The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 144

As soon as he finished speaking, the young woman lowered her head shyly, though a flash of unmistakable triumph gleamed in her eyes.

Zelda cheered loudly from the sidelines, "Wow, Dr. Sterling is so cool! We're rooting for you guys!"

Given his elite status and the fact that everyone at Capital General practically treated his relationship with Zoey as an open secret, no one dared to object.

The two of them got exactly what they wanted.

Then, it was Leon's turn to pick a partner.

The colleagues he was most familiar with in our department were the head nurse, Amber, and me. Since Amber had already paired up, it was just down to the head nurse and me.

But before Leon could even open his mouth, the head nurse chimed in. "I'll pass. At my age, I don't want to drag you young people down. Leon, you take Selena. Make sure you bring home the first-place prize!"

I frantically waved my hands. "I can't do this, ma'am, you should..."

"Nonsense, you're a quick learner, you'll be perfectly fine," the head nurse interrupted, smiling broadly. "It's settled then. Leon, we're leaving our department's pride and joy in your hands."

Leon didn't refuse, chuckling warmly. "I'll execute your orders flawlessly, ma'am."

I awkwardly glanced at Leon, my peripheral vision catching Ferris and Zoey standing nearby. Ferris was patiently explaining skiing techniques to her, completely oblivious to our interaction.

It made sense. The woman he cared about was right in front of him, occupying his every thought. Why would he spare a single glance for his wife in name only?

After we got into our gear, the coach spent another half hour going over the basics and mapping out the route. He made the beginner trail sound incredibly straightforward, and I found myself itching to try it out.

Ten minutes later, all the teams gathered at the top of the gentle slope. At the coach's whistle, colleagues pushed off with their ski poles, kicking off the race.

Thankfully, my natural balance allowed me to control my speed.

Just as I was trying to recall the trail map the coach had explained, a piercing scream erupted from right behind me. It grew louder and faster until—*BAM*—something slammed violently into my back, sending me flying forward.

A sickening *crack* echoed as I landed hard. The sheer force of the impact had lodged my snowboard into a fissure in the ice, violently twisting my ankle.

A searing jolt of agony shot up my spine, and my face skidded painfully across the rough, icy gravel, making the whole ordeal a thousand times worse.

I lay paralyzed on the snow, listening to the howling mountain wind, trying to piece together what had just happened. In my half-conscious daze, I thought I heard Ferris's frantic, desperate voice.

"Zoey! Zoey, where are you?!"