The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 10

Hearing this, Ferris froze slightly, taking a few seconds to force out the words, "Half for me?"

He seemed genuinely taken aback.

Leon didn't try to hide anything. "Ms. Hayes made this for me as a thank you for the umbrella. Don't be jealous, Dr. Sterling."

With a single sentence, he had simultaneously defended my intentions and diffused Ferris's awkwardness. I had to admit, Leon's emotional intelligence was perfectly on point.

"Why would I be jealous?" Ferris scoffed, his expression dripping with disdain. "It's just lunch. Besides..."

He paused, his eyes flicking down to the lunchbox with absolute, towering arrogance. "It's the same few dishes over and over. I got sick of them a long time ago."

Sick of them.

Those three words hollowed out my chest, leaving a devastating, empty ache behind.

I thought about the last three years. I had woken up early every single day, gone to the market to handpick the freshest ingredients, and meticulously planned out his meals based entirely on his preferences before rushing to deliver them to the hospital. And in the end, my reward was him telling me he was "sick of them."

It made sense. No matter how fresh the ingredients or how much love was poured into the cooking, eating the exact same thing every day for three years would eventually make anyone sick of it.

Just like his wife.

"By the way, you probably don't know this, Ms. Hayes," Leon continued, likely sensing the sudden tension and swiftly changing the subject. "When Dr. Sterling interviewed here, he scored first in both the written exam and the interview. You should ask the master for some pointers."

He shot Ferris a pointed look as soon as he finished.

Ferris glanced at me and let out a chilling sneer. "Ms. Hayes is incredibly bright and highly manipulative. Why would she ever need pointers from me?"

Incredibly bright. Highly manipulative.

Every single syllable Ferris spat felt like a blade slowly slicing open my heart.

I knew he fundamentally despised me down to his bones. Now, he wasn't even bothering to put on an act anymore.

At that thought, I curled my fingers into fists and said evenly, "Dr. Sterling is a very busy man. I wouldn't dare trouble him."

Besides, I was going to crush this interview using my own skills.

I promised myself silently.

Lucille refused to back down either.

The two of us remained deadlocked right in front of the Capital General entrance.

Lucille quickly transitioned to her guilt-trip routine. "Do you have no conscience at all? Your father and I worked ourselves to the bone raising you. He's still lying in that bed at the Greenwood Care Center, and this is how you repay us?"

With that, she forcefully squeezed out two pathetic tears.

I had seen this act a million times. Taking a deep breath, I replied, "Mom, I'm not going back. And for the record, Ferris already knows about the interview."

I had no choice but to use Ferris's name to get her to back off.

"Of course he knows!" Lucille fired back, completely unsurprised and practically trembling with rage. "If he hadn't reminded me this morning to prepare your interview outfit, I'd still be completely in the dark!"

Interview outfit? This morning?

So Ferris was the one who had told Lucille about my interview?