Chapter 3

Krystal was Garrison's combat partner during their special forces days.

Everyone in the rescue team knew they were once the most outstanding sniper and spotter duo.

On the battlefield, a spotter and a sniper need to be in perfect sync to complete their missions.

So after retiring from the military, Garrison and Krystal joined the rescue team together, working in harmony as if they were one person.

I once secretly flipped through Garrison's old photo album.

In the photos, Krystal wore her uniform, her eyes sparkling with confidence – a dashing figure I could never hope to match.

And Garrison stood beside her, looking down at her with such tender eyes.

Later, the team told me that Garrison had pursued Krystal for a full five years.

From boot camp to special forces, from training grounds to battlefields, everyone thought they would end up together.

But Krystal ultimately turned him down.

"We're not right for each other. You deserve better," she said.

She said this just before a mission, with Garrison still loading her bullets for her.

They remained the best partners, as if nothing had ever happened between them.Only in the dead of night would Garrison be alone at the firing range, shooting targets until his fingers bled.

Later, Krystal voluntarily applied for a transfer to a rescue squad in a remote area.

On the day she left, Garrison stood outside the airport, watching her silhouette disappear into the security checkpoint.

His fingers unconsciously caressed the ring he had never given her.

The team members said it was the most lost and dejected they had ever seen Garrison.

I met Garrison six months after Krystal had gone.

At that time, he was like a stagnant pool, even his smile was cold.

But I didn't care. In my youthful arrogance, I thought time would wash away all past memories.

"He's never had eyes for anyone else. You think he's being gentle? That's just his professional habit. Never mind you, even when that Instagram model, a real beauty, sent him flowers, he just smiled, accepted them, and tossed them away as soon as she left."

That's what the veteran team members once told me.

They couldn't stand seeing me running to the rescue squad time and time again, and kindly warned me not to embarrass myself.

But I didn't believe them.

I told myself that the past should be left in the past. Even if I was rewriting someone else's story, I accepted it.

The on-duty nurse at the rescue squad couldn't bear to watch anymore: "Summer, why can't you understand?Captain Channing would visit the border patrol to see Captain White every year without fail. Though separated by vast distances, their bond was deeper than any day you spent by his side.

I truly didn't understand.

I couldn't comprehend why Garrison had agreed to my pursuit, why he had married me.

Looking back now, perhaps from the day I saved his teammate with my second life, he was already planning something.

That rescue mission that changed everything happened in the second year after I met Garrison.