The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 388

Ferris was in the pool right next to ours.

Maybe these retreats broke down professional boundaries, or maybe Zoey's presence had finally dragged Ferris down from his untouchable pedestal. Either way, someone had actually found the courage to tease him.

Peeking through the foliage, I saw they were in a much larger, mixed-gender pool.

Ferris was sitting in the water with Leon and a few other guys, stripped down to his swim trunks. Zoey sat beside him in her pink suit. Zelda was positioned to Zoey's right, laughing loudly with the rest of the group. "Zoey, you really went to town on him! You practically left a scar on Dr. Sterling's shoulder."

What was so shocking about Zoey biting him? Just a couple of days ago, he had paraded around the hospital with a hickey on his neck from her.

The two of them were undeniably passionate.

They must have had a wild time last night, getting entirely lost in each other.

I already knew all of this, yet hearing it still felt like a jagged knife twisting in my gut. The pain flared instantly. I curled my hands into tight fists and quickly looked away.

I had no idea what their sex life was like, but I knew for a fact he didn't treat her the way he treated me. He was undoubtedly tender, attentive, and incredibly gentle, doing everything in his power to pleasure her.

Not like with me. He was brutal, dominant, and relentlessly demanding. He took whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted, with zero regard for my comfort or consent.

Just like last night in the empty room next to Maxwell's. He was angry, so he just forced himself on me.

A deep wave of shame crashed over me. I took a shaky breath, desperately trying to scrub those filthy, degrading memories from my mind.

Then, I heard Zoey's frail, trembling voice drift over. "Please stop making assumptions. Ferris and I aren't together, and I definitely didn't bite him."

"Impossible. If it wasn't you, who was it? Based on the angle, he was definitely holding someone when they bit down," Zelda teased, relentless.

Amidst the suffocating quiet, Ferris's dark gaze slowly slid through the leaves, locking directly onto me.

There was no anger in his eyes, just a dark, twisted glimmer of amusement. "A cat bit me," he said, his tone infuriatingly smooth.

"A cat?" Leon turned to look at him, confused.

"Yeah." Ferris didn't break eye contact with me, his voice taking on a dangerous edge. "I keep a pet cat at home. It's been incredibly rebellious lately. Started biting."

"Since when do you like cats, Ferris? When did you even get one?" Leon looked completely baffled.

It was true—Ferris despised cats. He hated animals in general. He was an absolute clean freak who couldn't stand the hassle of taking care of pets, so our home was strictly animal-free.