Chapter 1
I never expected that the very next day after I slept with the girl I'd grown up with, I got into a car accident.
And of course, the attending physician just happened to be... her, Camilla Hardin.
I clutched my bleeding neck, staring at the stunning doctor before me.
Moments ago, I was grimacing in pain, teeth clenched. And now, the pain seemed to vanish instantly when I saw her.
"Camilla, after twenty years of knowing each other, you wouldn't take revenge on me, would you?" I asked, my voice trembling.
Camilla's lips curled into a cold, teasing smile. "Sorry... my PhD got delayed."
*****
Camilla Hardin slipped on her mask, her face coming right up to mine.
With tweezers holding a cotton ball soaked in iodine, she pressed it hard against the cut on my neck without flinching.
"Ow! Easy! That hurts!" I grimaced, making a face.
"So now you finally know what pain feels like?" Camilla said, her voice calm but with a hint of sarcasm.
"Robert, when I asked you to be gentle, did you ever listen?" she retorted.
She tossed the blood-soaked cotton ball into the tray without a second thought.
Suddenly, the sharp clink of metal filled the air.
It sent a chill down my spine.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," I stammered.
"Don't understand, huh?" Camilla shot back.
She leaned in even closer.
The sharp scent of disinfectant mixed with her cool, subtle perfume, making my throat tighten.
"Some guy asked for my number at the reunion, said his birthday was coming up and wanted to celebrate," she continued. "And then... you just 'popped' me open."
"What?" I stammered.
She grabbed a new cotton ball, coolly pushing her glasses up with one hand.
"What? Get up and take your pants off," Camilla snapped.
"Uh... Dr. Hardin." I tried to lighten the mood. "How about we keep things professional for now? Just stitch up my neck first, and we can settle the rest later, okay?"
Camilla shot me a look.
"Is your thigh wound all better now?" she asked.
That was when it hit me. My thigh was still bleeding.
"Take your pants off. I don't want to say it a third time," Camilla snapped.
Face flushed, I awkwardly peeled off my pants.
The fabric clung to the wound, making it sting like hell.
Camilla's eyes stayed cool and steady, all strict professionalism.
But the way her mask twitched told me she was definitely amused underneath.
I hissed in pain.
"Dr. Hardin, please go easy on me..." I begged.
Before I could even finish, she poured the icy disinfectant straight onto my wound.
The sting of the disinfectant made me suck in a sharp breath, my thigh muscles tensing up on their own.
Camilla worked like a pro, but showed zero mercy.
She was only three days younger than me.
But honestly, she never acted like the younger one—not once.
She was a tomboy through and through, always tough and out to win.
Back when I was still in my mom's belly, her family moved in right next door to us.
Turned out, our families were from the same hometown, and get this—her mom and my dad were even classmates back in grade school and middle school.
Because of all that, our families got really tight back then.
We basically grew up together, running around in the same diapers.
My mom told me that when I was little, I loved hugging Camilla.
I'd always wrap my arms around her and give her kisses.
In kindergarten, we were always holding hands.
But honestly, I don't remember any of that.
But what I really remember was when I was five, my parents left me behind, and I became one of those kids who had to fend for themselves.
They sent me back to our old hometown to live.
When I was in third grade, a super cute girl transferred into my class.
She stood at the front of the classroom, not a trace of nervousness in her eyes.
She said her name was Camilla Hardin.
That was the first time I saw Camilla again after all those years.
She'd grown a bit taller, wore a clean pink dress, and had her hair in two cute pigtails. Her eyes were big and sparkling.
All the snot-nosed boys in class were staring at her, totally spellbound.
The teacher put her in the empty seat right next to me.
She was quiet and well-behaved.
As soon as the bell rang, her real self came out.
She gave me a good beating just because I accidentally bumped into her when I got up from my seat.
She stood there, looking fiercer than any boy I'd ever met.
But honestly, she was really adorable.
That made me drop the idea of snitching to the teacher.
Instead, I decided to tease her a bit.
And that was how she poked me with a compass and made me cry.
I kicked off a one-sided cold war with Camilla that lasted a whole week.
Camilla showed everyone who was really running the show in our class.
And I, the so-called "king of the kids", just faded into the background.
After that, I finally got to know the real Camilla.
To teachers and parents, she was the straight-A, polite, well-behaved kid—the kind everyone wished their own kid could be.
But with me, she was a total little tyrant.
And honestly, she always outsmarted me, no contest.