"That’s enough!" Kaden Xavier snapped, feeling that Wren Wynter was just using this as an excuse to pick a fight with Seraphina Sutton. "Seraphina was just worried, she didn’t mean to! The rescue is the top priority right now. Stop making a scene!"

’Am I making a scene?’ Wren Wynter looked at the man before her and was suddenly struck by how unfamiliar he seemed, and how utterly exhausted she felt.

The anger that had been propping her up receded like the tide, leaving only icy disappointment in its wake.

’This was the man she loved.’

He had sided with Seraphina Sutton, blaming Wren without a second thought and even defending the other woman.

’If he only had eyes for Seraphina Sutton, then why bother...?’

Just then, the medical responder whom Seraphina Sutton had stopped earlier came running back.

His face was livid with fury; he had clearly just come from the triage area.

The moment he saw Seraphina Sutton, he lost all restraint, pointing a finger right in her face and roaring, "You! You’re the one who stopped me from saving a life!"

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Because you stopped me, the patient missed the critical treatment window! His intracranial bleeding got worse, and he didn’t make it off the operating table! He’s dead!"

"Are you happy now?! You let a man die for a damn dog!"

Kaden Xavier froze, his gaze shifting in stunned disbelief from the furious medic to Seraphina Sutton, and finally, to Wren Wynter.

Wren Wynter’s face was devoid of expression, her eyes hollow. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

The medic’s words landed like a sledgehammer, shattering the air into a deathly silence.

Seraphina Sutton crumpled to the ground, her whole body trembling. Her lips quivered, the last trace of color draining from her face.

She instinctively grabbed at the leg of Kaden Xavier’s pants, her voice fragmented. "Kaden... I didn’t mean to... I didn’t know... I was just so worried about Lucky..."

Kaden Xavier looked down at her, his expression a complex mix of emotions.

Shock, disappointment, and a dawning sense of remorse warred in his gaze.

He had always seen Seraphina Sutton as the widow of a fallen comrade, someone he was responsible for looking after.

He had even indulged her constant dependency and immaturity.

But today, at a rescue site where lives hung in the balance, she had blocked a medic from saving a human life—all for a dog.

"You..." Kaden Xavier’s throat worked, but the words ’That was so thoughtless of you’ caught in his throat, ultimately escaping as a heavy sigh.

He pried Seraphina Sutton’s hand off him and turned to Wren Wynter.

But Wren Wynter had already turned away. She was now crouched beside a young girl with a leg injury, swiftly cleaning the wound.

The line of her jaw was tight, her long lashes concealing her eyes.

"Wren," Kaden Xavier said, walking to her side. His voice was low and raspy. "A moment ago... I didn’t understand the situation. Seraphina didn’t mean for it to happen."

’To think that even now, he was still defending Seraphina Sutton—the woman who had just caused a man’s death.’

Wren Wynter couldn’t quite put a name to what she was feeling, but it was a cocktail of disappointment and dejection.

’Disappointed in herself for having fallen for such a man.’

’Dejected that he would abandon his own principles for the woman he loved.’

But that woman wasn’t her.

Wren Wynter’s hands didn’t stop moving. Without even lifting her eyes, she replied in a voice as cold as ice, "Captain Xavier, we’re busy here. If you have nothing for us, please return to your command post."

There was no trace of hurt in her voice, no accusation leveled at Kaden Xavier, and none of the questioning she might have resorted to in the past.

Her cold indifference unsettled Kaden Xavier more than any furious accusation ever could.

He wanted to say more, but several people in senior airline executive uniforms hurried over, their faces grim.

"Mr. Xavier, we finally found you! There’s an emergency meeting. Compensation packages, PR strategy, the accident investigation... There’s a mountain of things that need your decision!"

Kaden Xavier was surrounded and ushered away, leaving against his will.

He glanced back, but Wren Wynter remained engrossed in her work, not sparing him a single look.

The rescue efforts continued late into the night.

Wren Wynter barely stopped to rest—bandaging wounds, staunching bleeding, comforting the injured, and assisting with evacuations.

The wisps of hair at her forehead were damp with sweat, and her white coat was smeared with blood and grime, but her eyes remained calm and her hands steady.

Every member of the medical team knew that time was life.

An elderly, gray-haired gentleman who had been coordinating the response on-site took notice of her.

He was the vice-president of the Municipal First People’s Hospital, dispatched to provide support due to the high number of casualties.

"Young lady, your technique is very professional," the old vice-president couldn’t help but remark after watching Wren Wynter treat a patient with a complex pneumothorax. "Calm under pressure, accurate judgment... Your talents are wasted in an aviation medical office."

"Have you ever considered coming to our hospital? The emergency center is looking for an experienced, level-headed doctor just like you."

Wren Wynter straightened up, catching her breath, and nodded politely. "Thank you, sir. I’ll give it serious consideration."

Nearby, Ho-ran Park and Joy Lynch had also arrived on the scene.

Ho-ran Park was a specialist sent by the hospital to assist, while Joy Lynch had been busy working with the aviation medical team the entire time.

Joy Lynch’s face was smudged with soot and flecked with patients’ blood.

Her hair was a mess, a few strands clinging to her sweat-slicked cheeks, but her eyes were astonishingly bright as she deftly passed instruments and recorded data for Ho-ran Park.

Her competence made her seem like a completely different person from her usual bubbly self.

Ho-ran Park adjusted his glasses, his gaze involuntarily drawn to her focused profile for a brief moment.

’This girl who was always chasing him, who seemed so flighty, was actually this reliable when it truly mattered.’

Sensing his gaze, Joy Lynch looked up and flashed him a weary but brilliant smile. "What is it?"

"Nothing..." Ho-ran Park’s heart gave a strange flutter. He looked away, flustered, the tips of his ears quietly turning red.

「It was after three in the morning by the time the last of the most critical patients were evacuated.」

Wren Wynter was so exhausted she could barely stand. She leaned against a wall for a long moment, gathering her strength before dragging her heavy feet toward the office of the Director of Aviation Medicine.

"Director," she said, knocking and entering. Her voice was raspy. "I want to resign."

The director, who was frantically organizing reports, snapped his head up. "Dr. Wynter? What did you just say? Now? At a time like this?! Are you joking?"

"No," Wren Wynter said with a nod, her face a mask of exhaustion. "I’ll submit my formal letter of resignation tomorrow."

"No! Absolutely not!" The director was frantic. "After a disaster like this, the aviation medical office is already critically short-staffed. How can you leave now?"

"Wren, I know... things might have happened with Captain Xavier today, but this is your job! You can’t let personal feelings..."

"Director," Wren Wynter said, her expression serious. "My decision to resign isn’t about anyone else. I just think... perhaps it’s time for me to find a new path."

With that, she gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

The director watched her retreating back, his mouth open as if to call out. In the end, he didn’t, and simply let out a heavy sigh.

「By the time she returned to the villa, the sky was already turning a pale gray with the first light of dawn.」

Wren Wynter used the last of her strength to open the door, not bothering to turn on the lights.

She fumbled her way to the sofa and collapsed onto it, her legs giving out.

Just before she lost consciousness, she thought she heard Lucky’s soft whimpers and the sound of his claws scrabbling at the sofa.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she felt her body lighten as someone lifted her into their arms.

The familiar scent of cedar washed over her. It was Kaden Xavier.

She wanted to struggle out of his embrace, but her eyelids were too heavy to lift, and her body was limp and strengthless.

Kaden Xavier carried her carefully upstairs, walked into the bedroom, and gently placed her on the bed, pulling the covers over her and tucking her in.