Yara said that the hospital understood the injustice Evelyn had suffered in this matter, so they gave her three days off to rest and adjust before returning to work.

It was just the right time—she needed to go back to school to pack her things.

According to school regulations, students were not allowed to stay in the dorms during their internship period. However, due to Evelyn’s financial difficulties, the dormitory supervisor had turned a blind eye and let her stay for a few extra months.

Recently, the supervisor informed her that the school was planning to renovate the old dormitory buildings so they would be ready for the incoming freshmen. That meant she could no longer stay.

She had been looking for a place to live before, but when Zara's incident happened, her search was put on hold.

Now, she had no choice but to move out of the dorm, yet she still hadn’t found a place to stay.

There were available apartments near the hospital, but they were all beyond her budget—she simply couldn’t afford them.

Dragging her suitcase, Evelyn stood at the school gate, feeling utterly lost.

"Did you hear? Simon Hale from the Class of 2020 is back on campus today! I just saw him at the dean’s office—he’s seriously so handsome!"

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I have to go see Simon in person!"

"Not sure if he's still there."

Two freshmen girls were chattering excitedly as they walked onto campus.

Hearing that familiar name, Evelyn paused.

Simon Hale.

It had been a long time since she last heard his name, but she could still clearly remember his face.

On the scorching afternoon of her first day of college, she had dragged her worn-out suitcase for what felt like forever.

The wheels, unable to bear the weight, had finally given up.

Yet she was reluctant to spend the ten bucks on a taxi, so she continued hauling her broken suitcase, walking all the way to the campus.

At the time, Simon was the student council president, responsible for welcoming new students.

Evelyn was noticeably different from the other freshmen—she had come alone. No father to help carry her luggage, no mother to fan her from the heat.

Simon had been the one to notice her standing in the corner, struggling with her suitcase. He approached her and offered to help.

Back then, she was insecure, embarrassed that her suitcase had broken, and instinctively wanted to refuse.

But before she could, Simon had already picked up her suitcase and carried it toward the dormitory.

Simon was tall, and under the sun, even his shadow stretched long.

She had kept her head down, quietly following that shadow all the way.

That was the only time she had ever interacted with Simon.

Later, Simon left for his internship, while she was busy juggling work and school.

It was only during the occasional moments of free time that she would think about that long shadow beneath the sun.

In the end, Evelyn didn’t find a suitable place to live. She was unwilling to spend money on a hotel, so she decided to crash in the hospital’s break room for the night.

To avoid running into her colleagues, she waited near the hospital until after midnight before sneaking in with her suitcase.

Yet the moment she stepped inside, she ran into Victor.

The man’s cold gaze swept over her face before shifting to the suitcase in her hand.

Evelyn felt incredibly embarrassed—like a student caught red-handed by the school principal. She lowered her head and quickly hurried away.

It wasn’t until she reached the break room that she finally pressed a hand to her pounding chest and let out a long breath.

There was no bed in the break room, only two small two-seater sofas. Evelyn curled up on one of them for the night.

Before dawn the next morning, she got up, washed up, and left the hospital with her suitcase.

She spent the day continuing her search for an apartment, but despite running around the entire day, she still found nothing.

It wasn’t that she was picky—every available place was simply out of her budget.

She had no choice but to spend another night in the break room.

That night, she dreamed of Zara again—dreamed of her slashing her own carotid artery with a scalpel.

Evelyn screamed at her, begged her to stop, but Zara didn’t react at all.

Blood pooled on the floor, and Evelyn jolted awake in a cold sweat.

She couldn’t sleep anymore. Instead, she decided to take a walk downstairs to clear her head.

The hospital was quiet in the early hours of the morning. She sat on the bench where she and Zara used to slack off occasionally, letting the night breeze cool her down.

"Come this way—there are no security cameras here. Hurry."

A series of hurried footsteps disrupted the silence. Evelyn peeked through the bushes, trying to see what was happening.

It was Reed!

The lighting was dim, so she couldn’t make out the details, but she recognized his voice.

Reed was walking quickly, seemingly carrying something in his arms. Another man walked ahead of him, tall and broad-shouldered.

The two of them soon disappeared around the corner.

Evelyn hurried after them, but all she saw was the tail light of a car disappearing into the distance.

The next morning, as Evelyn was about to leave the hospital, she noticed a large crowd gathering at the entrance, all looking up at the rooftop.

She followed their gazes and saw a woman standing on the rooftop edge.

"I heard she just gave birth not long ago. The baby didn’t survive, and now she wants to jump," someone murmured.

"They say she went through hell to have that baby. Barely made it through labor, and in the end, she still lost the child. Poor woman."

Emma!

Evelyn remembered her—she had been there on the day Emma gave birth. The woman had indeed barely survived the ordeal.

Without a second thought, she dropped her suitcase and rushed toward the rooftop.

She ran into Victor inside the elevator.

"Sorry," Evelyn instinctively lowered her head and apologized.

The man’s thin lips parted slightly, his tone indifferent. "It’s fine."

Evelyn thought she had hidden her emotions well, but she didn’t expect Victor to see right through her.

Flustered, she lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "Let go of me."

Victor still had an arm around her waist. His palm, warm and firm, sent a tingling sensation through her chest.

"Are you sure you can stand properly?" His voice carried a hint of skepticism.

After all, her entire body was leaning against him—it was hard not to doubt her claim.

"...I can."

Evelyn was stubborn.

Victor didn’t coddle her. He let go immediately and even stepped aside.

She fell straight to the floor.

Ignoring the pain in her knees, Evelyn scrambled to look up at the man towering over her.

He gazed down at her, dark eyes unreadable.

She quickly lowered her head and struggled to get up.

But her legs refused to cooperate, making her appear even more pathetic.

Victor reached out to her again.

This time, Evelyn didn’t take his hand. As if she were being defiant, she would rather freeze in the cold wind than accept help from this man.

Stubborn.

Victor raised an eyebrow, withdrew his hand—but then bent down and scooped her up without warning.

The sudden lift sent Evelyn into a panic, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

A cool, woody scent surrounded her.

She wanted to struggle, but his warning came before she could move.

"You’d better not."

His arm, hooked under her, rested lightly against her chest.

His fingers were long—just a slight shift upward, and he could grasp her completely.