"I’m not going." Shaun Quinn’s tone was decisive, his voice so cold it was nearly devoid of emotion. "I don’t owe the Yates Family anything."

"All right, then." Ho-ran Park didn’t know how to persuade him either.

Just then, Joy Lynch came out of the hospital room, linking her arm with Ho-ran Park’s and resting her head on his arm.

"Mr. Quinn, we’ll leave our Wren in your care."

’She felt that Shaun Quinn and Wren Wynter were a good match, countless times better than Kaden Xavier.’

"Mm."

Ho-ran Park patted Shaun Quinn’s shoulder, then left with his arm around Joy Lynch.

Shaun Quinn walked into the room, and Wren Wynter looked up at him. "Shaun, really, I’ll be fine here by myself. I can take care of myself. Don’t forget, I’m a doctor too."

"Doctors can’t treat themselves." Shaun Quinn sat down by Wren Wynter’s bed, picked up an apple, and began to peel it.

Er...

Wren Wynter gave a sheepish tug at the corner of her mouth and lay back down.

Time flew by, and before she knew it, it was evening.

Since Shaun Quinn had classes at A University the next day, he finally agreed to go home and rest after Wren Wynter’s insistent persuasion.

"Shaun, just go home! I can’t sleep with you here, and I’m not used to it."

"Fine."

Shaun Quinn gave Wren Wynter a deep look before turning and walking out of the room.

’He had waited so many years already. A little more time wouldn’t make a difference.’

Wren Wynter only let out a sigh of relief after his figure disappeared from sight.

With Shaun Quinn watching over her bedside these past few days, she hadn’t dared to sleep too soundly. She was also worried he would get scolded by his professors for missing class.

More importantly, she was terrified that Shaun Quinn would bring up what happened that night.

Thankfully, he hadn’t. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known what to say.

She didn’t want to ruin their friendship to the point they couldn’t even be close, just like what had happened with Kaden Xavier.

Wren Wynter had been laid up for a week, and her wounds had mostly healed.

Gazing out at the hazy, dark night and thinking it might rain, she quickly got out of bed to close the window.

DING—

Her phone rang from the bedside table.

Wren Wynter picked up her phone. Seeing the familiar number on the screen, she couldn’t help but frown.

She rejected the call and put the phone back.

But the person on the other end didn’t seem to want to give up, calling again.

Wren Wynter rejected the call once more.

’Why is he so persistent?’

Just then, a low rumble of thunder sounded from outside.

Caught off guard, Wren Wynter jumped in fright. She immediately pulled the curtains shut, dove into bed, and pulled the covers over her head.

But the phone kept ringing. The ringtone, mixed with the sound of thunder from outside, caused a flicker of fear to rise in Wren Wynter’s heart as she hid under the covers.

Memories flooded her mind like a tidal wave.

Ten years ago, on a night just like this one, her parents’ lives had come to a permanent halt.

The glare of the fire replayed before her eyes like a nightmare. Accompanied by another loud clap of thunder, her face instantly turned deathly pale.

Wren Wynter gripped the blanket tightly, her whole body trembling.

Faced with the caller’s persistence, Wren Wynter reached out a hand, grabbed the phone from the table, and pressed the answer button.

"Kaden Xavier."

"I’m here."

A low, calm voice came from the other end of the line.

"Are you sick in the head?! Why do you keep calling me? You’re so annoying!"

"It’s thundering."

The two simple words made Wren Wynter’s mind go blank, all thought ceasing.

Her hand clutched the phone tightly as she curled up, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Wren, don’t be afraid."

The man’s magnetic voice was exceptionally pleasant.

Wren Wynter’s memories were pulled back to the past once again.

It seemed to be on that stormy night that she had started to fall for Kaden Xavier, and from then on, there was no turning back.

BOOM!!

Suddenly, another clap of thunder echoed.

The window was blown open, and wind began to pour into the room, making a howling sound.

Wren Wynter was startled by this sudden turn of events.

Her body was trembling so violently that she couldn’t hear what Kaden Xavier was saying on the other end.

Wren Wynter simply hung up.

She didn’t want to rely on Kaden Xavier anymore.

After all, she still had a long life ahead of her.

After an unknown amount of time, the blanket covering her was pulled away, and a beam of light shone into her eyes.

Her eyes met the flickering silhouette of a man, his sharp jawline clearly defined.

It was Kaden Xavier.

There were still droplets of water clinging to his hair.

The droplets slid down the sides of his cheeks to his chin and dripped off.

"Wren, are you okay?" Kaden Xavier pulled the pale-faced Wren Wynter into his arms, opening his coat to let her feel his scorching body heat.

In truth, after seeing the weather forecast for the day, he had been waiting in his car downstairs the whole time.

He was afraid Wren Wynter would be scared.

Because her parents had died in a car crash on a stormy night just like this one.

This had left Wren Wynter with deep psychological trauma.

Whenever there was a thunderstorm, she would suffer from insomnia, unable to sleep the entire night.

And he would always be by her side, coaxing her to sleep.

Wren Wynter was already scared out of her wits, her eyes vacant and her face terribly pale.

Kaden Xavier could even feel her whole body shaking.

He gently patted Wren Wynter’s back, coaxing her softly in her ear, "Wren, I’m here."

After an unknown amount of time, Wren Wynter’s emotions gradually stabilized, and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Kaden Xavier laid her on the hospital bed, went to close the window, and then sat down beside her.

His long, slender hand wanted to hold hers, but fearing it was too cold, he rubbed it vigorously first.

Only when he felt warmth in his palm did he carefully take her hand in his.

Through a night of wind and rain, Kaden Xavier watched over Wren Wynter, not sleeping a wink.

Just before dawn, he stood up, put the chair back in its place, and left reluctantly.

The next morning, Wren Wynter woke up, stretched, and glanced out the window to find a rainbow in the sky.

’But wasn’t last night a thunderstorm?’

’How did I sleep so soundly?’

"Wren, you’re awake."

"Ho-ran, don’t you have work today?" Wren asked, surprised.

Ho-ran Park looked at Wren Wynter, confused. "Didn’t you ask me to come?"

"I... When did I ask you to come?" Wren Wynter’s brow furrowed slightly.

"You sent me a text, asking me to come take care of you."

’Did I?’

Wren Wynter quickly grabbed her phone to check and saw that she had indeed sent a text to Ho-ran Park.

’But how could she have no memory of it at all?’

And last night... she didn’t seem to have any memory of that either.

’Could it be that my trauma is healed?’

"Hurry up and eat. I already took time off from the hospital," Ho-ran Park said, not thinking much of it.

"Okay." Wren Wynter took the breakfast Ho-ran Park handed her and started to eat.

Mason Shaw walked into the room, a medical chart still in his hand. Seeing Wren Wynter eating with such gusto, he couldn’t help but smile.

"It looks like Dr. Wynter is recovering well. You can be discharged today."

"I can be discharged today?"

"That’s right."

"That’s great! I was starting to feel bad for taking up a hospital room for so long." Wren Wynter smiled and ate another steamed bun. "By the way, Dr. Shaw, were you on duty last night?"

Mason Shaw nodded. He pushed his glasses up, his expression unreadable. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if I showed any unusual behavior last night."

Mason Shaw’s hand paused, and a calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

’It seems she still doesn’t know what happened last night.’

"No, you were fine. What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Dr. Wynter, you can go handle the discharge procedures in a bit. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."