Editor: Henyee Translations In March, a series of shocking events swept through Norbright.
First, Mathias Lowell, the eldest son of Norbright’s most influential family, was critically injured in a car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down.
Meanwhile, the Lowell Family announced an unexpected marriage alliance with another prominent family in the city: the Ashford.
And finally, the news that caused the biggest stir of all was that the groom was Mathias Lowell, now confined to a wheelchair.
And the bride was Evelyn Ashford, the Ashford Family’s eldest daughter– a young woman who had spent her entire life in the countryside, far from the luxury and prestige of Norbright.
While the city’s elites were busy speculating about Evelyn, she lay listlessly on the worn couch in her grandmother’s modest farmhouse.
Her phone vibrated on the coffee table.
A text from her assistant appeared on the screen.
“Dr.
Lynn, there’s a patient with an extremely rare condition who’s been waiting for six months to see you.
When will you be available?” Evelyn rested a slender finger on the power button before switching the phone off.
She leaned her head back and released a heavy sigh, her gaze lowered, veiled in quiet sorrow.
To the outside world, she was the legendary Phantom Surgeon– a physician whose name was spoken with awe across the medical community.
Yet none of that mattered.
She had saved countless strangers, but not the one person who meant everything to her.
By the time she held a scalpel with confidence, her grandmother was already gone.
Raised voices drifted through the thin bedroom door.
The old farmhouse offered little privacy.
“Isabelle, don’t you think this is a little too heartless?” Felix snapped.
“My mother just passed away.
We haven’t even finished grieving, and you are already talking about leaving.” “Our company is barely staying afloat,” Isabelle shot back.
“And Grace’s eighteenth birthday gala is only weeks away.
We don’t have time to waste.
We need to bring Evelyn back, teach her some etiquette and prepare her for the elite society.
If she embarrasses herself after marrying into the Lowell family, it will be the Ashfords everyone laughs at.” “Stop acting like she is some backwoods embarrassment,” Felix said.
“She’s your daughter too.” “If she weren’t, I never would have bothered coming to get her.” Evelyn let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
So, this was what her so-called “real” family looked like.
Evelyn’s parents had started with scratch, working ordinary jobs before building a successful business from the ground up.
During those difficult years, they had been too busy to raise her, so she was sent back to the countryside to stay with her grandmother.
Back then, despite the distance, her parents still called.
They cared for her.
Everything changed once success arrived.
The company expanded, money poured in.
When Evelyn turned seven, Grace was born.
From that moment on, Evelyn slowly disappeared from their lives.
The Ashford family continued to climb into Norbright’s upper class, and her mother’s occasional phone calls became little more than endless praise for Grace– their “lucky charm.” Never once did her mother seem curious about Evelyn’s health or progress in her studies.
She never asked if Evelyn was doing well at her school.
It was as though her eldest daughter no longer existed.
When Grace turned three, Evelyn’s parents visited her for the first time in years.
Evelyn clearly remembered her father’s suggestion.
“Why don’t we bring Mom and Evelyn back to Norbright with us?” Evelyn also remembered the way her mother’s smile froze.
After a private conversation, the subject was never mentioned again.
They left without her.
A few years later, Isabelle gave birth to a son.
From then on, every ounce of their attention belonged to the younger two children.
Aside from sending money, they never returned, and fifteen years passed.
If Evelyn’s grandmother hadn’t passed away, they might never have returned at all.
After the funeral, Evelyn accompanied her parents back to Norbright.
They insisted she come with them, speaking with such warmth that anyone else might have mistaken it for parental affection.
But Evelyn knew better.
The real reason was only a few clicks away online.
As their Rolls-Royce approached the Ashford estate, Isabelle turned to Evelyn.
“Listen carefully,” Isabelle said.
“If anyone asks about your education, tell them you earned your MD from Crestview Medical School and that you are about to start your residency.” Isabelle had always assumed Evelyn worked as a physician at a small rural clinic.
After all, Greendale was little more than an isolated mountain town.
She never bothered to learn anything about her eldest daughter.
She vaguely remembered her mother-in-law once mentioning a medical school years back, and the rest she had filled in herself.
Claiming Evelyn graduated from one of the nation’s top medical schools, at the very least, protects the family’s reputation.
Otherwise, people in Norbright would discover the truth– or at least the version Isabelle believed– and laugh behind their backs.
Evelyn gave a faint smile.
As always, appearances matter more to her mother than the truth.
Just a month earlier, Crestview Medical School had invited Evelyn to deliver a guest lecture.
Her mother had no idea.
Years ago, when she became seriously ill and her grades briefly slipped, Isabelle concluded she wasn’t good enough to get into a good university.
Even after her grandmother excitedly mentioned her acceptance into one of the country’s most prestigious medical schools, the call had been cut short.
“We are busy.” After that, no one bothered sharing any good news with Evelyn’s parents.
Evelyn answered calmly, “I am not a graduate of Crestview Medical School.” The answer immediately displeased Isabelle.
Always so stubborn, Isabelle thought.
No accomplishments, yet she is impossible to reason with.
Nothing like her younger daughter, Grace.
Grace might not possess Evelyn’s striking beauty, but she was sweet, bright, and most importantly, obedient.
Just as Isabelle opened her mouth to scold her, Felix cleared his throat from the front seat, making her swallow the lecture.
Thinking of her younger daughter instead, her tone softened.
“Grace has always been a little too pampered.
Try to be patient with her.
She gets upset easily and sometimes refuses to eat when she is angry,” her mother said.
Evelyn nearly laughed.
Grace was eighteen years old.
Being treated as a sensitive child at that age was almost absurd.
The Rolls-Royce rolled through the iron gates and stopped in front of an elegant mansion.
Evelyn stepped out first.
The front door burst open, and a girl came running across the runway in flared shorts and a pink floral top.
“Mom!
Dad!
You are finally home!” It was Grace.
Her smile faded for just a moment as she noticed Evelyn.
Evelyn, in a simple cream sweatshirt and black sweatpants with sneakers, radiated effortless elegance.
The outfit was understated, yet she carried herself with sophistication.
Calm.
Refined.
Grace instantly knew who she was.
The daughter who had never shared a home with them.
But nothing about her resembled the uncultured country girl image Grace had in her mind.
For the first time in her life, Grace felt an unfamiliar knot tighten in her chest.
Grace had always been the beloved daughter of the Ashford household.
Now someone else had arrived to claim that spot.
“Grace!” Isabelle rushed towards her younger daughter.
“Why are you outside without a jacket?
You will catch a cold.” Without hesitation, she slipped off her own coat and wrapped it around her younger daughter.
Grace smiled brightly and nestled against her shoulders.
“I am fine, Mom.” Evelyn stayed behind, observing a picture-perfect family reunion.
One she had never been part of.
The family walked inside laughing.
No one noticed Evelyn had been left behind.
Only Grace glanced back once.
The expression in her eyes was impossible to read.
Felix finally remembered Evelyn and smiled awkwardly.
“Oh, right.
Eve, this is your younger sister, Grace.
She’s an outstanding student.
She earned top scores this year and has already been accepted to Crestview Medical School.”