Nathaniel steps into the doctor's office, anxiety surging inside him as he makes himself comfortable on the seat. Ember's surgery is done and the nurse asks him to meet up with her surgeon for advice to take care of his girlfriend.

The blonde has heard about this doctor's reputation, how he is one of the best surgeons in town. While he is pleased to know that Ember is in good hands and her operation is successful, he still can not shake off his worries. Until he can see his girlfriend again, Nathaniel has to face the anxiety head-on.

The door opens and he flinches in his seat, cold footsteps echo in the air as the person draws closer to him before sitting on the office chair and putting the patient files on the desk. The young Emberlynn swallows the big lump in his throat, preparing to hear the doctor's order.

"Hello, my name is Caleb Vatore." He offers his hand to Nathaniel "My pleasure to meet you!"

"O-oh, hello…" Nathaniel shakes his hand, surprised to see such a friendly surgeon like him "I'm Nathaniel, Ember's boyfriend."

"I see…" there is a reassuring smile on Caleb's face before he continues "The surgery went well, no complication happened. We will monitor 's condition in the next two days, if everything is stable, then she will be discharged."

"Thank you, doctor."

"And I will prescribe some pain medication for her. After that, a nurse will escort you to a nutritionist to learn more about what type of diet has to follow for the first week of the surgery."

Caleb looks at his laptop screen, long fingers typing the keyboard elegantly and Nathaniel can't help but notice. The smooth black hair that is combed neatly, abnormal silver eyes, tall stature, and lean build with sophisticated beauty. There is an alluring yet dominant aura around him, a contrast to the calm and composure expression he is wearing. He is a mysterious man, so much in a way that draws the attention of everyone in the room. And for a brief moment, the feeling of being in the same room with this man unnerves Nathaniel, making him wonder if this man is truly a human or not…

"Here you go, just give this report to her nutritionist and she'll know what to do."

"Thank you, doctor."

Nathaniel stands up, shaking Caleb's hand one more time. There is a hint of playfulness in his shiny blue eyes as he speaks up, catching the young lord off guard.

"So, doc…Got yourself lots of admirers?"

A chuckle escapes his lips as Caleb laughs amusingly. That is the first time a stranger is able to make him laugh like that.

"I believe there are more doctors who are far more popular than I am." he responds "But thank you, I'm flattered at the compliment. Although…"

Caleb trails off, observing the young Emberlynn. His golden blond hair and striking blue eyes are a statement of their own, but there is something more that the young lord can't put his finger into.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Me?" Nathaniel is surprised to hear this.

"Ah, sorry. You look awfully similar to someone I know."

"I see. Blue eyes and blond hair are common traits, I guess you've just mistaken me for someone else." Nathaniel smiles "Thank you doctor for taking care of Ember."

Nathaniel takes his leave to see the nutritionist, after that, he returns to Ember's side, who is now resting in a recovery room. Despite the anesthetic, she wakes up, green eyes groggily looking around in search of someone, When the blonde sees her, he smiles and walks up to his girlfriend, setting his warm hand on her forehead. The skin-to-skin contact eases Ember's anxiety when she sees who is in front of her.

"Hey there handsome…" her voice, barely a whisper, tired yet loving.

"Hey, you good?" he smiles at her, his hand still lays on her forehead protectively "Mr. Surgeon said that the procedure went great, no complication. If everything goes well, you'll be discharged in two days."

She nods her head, strands of black hair spread on the white pillow. Ember is grateful that her boyfriend is here with her during this difficult time. While the surgery for an appendectomy is considered to be easy among doctors, the fact that her boyfriend decides to stay by her side through the end, even going as far as to deny Primrose's request to be her date is admirable. It makes her feel loved and appreciated, and if she has to be honest, Ember prefers Nathaniel to stay by her side more than her workaholic parents.

"My mom and dad told me that we can stay at their place after we go home, Mom can take care of you too. Do you want that?"

"No, it will be too troublesome for her. But do tell them that I appreciate the offer."

"Of course, you are family, Ember. Primrose is worried too, she has been texting nonstop."

Showing his girlfriend the phone screen, Ember giggles when she sees a lot of emojis popping on the screen, showing how happy his sister is when she knows that the surgery went well. However, she sucks on her breath immediately as the intruding pain, Ember should not giggle so much right after the surgery.

"You okay? I'll call the nurse."

"N-no, I'm fine. Don't show me anything funny, okay? It hurts when I laugh." she touches on her side, where the operation took place, and looks at him tiredly.

"Got it!" he bends down, planting a kiss on her cheek "I love you."

"I love you too, Nat. Thank you for being here with me." Ember smiles "I almost forgot, have you seen the surgeon?"

"I did, handsome guy, right?"

She nods eagerly. This is the first time in their long dating history that Ember finds someone attractive besides Nathaniel. Her blond boyfriend doesn't seem to mind that as he too, finds Caleb handsome. The young Emberlynn mentions their conversation, the lighthearted joke about that man being the center of attention in this hospital.

"When I look at him, I think about Primrose though…" her emerald eyes shine a light of mischievous, "You think he and Primrose a good match?"

"My sister and him?" the blond hums a bit, thinking to himself "I mean, yeah? But I don't know Primrose's preference though."

"She will never tell you, Nat. Primrose hides that part more carefully than she hides her own diary. But the thought is nice, right?"

"Yeah, we'll see. Her friend, Lilian, works in this hospital too. Maybe she is already a few steps ahead of us, who knows…"

And Nathaniel doesn't know how accurate his words are, but that is a story for another day.

"Prims, you're still mad at me?"

Lilian, on one of her days off, decides to visit Primrose at her apartment. She is expected to be welcomed with open arms by her beloved best friend, but instead, the raven head just stares at her like she grows a second head. The water mage hurries her friend into the apartment, worried that the brunette might figure out that Caleb is her neighbor. Lucky for Primrose, he is at work today.

"Hey, what's with the hurry?" she raises a brow.

"What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Do I need a reason to visit my best friend?"

Primrose shakes her head in response, she is now eyeing the small bag in her friend's hand. She knows that brand, it's one of her favorite boba places.

"Got you your favorite, here!"

Handing her the drink, Lilian sets the other drink on the table and folds the brown paper bag before putting it back in the storage drawer of Primrose's kitchen. By this point, the doctor already remembers every bit of her friend's apartment. She has been here more than enough to learn about the place as if it is her own home.

"Thank you for the drink, you want something to eat?" Primrose asks her friend "I can make us some snacks, or you want to order out?"

"I'm good, this boba drink is enough."

"Alright, I'm getting myself some strawberries."

Lilian chuckles at her announcement, Primrose and her eternal love for the fruit is something that everyone in her close circle should know by now. Maybe she can share this information with Caleb, he might be benefiting from it. She can also tell him more about the raven head likes and dislikes, nothing pulls two people closer than to understand each other's needs.

Primrose walks back to the living room and sits on the soft cushion of her sofa, in front of it is a small kotatsu table that also acts as a coffee table. Lilian enjoys sinking herself in the warmth of kotatsu, the built-in heater makes it even cozier during the cold season.

The table is a gift from Primrose's grandmother, who came to visit their family a year ago. Looking at the brunette who is already making herself comfortable at the table, the water mage can't help but giggle. However, she has to be extra careful when it comes to spilling the beans about her family lineage. Lilian is a normal human after all, she doesn't need to know the complicated life of someone who hails from a supernatural background.

Primrose and her brother, Nathaniel, come from one of the most prestigious bloodlines of magic users, the Emberlynn. With a long history of magic, her family has served the community for centuries, aiding the study and development of many successful mages coming out of Glimmerbrook. That is not all, because her mother comes from the honorable Minamoto clan that is an expert in potion crafting.

Despite coming from such an esteemed background, Primrose and Nathaniel never truly face any problems that require them to use magic, her with water and him with ice. They have to thank the peaceful era of today, with no war or battles to determine the power of one house or ideal.

Because of that, Primrose is able to live normally among her human peers, something that she would never exchange for anything else. While Nathaniel has no problem telling Ember about their supernatural background, the older Emberlynn prefers to keep it to herself instead of telling everyone about it.

"I saw Nathaniel the other day at the hospital." Lilian looks at her friend "I didn't know Ember was in there for surgery."

"Yeah, he stays by her side. I heard that she prefers him to her family, but Ember's younger twin visits her from time to time, so that's good."

"Yeesh…talk about loving your jobs so much that you can ignore your own daughter while she is on a hospital bed…" the brunette knits her brows annoyingly.

Primrose only nods her head in agreement. Despite having successful parents, Ember never truly connects to them in terms of family and kinship. Her father, the mayor of San Myshuno city, and mother, a successful businesswoman, are both workaholics who prioritize their careers above all else. Ember once told her how lonely it was for her to grow up in the Feng family, while her younger twin brother was there for her, they didn't have the parental love they desperately wanted.

"At least Nathaniel is with her, he is more capable to take care of her than those people." Primrose scrolls her phone and type on the keyboard "You want to eat hotpot tomorrow? Nathaniel asks me to make some for him and Ember."

"Sure, I'll join. Everyone knows how good you are at cooking."

"That's because none of you guys know how to cook besides me and Ember." the raven head raises an eyebrow amusingly.

"Nonsense! I can cook to survive too."

Their fun banter turns into what hotpot they should make for Ember tomorrow. While Primrose is thinking of a spicier soup base, Lilian reminds her that Nathaniel's girlfriend should stay away from spicy food post-surgery and suggests a lighter broth like mushroom or miso. Her comment earns her a pout on the raven head's face, what kind of hotpot are they supposed to eat if there is no spiciness in it?

"I can see why Nathaniel is afraid of your tastebud, Primrose…" the brunette sweatdrops "I too am questioning how your tongue can handle such a high level of spiciness."

"You're all weaklings if you can handle my level of spiciness."

"Because we still want to live, Prims…"

The water mage scoffs at the comment and continues to plan out tomorrow's hotpot day, what ingredients to get and how much is too much? Nathaniel has a big appetite, so she must get a lot of food for her younger brother. Lilian likes the fishballs and Ember will have her eyes on the fried tofu. With a list of ingredients in hand, the brunette offers to drive her to the grocery store to get food.

On their way to the garage, Lilian looks at her friend with such seriousness in her eyes. She asks about the event Primrose is going to attend and how is her quest to find a date to accompany her. The defeated look on her friend's lovely face is the answer she needs.

"I think that Caleb is your best option, Prims. I'm not pushing you or anything, but that is my two cents."

"Why do you keep bringing him up?" the raven head pouts "If I can't find anyone, then I will stay at home."

"You are as stubborn as a mule, you know that? Just give him a chance, it's not like he is a bad person or anything. Unless…" Lilian stops for a second and turns to her friend "You hate him?"

The question catches her off guard as she stares back at the brunette, not knowing how to answer. She doesn't hate Caleb, but she is still uncomfortable with the idea of him being her date. Lilian doesn't know what happened between them, so it's hard to speak up about the matter without bringing that taboo topic onto the table.

"Alright, you win. I will…think about it…"