Chapter 2

After leaving the wedding, I headed straight home.

"Look what I brought you."

Lily was sitting under a dim lamp, making handmade jewelry.

When she saw me, she frantically hid her work behind her back. "Evie, I know you said no... but I can sell these. You're working too hard. I just want to help."

I handed her the cake and smiled, gently ruffling her hair.

"Our Lily is growing up."

"But you need to rest. I don't mind the work, as long as you're okay."

Lily took a bite of the cake, lowered her head, and suddenly burst into tears.

"You're the one who needs taking care of."

"If you hadn't shielded me, you wouldn't have lost your right leg."

"You had an engagement. A future. Callum was ready to die for you. Because of me, it's all gone."

Five years ago, the Waverly family despised the fact that the Harper family had fallen from grace.

They were terrified that a marriage beneath his station would tank the family's political optics and alienate their donor networks. They vehemently opposed our engagement.

But Callum practically severed ties with his family for me.

"If I can't even protect the woman I love," he'd told his furious father, "I don't want to be the heir to this family."

During that time, the Waverlys relentlessly pressured me through lawyers and PR consultants, demanding I sign papers to break the engagement and leave D.C.

Then, late one night, a stranger who had been stalking me cornered me in a parking lot.

By the time Callum arrived, the man had already pulled a knife.

Callum threw himself in front of me, taking the blade meant for me. His shoulder was soaked in blood.

The police eventually hauled the attacker away.

Senator Waverly finally realized that his relentless pressure on Callum had pushed things to a dangerous edge.

Callum's face had been terrifyingly pale, but he still reached out and pinched my cheek.

"Why are you crying?"

"You owe me your life now. I expect you to spend the rest of it making it up to me. Got it?"

Finally, Senator Waverly took a step back.

"If we don't let them be together, he's going to get himself killed."

"He's deploying soon. Evelyn, if you insist on this engagement, apply to the humanitarian medical NGO attached to the military."

"Pass the background check, finish the pre-deployment training, and secure a field position. Then we'll talk about going public."

"We aren't pulling strings for you. You have to prove yourself. You need to understand what this choice means."

Clutching that engagement agreement, I agreed.

Later, I passed the screening and finished the pre-departure training. All I had to do was report to the field.

My heart was full of hope for our future together.

But I was just one step short.

The night before I was supposed to leave, while fleeing an attack, my family was ambushed by an armed robbery gang on a rural highway.

My parents were killed.

My right leg was slashed while I was trying to shield Lily.

In the end, the doctors couldn't save it.

Staring at the empty space where my leg used to be, I only had one thought.

Callum was going to a dangerous place.

His military career, his responsibilities, his future—they were already heavy enough.

But from then on, I'd need to lean on a wall just to cross a room.

How could I let the man who defied everyone for me carry me as a burden for the rest of his life?

I refused to be the anchor dragging him down.

That night, I lost my parents, I lost my right leg, and I lost Callum.

Now, as Lily's tears dropped onto the back of my hand, I realized my own eyes were blurred with tears.

I stroked her head.

"Don't be silly."

"Mom and Dad are gone. I'm your guardian. Protecting you isn't a sacrifice—it's my choice."

"If you weren't here, none of it would mean anything anyway."

Lily threw herself into my arms, her scalding tears soaking my shirt.

The next second, she started coughing violently.

I immediately hoisted her onto my back and limped as fast as I could to a nearby urgent care clinic.

The moment the triage nurse heard her breathing, she immediately called an ambulance.

Once we arrived at the hospital ER, the doctors ran chest X-rays, monitored her oxygen, and checked her infection markers.

Once they confirmed she was out of immediate danger, they admitted her for short-term observation and referred her to pulmonology for follow-up.

But this ER visit wiped out the last of my savings.

Chapter 2

After leaving the wedding, I headed straight home.

"Look what I brought you."

Lily was sitting under a dim lamp, making handmade jewelry.

When she saw me, she frantically hid her work behind her back. "Evie, I know you said no... but I can sell these. You're working too hard. I just want to help."

I handed her the cake and smiled, gently ruffling her hair.

"Our Lily is growing up."

"But you need to rest. I don't mind the work, as long as you're okay."

Lily took a bite of the cake, lowered her head, and suddenly burst into tears.

"You're the one who needs taking care of."

"If you hadn't shielded me, you wouldn't have lost your right leg."

"You had an engagement. A future. Callum was ready to die for you. Because of me, it's all gone."

Five years ago, the Waverly family despised the fact that the Harper family had fallen from grace.

They were terrified that a marriage beneath his station would tank the family's political optics and alienate their donor networks. They vehemently opposed our engagement.

But Callum practically severed ties with his family for me.

"If I can't even protect the woman I love," he'd told his furious father, "I don't want to be the heir to this family."

During that time, the Waverlys relentlessly pressured me through lawyers and PR consultants, demanding I sign papers to break the engagement and leave D.C.

Then, late one night, a stranger who had been stalking me cornered me in a parking lot.

By the time Callum arrived, the man had already pulled a knife.

Callum threw himself in front of me, taking the blade meant for me. His shoulder was soaked in blood.

The police eventually hauled the attacker away.

Senator Waverly finally realized that his relentless pressure on Callum had pushed things to a dangerous edge.

Callum's face had been terrifyingly pale, but he still reached out and pinched my cheek.

"Why are you crying?"

"You owe me your life now. I expect you to spend the rest of it making it up to me. Got it?"

Finally, Senator Waverly took a step back.

"If we don't let them be together, he's going to get himself killed."

"He's deploying soon. Evelyn, if you insist on this engagement, apply to the humanitarian medical NGO attached to the military."

"Pass the background check, finish the pre-deployment training, and secure a field position. Then we'll talk about going public."

"We aren't pulling strings for you. You have to prove yourself. You need to understand what this choice means."

Clutching that engagement agreement, I agreed.

Later, I passed the screening and finished the pre-departure training. All I had to do was report to the field.

My heart was full of hope for our future together.

But I was just one step short.

The night before I was supposed to leave, while fleeing an attack, my family was ambushed by an armed robbery gang on a rural highway.

My parents were killed.

My right leg was slashed while I was trying to shield Lily.

In the end, the doctors couldn't save it.

Staring at the empty space where my leg used to be, I only had one thought.

Callum was going to a dangerous place.

His military career, his responsibilities, his future—they were already heavy enough.

But from then on, I'd need to lean on a wall just to cross a room.

How could I let the man who defied everyone for me carry me as a burden for the rest of his life?

I refused to be the anchor dragging him down.

That night, I lost my parents, I lost my right leg, and I lost Callum.

Now, as Lily's tears dropped onto the back of my hand, I realized my own eyes were blurred with tears.

I stroked her head.

"Don't be silly."

"Mom and Dad are gone. I'm your guardian. Protecting you isn't a sacrifice—it's my choice."

"If you weren't here, none of it would mean anything anyway."

Lily threw herself into my arms, her scalding tears soaking my shirt.

The next second, she started coughing violently.

I immediately hoisted her onto my back and limped as fast as I could to a nearby urgent care clinic.

The moment the triage nurse heard her breathing, she immediately called an ambulance.

Once we arrived at the hospital ER, the doctors ran chest X-rays, monitored her oxygen, and checked her infection markers.

Once they confirmed she was out of immediate danger, they admitted her for short-term observation and referred her to pulmonology for follow-up.

But this ER visit wiped out the last of my savings.