The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 354

Ever since my impending divorce with Ferris became an open secret, Vivian's attitude toward me had grown increasingly vile. Take this phone call, for instance—her tone was not only harsh, but she was demanding I show up at the Sterling Estate within fifteen minutes.

But she seemed to have forgotten one crucial detail. Since I was about to finalize my divorce, I would no longer be the daughter-in-law of the Sterling family. There was no way I was going to be the obedient, submissive doormat I used to be.

So, I replied with cool indifference, "I have a shift tonight, so I can't come over. If you have something important to discuss, Mrs. Sterling, you should contact Ferris directly."

I could guess exactly why Vivian was looking for me. It had been two days since we last saw each other, and she was clearly getting impatient, eager to rush the divorce process along. But I had already made my stance perfectly clear last time. I had handed her a blank piece of paper with my signature on it. I had done everything I needed to do; the rest was completely on Ferris. She had no right to bother me about it.

I wasn't about to let this drama interfere with my actual job.

Unexpectedly, my response only threw Vivian into a deeper rage. Her voice grew shrill, practically piercing my eardrum through the phone. "Do you think I actually want to look at your face? I'm telling you to come over so you can drag your shameless mother out of here! She's running her mouth in my house like a total lunatic!"

My mother went to the estate?

My stomach dropped, and my nerves instantly wound tight. My worst fear had just become a reality.

My slip of the tongue this morning had caught her attention, and true to form, she had marched straight over to the Sterling Estate without saying a word to me.

"Amber has her own workload. Is she really capable of handling your duties on top of hers? Selena, do you think you can just do whatever you want because you've been in the spotlight lately? Let me tell you, this is a serious attitude problem." Instead of listening to reason, Dr. Logan's face hardened as he launched into another tirade. "Don't think you can do whatever you please just because you have Dr. Yates backing you up..."

I was completely baffled. I was asking for a legitimate leave of absence, I had already organized my coverage, and I had promised to be back within an hour. How on earth did that translate into an 'attitude problem' in Dr. Logan's mind?

What confused me even more was why he felt the need to drag Dr. Yates into his reprimand, accusing me of relying on her for protection.

Dr. Yates was a gentle leader who treated everyone in the department with the same level of care. I had never felt there was anything special about our dynamic, so why did Dr. Logan keep insisting she was my safety net?