Claire walked into the ward, and the only people she saw were Mabel and Ruby. She stopped, walked back out of the ward, and checked the number again to confirm if she was in the correct room.“Hmmm,” she sighed as she walked back in after confirming it. It was indeed Mabel’s ward, but what was Ruby doing here alone with Mabel? she wondered as she walked past them with the food flask in her hand.Ruby turned to look at her with a smile. “You’re here, Claire,” Ruby said as she took the flask from Claire’s hands. “What did you cook?” she asked with a smile.This was unlike the Ruby she once knew, the one who would make a fuss over the tiniest issue. Claire thought about it as she stared at Ruby without blinking.“Is there something on my face?” Ruby asked.Mabel was the one who answered. “No, Aunty, there’s nothing wrong with your face,” Mabel said with a smile.“Are you okay, Mabel?” Claire asked, because she still couldn’t believe how calm Ruby was while sitting next to Mabel.“I’m fin

Claire forced a smile as Brian sat down next to her. He wore a faint smile as he looked at her, then at the distant city below.He let out a cold smile as he turned back to her. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, wondering if he had already seen her smoking.He looked at her. “I never thought you smoked,” he said.Her smile stiffened as she looked up at him. She couldn’t deny the fact that she did.Back then, during the sea mission, she had learned how to push the cold away, but she couldn’t tell him that. From then on, she had started smoking whenever she felt confused or overwhelmed.“I do smoke, but not often. Only when things seem hard,” she said as she looked at him.He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then he smiled.“Life is really full of ups and downs. Whoever thought that I would be entangled with Mabel again?” he said as he looked up at the stars. But that wasn’t even what was making him sad.He then turned to look at her. “From tomorrow, we’ll be moving to th