Chapter 1

When I met him again after not hearing from him for three years, we were standing on opposite sides of the nurse station in the maternity ward.

Siegmund Herrndorf was holding his beloved tenderly as the two of them decided on their choice of doula.

"Let's go for Ms. Genevieve Gauer. I'm acquainted with her. Genni, I'll be counting on your support." Smiling sweetly, Nikoletta Falkbeer picked me out without hesitation.

After returning to Nikoletta's ward, Siegmund stayed by her side patiently until she fell asleep. When I passed him Nikoletta's birth plan, he said gently, "You have lost weight. How have you been all these years?"

Siegmund's words were full of concern tinged with a hint of heartache and perhaps, guilt.

I didn't answer him. Instead, I calmly told him to sign the document before leaving swiftly.

I didn't tell him that I almost died on the operating table once when I was giving birth to his child.

Back then, I was strenuously fighting for my life while carrying his child. I also prayed desperately that he would return to save me…

*****

The next day, Nikoletta went into labor, and the whole department was on edge.

She had a blood coagulation disorder, and the baby was in a breech position.

So the hospital had stocked up on plenty of blood plasma just in case.

To everyone's surprise, the surgery went off without a hitch.

When she was wheeled out of the operating room, she reached for my hand with teary eyes, weak and overwhelmed. "Thank you, Genni!"

I placed her hand in Siegmund's without any emotion and walked with them back to the ward.

According to the private hospital's rules, the doula had to handle everything from pre-surgery prep to post-surgery care. She had to stay with the mother until all her vital signs had stabilized, after which the mother was cleared to go home.

"Before the newborn's umbilical cord falls off, the base of the cord should be cleaned twice daily with chlorhexidine to ensure thorough disinfection," I explained.

"Honey, you must learn well from Genni. From now on, the two of us will count on you," Nikoletta reminded playfully.

Siegmund carefully moistened Nikoletta's lips with water. He was still as gentle and thoughtful as ever. "You just gave birth, so rest well. I'll take care of everything."

He gently brought the baby out and took the cotton swab I handed him.

As our fingers brushed, I caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes looked a little red at the corners.

He was still as fond of kids as always.

He was deeply moved by his own child, that wriggling bundle of new life.

If he hadn't walked away from me back then, would he have been this happy for our child too?

I quietly turned my head away and started packing up the stuff on the couch.

"Genni, do you blame me?" Siegmund's tone was filled with pain, and every word stabbed into the depths of my heart.

"Mr. Herrndorf, from now on, please call me Ms. Gauer," I corrected him in a steady voice.

As I continued cleaning up, I could feel his eyes boring into my back.

Back then, when he left me, I had hoped he would look back too…

How Siegmund and I met was pretty mundane.

I was a freshman, and he was the student council president in his sophomore year.

At the orientation party, my dancing attracted his attention. After that, he started pursuing me relentlessly.

We became the campus's golden couple. Everyone thought we were the perfect match.

Siegmund always said he fell for me at first sight, and that I was like the fairy he had always dreamed of.

But he never told me that Nikoletta was the true goddess in his heart. She was his secret first love.

On graduation day, I waited for him at the campus gate in my wedding dress.

I waited from dawn till dusk.

But he didn't show up. That night, I dreamed of him riding off into the sunset in someone else's fairy-tale carriage.

I desperately reached out for his hand, but he slipped through my grasp.

Inside the carriage was Nikoletta, who had missed school for many months due to ill health…

I only learned later that my half-sister was Siegmund's secret first love whom he had been pining for.

And I was just the consolation prize, the substitute he settled for when he couldn't have her.

It was so ironic. Back then, I was just a foolish girl, convinced that he truly loved me and could never bear to let me go.

"Honey…" A soft, feeble voice drifted out. Nikoletta had woken up.

I followed Siegmund into the room.

"I'm thirsty," Nikoletta mumbled.

Siegmund rushed to pour her some warm water, but I stopped him. "After childbirth, she's quite weak. If you add a little salt to her water, it'll help her get her strength back."

I took the cup from him and proceeded to add salt to it.

"By the way, Honey, I haven't introduced you yet. Genni is my half-sister. We have the same mother," Nikoletta explained.

At this juncture, I was trying to help her drink the water. Her words made my hand jerk suddenly, and some water splashed onto her.

"Careful, Gen… Ms. Gauer," Siegmund hurriedly grabbed some tissues to wipe the spill off Nikoletta's chest.

"You can call me anything you want, Mr. Herrndorf. I don't mind," I said indifferently.

Siegmund wanted to say something, but hesitated. In the end, he kept quiet.