The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 241

I never expected Ferris to accept the invitation.

Especially not right after Zoey had suggested they spend some quality time alone together.

The image of the young woman biting her lip, looking utterly dejected as we left, kept flashing through my mind, leaving me with a strange sense of unease.

The mere thought of sitting at the same dining table with my husband in name only and his precious darling was enough to give me a massive headache.

At half-past six, our group gathered in a large private dining room at The Unity Bistro. Aside from a few colleagues from our department, Ferris and Zoey were also present.

Dr. Logan arranged for the two of them to sit at the seats of honor.

Almost everyone had arrived, yet Leon was uncharacteristically late.

He was delayed by a full fifteen minutes.

The head nurse shot me a look and busied herself helping the senior doctors order, while I stepped out of the room to call Leon.

"I'm downstairs," his warm voice carried a hint of apology. "Something came up at the last minute and held me up. I'm so sorry, Dr. Hayes."

I let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Five minutes later, Leon and I entered the private room together.

He immediately apologized to the room. "I'm so sorry to keep everyone waiting. I'll take three penalty shots later to show my sincerity."

The head nurse rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, save it. You have the night shift later. If the hospital administration comes down on us, they'll just blame it all on our Selena!"

Leon scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, we definitely can't have that."

His seat was arranged to the left of Dr. Logan.

The seat right next to him was still empty.

The head nurse told me she had saved it for me.

Zelda immediately jumped on the bandwagon. "Dr. Lennox memorized Dr. Hayes's preferences, and Dr. Hayes moved the dinner time forward just so Dr. Lennox wouldn't be late for his night shift. She even picked a location that accommodated him. A bond like that is truly enviable."

Her words caught both Leon and me entirely off guard. We didn't know how to respond.

There was no such thing as "moving the dinner time forward"—it was just scheduled early to accommodate colleagues who had other evening plans. The location was indeed close to Capital General, but it certainly wasn't chosen exclusively for Leon's convenience.

Yet, spilling from Zelda's lips, everything sounded twisted.

She was practically dying to spark a romantic rumor about Leon and me.

And she was doing it in front of all the senior doctors.

Not to mention, in front of Ferris, my husband in name.

Thankfully, the head nurse was quick-witted. "Don't blame our Selena for playing favorites! After all, she and Leon barely made it out of a life-or-death situation together. They're bonded by fire. No one here minds giving them a little extra leeway, right?"

The head nurse was an absolute master at reading the room. She spoke with a smile and a teasing lilt, blending her ten years of authority at Capital General with casual humor. Her perfect mix of grace and command instantly smoothed over the tension, bringing the atmosphere right back to normal.