The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 205

She is worth it.

Those words hit me like a physical blow. I stood frozen, my breath hitching as if struck by lightning.

I think it was the first time I had ever heard Ferris validate me, let alone with such profound weight.

Did that mean Ferris actually supported my choice that day?

It wasn't exactly euphoria, but in my suffocating despair, those words felt like a fragile lifeline.

Over the past few days, I had been drowning in nothing but criticism and slander.

Especially today, when my own mentor, The Iron Mask, publicly tore me down in front of the entire department. I had been on the verge of questioning everything.

And yet Ferris, the man who had constantly kept me at arm's length, was now one of my few defenders.

"Did that girl leave her phone behind?"

The voice snapped me out of my thoughts, reminding me why I had returned. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

Three pairs of eyes shot toward me. I gestured toward my phone on the table. "I forgot my belongings."

Keeping my face blank, I walked in.

But brushing past Ferris sent an irrational jolt of nervousness through me.

He remained entirely unbothered, acting as if he hadn't just spoken those heavy words, treating me with the cool detachment of a distant colleague.

I suddenly felt incredibly foolish for reading into it.

This was Ferris. Capital General's golden boy and a core member of The Hospital Inquiry Board. His sole mission was to protect the hospital's reputation. His dedication wasn't about me personally; it was merely because I was an intern under Capital General's roof.

In other words, he wasn't protecting me.

It had nothing to do with our arrangement.

That sounded exactly like him.

Swallowing my disappointment, I grabbed my phone and walked out without another glance.

Strangely enough, the heavy knot in my chest loosened.

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed in my bag. It was an unknown number.

I shot Lucille a warning glance and answered the call.

"How is it, Dr. Hayes? Are you satisfied with your gift?" The Shadow Caller's voice crackled through the speaker, distorted and dripping with malice. "Do you like it?"

I stared at the blood-stained bear and demanded, "Who are you?"

"You don't need to know who I am," the man drawled lazily. "You just need to know your place. Keep your nose out of business that doesn't concern you, or next time, it won't just be razors."

"Aren't you afraid I'll call the cops?"

"Try it."

I opened my mouth to shoot back, but the line went dead. When I tried calling back, it rang out.

The 177 area code suggested it was a burner VOIP number.

He was deliberately hiding his tracks.