Chapter 1
“Ms. Wardolf, you should replace your hearing aid, or your hearing could be affected,” reminded Dr. Simon Jangger.
Melody Wardolf was in Simon’s office right then, sitting across from him. She had just finished her shift as a nurse and hadn’t even had time to change out of her scrubs yet.
“Thank you, Dr. Jangger. I understand,” she said as she nodded.
Simon sighed. “Ms. Wardolf, according to your latest check-up, I think it’s best you get a cochlear implant as soon as possible. The surgery isn’t that expensive nowadays. Everything, including recovery, will only cost about 600 thousand dollars.”
He paused, and his smile became even gentler. “That kind of money is nothing to your family, so there’s no reason to drag it out.”
When Melody first started out at the hospital, the Wardolf family had donated two imported machines to them, so everyone knew that the Wardolfs were loaded.
After leaving the office, Melody took out her phone and used the banking app to check her account balance. It showed “$56,005.83”.
This was all the money she had saved this past year.
Simon was right. 600 thousand dollars was nothing to the Wardolf family, but it was an astronomical sum for her.
Melody was adopted by the Wardolf family. From a young age, she could only have what the Wardolfs voluntarily gave her, and she needed to show her sincere gratitude in return.
If they hadn’t given her something, she was not allowed to ask for it. Otherwise, she’d be seen as ungrateful and not knowing what was good for her.
By the time Melody changed out of her scrubs and got home, it was nearly 7:00 pm.
The weather had been quite gloomy lately in Jembina. There were constant light showers, causing people to feel sluggish.
Melody didn’t live in the Wardolf residence. She stayed at an apartment near the hospital.
She had just opened the door when she noticed the light in the entryway was on. She froze.
Jeremy Chesson was home.
She slowed her movements and carefully checked whether any raindrops or mud had splattered on her.
Jeremy was a well-known miracle worker at Jembina Hospital. He was also the youngest doctor to become the lead surgeon in the neurosurgery department.
He had severe germaphobia and could not tolerate even the slightest dirt.
He also happened to be Melody’s fiancé.
In order to help them foster their relationship, the Wardolfs and the Chessons allowed Melody to move in with Jeremy.
After all, it was only because of an accident that they were engaged in the first place.
Melody cleaned herself up before entering. The light in the entryway was on, but the one in the living room wasn’t.
However, she could still see a person on the couch. It seemed like Jeremy was asleep as he hadn’t shown any reaction to her moving around.
Melody walked up to him and saw that his eyes were closed. While looking at his face, she couldn’t help but notice his long, thick eyelashes.
Jeremy’s nickname at the hospital was Neuro God. Not only did he have such godly skills that he reached the position of lead surgeon at such a young age, but he also had a godlike appearance.
Jeremy was extremely handsome. He was so good-looking that Melody only dared to stare at him when he was asleep.
She hadn’t seen him in quite a while. He went overseas to attend an academic conference and had only returned two days ago. When he returned, he had to perform a major surgery, spending about six or seven hours in the operating room both yesterday and today.
There were faint dark circles under his eyes, and his brows were furrowed slightly, appearing as if he wasn’t getting a restful sleep.
The living room window was open, and the cold wind mixed with splatters of rain blew in.
Jeremy only had a shirt on. Melody’s eyes fluttered, and her gaze fell on her small blanket that was sitting on the armchair.
She hesitantly reached for the blanket. For some reason, she did not dare to proceed further. She then planted herself down on her armchair, clutched the blanket close to herself, and fixed her gaze on Jeremy once again.
She knew he was tired, so she didn’t want to wake him. He rarely had much time to rest.
However, right then, his phone on the coffee table started buzzing. Melody flinched, and she reached her hand out instinctively to mute it.
That was when a low voice sounded. “What are you doing?”
Melody spun around, and she found herself locking eyes with Jeremy. Her heart lurched.
Jeremy’s eyes were big and bright even in the dimly lit living room. His expression was blank as he continued to stare at her.
Melody had completely frozen. She stammered in a soft voice, “I… I wasn’t going to do anything. I just saw you sleeping, so… I…”
She wanted to explain, but she was so nervous that she was getting tongue-tied.
Jeremy’s gaze shifted downward, stopping at her outstretched hand. Melody followed his gaze, suddenly feeling as if her right hand was scalded.
She abruptly pulled her hand back and helplessly wiped her fingers on her sleeves, as if her fingers were dirty.
She then looked back up at Jeremy and said cautiously, “I… I didn’t touch your stuff.”
Jeremy raised his head as Melody continued to stand there, dazed.
A flash of indifference crossed his emotionless eyes.
“Don’t touch or even get close to any of my things. How many times do I need to repeat myself?”
Melody was at a complete loss. She wanted to explain, but she didn’t know where to begin. She had never been good with words.
Before she moved in, Jeremy had stressed that she was not allowed to touch any of his belongings.
Even though they had lived together as an engaged couple for over half a year, everything in the apartment was clearly labeled. She could only touch the things that had her name on it. Everything else was off-limits.
She wasn’t even allowed into the areas where Jeremy hung around the most. Just like in this large living room, the only thing she was allowed to use was this small armchair.
He really did have severe germophobia.
Jeremy glanced at his still-buzzing phone, and his eyebrows furrowed with clear displeasure. However, he held it in and answered the phone.
Before the person on the other end could speak, he ordered, “Help me buy a new phone and send it over immediately.”
He then glanced at the couch before continuing, “Also, find someone to replace the couch and do another round of disinfections.”
He had said all that while maintaining a blank expression.
Melody followed his gaze. That was when she realized that a small corner of her blanket had ended up resting on Jeremy’s couch.
She lowered her gaze, not daring to speak or even look at him. Instead, she stared at her right hand. Then, she slowly hid both her hands behind her back.
Her left hand rubbed her right hand vigorously. She wanted to tell Jeremy that she wasn’t dirty.
