Chapter 1

Ethan was always sharp-tongued. From the very first day he moved into my house, he never spared me.

He complained that I dispensed herbs too slowly, and mocked me for being too stupid to identify species.

He scoffed at how I, a single girl, spent my days chatting and laughing with the patients who came to our family clinic, calling it utterly improper.

He even said my amateur medical skills were going to end up killing someone.

I never really cared about his harsh words. Every time he mocked me, I just laughed it off.

But as the neighbors heard it more and more, they began to shake their heads.

"The Jiang family raised their daughter to be a useless free-rider. How is she ever going to get married?"

I heard all those whispers, but I didn't care.

Because Ethan had promised me that once he matched into the residency program at the city's top medical center and became a licensed attending physician, he would come back to marry me.

He had promised me himself.

On the day my father was on his deathbed, he gripped Ethan's hand tightly and said, "Ethan, I’m leaving Ivy to you."

With bloodshot eyes, Ethan nodded heavily.

I was crying so hard I could barely stand, on the verge of fainting.

He stood behind me for a very long time before speaking in that stiff, awkward tone of his.

"Don't be afraid."

Just those four words. I held onto them for five years.

His parents had passed away early in a car crash.

My father took pity on him, and seeing his natural talent for medicine, knew he was a rare gem.

So my father brought him into our home, paid for his food, housing, and tuition, and even showed him the Jiang family's private medical logs—secrets we never shared with outsiders.

Some people said my father was a fool, raising an outsider who might just turn out to be an ungrateful wolf.

But my dad wouldn't listen. He only said a healer must have a benevolent heart, and a good talent shouldn't be wasted.

Later, my father passed away too. He left Jiang’s Apothecary to me, and he left Ethan to me.

The day Ethan went to the city to report for his residency, I took a faded, yellowed notebook from my purse and stuffed it into his hands.

It was the Jiang family's ancestral medical log, containing exclusive treatments for dozens of rare and complex illnesses.

"Take it," I said. "The city's major hospitals are full of hidden talents. This notebook will help you secure your footing."

Ethan frowned, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes—partly disdain, partly greed.

"This is too valuable. I won't let you down. I'll bring it back when I come to marry you."

After saying that, he opened the car door and drove off without looking back.

That night, I thoroughly washed the small clay pot I used to brew his daily herbal teas and put it away in the cabinet.

Life went on. I waited for his messages, but I didn't receive a single one.

Until one day, Mrs. Gable, a neighbor, came to the apothecary to pick up her prescription. While waiting, she chatted with me.

"Ivy, that Dr. Vance of yours is really making us proud. My son came back from the city and said everyone in the healthcare system is talking about him. The youngest attending physician appointed at the City Central Hospital this year is from our town. I knew it had to be your Ethan!"

The scale in my hand paused.

My heart pounded furiously, like a drum.

He was coming back.

But a few days later, Mrs. Gable returned, this time with an awkward look on her face.

"Ivy... my son brought back some other news.

Your Dr. Vance is married. He married Chloe Hearst, the daughter of the chairman of the Hearst Group in the city."

The wrapping paper in my hand slipped, and the dried herbs scattered all over the floor.

A bitter scent filled the air.

"Who did you hear that from?"

"It’s all over the city. They say Miss Hearst had a bizarre illness that the top hospitals couldn't cure. Dr. Vance cured her with a single custom formula. Chairman Hearst was so thrilled that he gave his daughter’s hand in marriage to him."

I didn't believe it. I sent him a text message with just one line: "Ethan, is the news about the Hearst family true?"

No reply.

I waited for a month, checking my phone every single day.

A month later, I finally got an answer.

It wasn't a text. It was him, in the flesh.