The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 157

I genuinely thought I had misheard him.

But as I watched him slowly begin to unbutton his shirt with one hand, I realized he was serious.

Honestly, helping an injured husband shower wasn't exactly a foreign concept for a married couple. Back when we were newlyweds, hopelessly entangled in the honeymoon phase, we had shared that bathroom plenty of times. But considering the current state of our marriage, crossing that line felt incredibly inappropriate.

We were standing on the precipice of a divorce, and he had Zoey waiting in the wings.

Seeing me frozen in place, Ferris instantly picked up on my hesitation. He shot me a dark look. "What, are you unwilling?"

I stared at him in silence, my eyes drifting down to the thick gauze taped to his shoulder. My resolve wavered for a fraction of a second.

He got hurt because of me.

Whether his intervention was instinctive or calculated, I couldn't ignore the fact that he had bled to keep me safe. It was just running a bath. I could treat it as paying off a debt.

Before he could say another word, I kept my head down and walked straight into the bathroom.

A minute later, he followed me in—completely naked.

I quickly averted my eyes, staring blankly at the tile wall until I heard the slosh of water confirming he was in the tub. The second I tried to step away, a dripping wet hand locked around my wrist like a vice.

"Leaving so soon, Dr. Hayes?"

I stared at the heavy hand gripping me and spoke the absolute truth. "It's not appropriate for me to be in here."

"And what about my injury?" he challenged, his voice dripping with condescension. "Do you expect the patient to handle his wounds himself?"

I looked at the faint red wine stains lingering on his neck, and then down to his bandaged shoulder. My legs felt like lead.

A sharp, agonizing pain seized my chest, twisting my insides into knots. I slowly raised my eyebrows and kept my voice perfectly smooth. "You seem awfully fixated on that, Dr. Sterling. Could it be you're jealous?"

It was as if I had driven a knife straight into an open wound. His eyes turned feral. The grip on my wrist tightened until it felt like the bone might snap, and then, with a violent shove, he threw me backward.

Water splashed violently over the edge of the tub. I stumbled back, staring at the broad, muscular expanse of his back, my heart shattering all over again.

Just then, a phone rang.

It was a sickeningly cute, custom ringtone—the kind reserved for a very specific person.

Hearing the chime, the lethal tension draining out of Ferris's shoulders was instantaneous. His expression softened into something almost tender as he reached over and answered the call right in front of me.

A second later, Zoey's sugary voice flooded the bathroom. "Ferris? Was this Steinberg Grand Piano sent over by you?"