Chapter 1

Taking my five-year-old daughter to the hospital, I unexpectedly ran into my first love.

He stared at our tattered appearance, dumbfounded for a long while.

With trembling hands, he pulled out all his savings and proposed to me.

"When we broke up, why didn't you tell me you were already pregnant?"

"I had no idea you and your daughter were living such a hard life."

"Harmony, let's get back together. Let me make up for all the suffering you've endured these years."

A chorus of cheers erupted around us.

Everyone was hoping for us to mend our broken relationship and reunite.

Because everyone close to Nolan knew.

He had a pure love, tattooed on his heart, that he could never forget.

But what they didn't know was.

I wasn't his pure love.

Seven years ago, Nolan took the kidney my mom had donated to me and transplanted it to his pure love without my consent.

Afterward, to silence me, he falsely accused me of practicing medicine illegally, causing me to be blacklisted from the entire industry.

My mom passed away with resentment, while I fled to a distant place, carrying a tarnished reputation.

Now, upon this reunion, everyone around Nolan was telling me.

"Miss Everhart, please accept his proposal.""Dr. Stratton is absolutely head over heels for you. Not only is his desktop wallpaper filled with photos of you two from back in the day, he even has your name tattooed on his chest."

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1

Upon hearing those words, I instinctively glanced at Nolan's chest.

The string of letters from years ago had been covered by a new design.

From Melody, it had changed to the initials of my name.

I suddenly found it amusing.

I waved my hand dismissively and said,

"What does this have to do with me? He and I, we're long over."

The female doctor beside me looked indignant.

"Harmony, do you have any heart at all? Nolan waited for you for a full seven years."

"In these seven years, he never forgot you for a single day. Handwritten letters and gifts filled cabinet after cabinet. Everyone in the hospital knows your birthday and your anniversaries."

"Once, I saw with my own eyes how he called out your name and cried in his half-asleep state!"

I looked at the ID badge hanging around her neck and let out a soft sigh.

If Nolan hadn't interfered,

The person sitting in that position should have been me.

She was about to say something more.

Suddenly, the daughter in her arms started crying, saying her leg hurt.

Nolan's gaze shifted from remorse to concern. He hurriedly pushed aside all his work to take his daughter for an examination.

While waiting for the results, Nolan sat down beside me.

"Seven years have passed, and you're still as stubborn as ever."You've got me all wrong. My daughter has nothing to do with you."

This little girl is just like her dad - stubborn and adventurous to the core.

She dragged me out on a wilderness survival trip, and ended up falling out of a tree.

I was planning to have our private doctor check her out once we got home.

But she was crying so hard, I got worried about internal injuries and brought her to the nearest small hospital.

Who would've thought we'd run into Nolan here of all places.

Nolan took my words as me being stubborn.

He lowered his gaze and let out a long sigh.

"You really haven't changed one bit."

"We had such a good thing going back then. If you had just been willing to swallow your pride a little, we wouldn't have split up."

"And you wouldn't have to be raising a daughter all alone...going through so much hardship."

Nolan fiddled with the matching ring on his finger, his voice full of regret.

I gave a faint smile.

"That was all so long ago. What's the point in bringing it up now?"

Nolan looked at me, confused.

He seemed to be waiting for me to throw myself into his arms like before, whining and telling him about all the struggles I'd faced over the years.Despite my initial trust and reliance on him, our past now feels like a distant memory.

Nolan and I were what you'd call childhood sweethearts.

In my eyes, he was the all-capable boy next door.

When other kids picked on me, he was the one who stood protectively in front of me.

When I got lost and sat crying alone, he was the one who held my hand and led me home.

He could do the homework I couldn't.

He could climb high up in trees to retrieve my kite.

He'd even save up all his allowance to buy me ice cream.

From a very young age, I had a secret crush on him.

As we grew up, Nolan got accepted into Harvard, becoming the pride of our small town.

The day he received his acceptance letter, he said to me with a blush on his face.

"Harmony, I'll be waiting for you at Harvard."

"I chose pre-med for you. If we work hard, we'll be able to cure your mom's illness one day."

The boy's eyes were sincere and bright.

It made me fall head over heels in love with him.