eyes, a shiver crept down her spine.

She closed her eyes reflexively.

As soon as Shane's hand landed on her chest, she clenched the edge of the chair, her fingers digging so hard into the leather that her nails nearly pierced it.

Shane spoke in a calm, level tone. "There's no one else in the department at noon."

It didn't sound like a casual comment to Leanna. It felt more like an interrogation. Why was she here at a time when no one else was around?

Without realizing it, she tightened her grip further, her thoughts spiraling. "Okay," she blurted. "I won't show up at noon again."

Shane didn't say anything else. He finished the examination efficiently and stepped out. Leanna got dressed as fast as she could and went outside to wait while he completed her medical records.

Just then, Shane's phone rang. He glanced at the screen, set his mouse aside, and answered the call.

A woman's soft, pleasant voice spilled from the receiver. "Shane, are you still busy? Your mom asked us to come over for a family dinner at the Lloyd estate tonight."

The moment Leanna heard the voice, her chest constricted.

It was Averie.

Back then, Leanna used to call Shane again and again—sometimes two or three times—before he would finally answer.

She had blamed herself for it, convinced she was being too desperate, interrupting him while he studied. Eventually, she stopped calling unless it was absolutely necessary.

Shane's voice noticeably softened. "I still have a patient here."

"Had anything to eat yet?" Averie asked gently. "If you haven't, I can pick something up from Maple Street and bring it to you."

Leanna turned her face away.

Maple Street was where she used to take Shane back when they were together.

There were a lot of food stalls there—simple, affordable, and all she could manage at the time. She had always felt like she was shortchanging him.

She never imagined that after so many years, he would still go there.

An unfamiliar, faint ache rose quietly in her chest.

"I'll just eat whatever's available in the cafeteria," Shane replied. "I still have a patient, so I'm hanging up now."

He ended the call and glanced at Leanna. "Try not to wear underwire bras too often."

Leanna's cheeks warmed instantly. She brushed her bangs aside and nodded. "Okay."

"Also," Shane continued calmly, "reduce medications that contain estrogen."

She nodded again. "Alright."

As Shane went on with his medical advice, Averie's voice suddenly sounded from outside the door. "Shane."

Leanna raised her head instinctively and looked toward the doorway.

Averie stood there, looking just as she had a few days ago, except now she was holding a lunchbox, her expression noticeably softer.

Leanna dropped her face, pursing her lips, praying that Averie wouldn't recognize her.

Stepping inside, Averie tilted her head slightly. "Leanna? Is that you?"

Leanna's mind blacked out.