The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 106

I welcomed fair competition from anyone, but I absolutely refused to accept them assassinating my character.

And that included Ferris.

Perhaps my resolute attitude caught them off guard, because for a moment, the three people opposite me remained dead silent.

I had no desire to waste another breath on them. Slowly retracting my gaze, I turned on my heel to leave.

But I hadn't taken more than a few steps before my vision went entirely black, and my body collapsed uncontrollably toward the floor.

I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but right before my eyes slipped shut, I swore I heard Ferris frantically calling my name.

"So before you even knew the truth, what right did you have to publicly crucify her?" A warm, gentle voice echoed intermittently by my ear. "Those two interns might not know any better, but don't you, Ferris?"

It sounded like Leon.

But why would Leon be in my dreams?

"Aren't you getting a little too worked up, Dr. Lennox?" A sarcastic, icy voice drifted in. "In what capacity are you lecturing me?"

"I..." Leon seemed to choke on his words, stammering, "I just think that as someone who prides himself on objectivity, you were far too reckless this time. It was incredibly unfair to Dr. Hayes."

"Dr. Lennox is right. It was my and Zelda's fault. If it weren't for us, Selena wouldn't have fainted. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

The young woman's guilt-ridden voice filtered through. From the sound of it, it was definitely Zoey.

"Stop apologizing, Zoey. It's not like we physically made her pass out..."

The overlapping chatter rose and fell, giving me a splitting headache.

It was so loud. Too loud.

I let out an irritated sigh and slowly fluttered my eyes open, immediately catching sight of the familiar ceiling lights above. Looking closer, it was exactly the style used in our inpatient ward.

"Dr. Hayes, you're awake?"

While I was busy complaining in my head, Ferris's voice suddenly cut in. "Given her current condition, does she need a full-body checkup?"

The moment the words left his mouth, everyone in the room looked stunned, myself included.

Because the tone of his question sounded entirely too much like genuine care.

As if the man standing beside me wasn't the legendary Scalpel, but the husband who had once made my heart race.

The doctor was clearly taken aback by Ferris's intense phrasing and chuckled. "Relax, Director Sterling. She's just overworked. A good night's sleep will fix her right up. It's not as serious as you think."

The habitually stoic man stiffened slightly. His bottomless eyes swept over my face before he immediately reverted to his usual cold, unapproachable demeanor.

I knew exactly what that look meant: we weren't close.

I was used to it. But the next second, Zoey spoke up, her voice dripping with guilt. "This whole mess started because of me. Since Selena needs to be kept under observation tonight, let me stay and take care of her."