The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 432

Ferris stood by the operating table, the green surgical scrubs accentuating his sharp, handsome features. Under the bright overhead lights, his silver-rimmed glasses glinted with a cold, distant sheen.

His predatory gaze swept over my face, carrying a bone-chilling frost. "Enough talk. Let's start the surgery."

He was displeased, dismissive, and clearly out of patience.

Ferris's hostility toward me was raw and unfiltered. A suffocating wave of despair hit my chest, but I kept my mouth shut and quickly assisted the head nurse with administering the anesthesia.

It was a craniotomy for hematoma evacuation—a routine procedure for the Department of Neurosurgery. The difficulty wasn't exceptionally high, but it was my first time running the anesthesia for this type of surgery independently.

This was my fourth operation of the day. During the first three, the team had kept things light with casual banter, but this one was suffocatingly silent.

Part of it was because Ferris preferred quiet environments and rarely spoke, but it was also painfully obvious that he was in a terrible mood, dragging the entire room's atmosphere down into a tense, unbearable state.

However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for me. I was utterly exhausted and fighting off sleep, but under this intense pressure, I didn't dare drop my guard. My adrenaline spiked as I closely monitored the patient's vitals, constantly adjusting the dosage and delivery of the anesthesia throughout the entire procedure.

Across the table, Ferris operated with precision while quietly pointing out critical details to Zoey.

Zoey stood right beside him, watching intently and nodding in understanding. Whenever she asked a question, Ferris answered it thoroughly, showing a rare, gentle patience.

It was a stark contrast to the cold, dismissive attitude he had just shown me.

It was strange. In the past, witnessing a scene like this would have shattered my heart, but right now, looking at them, it barely stung at all.

It seemed I had gotten used to it.

I must have finally grown numb to it.

I let out a long breath, finally allowing the tight knot of anxiety in my chest to unravel. A massive wave of exhaustion crashed over me instantly. My neck, lower back, and even the soles of my feet throbbed with a dull ache, and the edges of my vision started to blur and go dark.

"Selena, are you alright? Hurry up and take a break." The head nurse caught my arm just in time, looking at me with deep sympathy. "Your workload has been insane today. You must be completely wiped out."

"I'm fine. It's just part of the job," I replied. I was undeniably drained, practically on the verge of collapsing, but I refused to show any weakness. Instead, I offered her a faint smile.

The biggest defining trait of an anesthesiologist was that we were shared across the entire hospital. When the surgery schedule was packed, we worked back-to-back shifts, pushing our hours well past the limit.

I knew all of this before choosing the Department of Anesthesiology. It was the path I had chosen, and no matter how grueling it got, I had to grit my teeth and push through.

Fortunately, I didn't have any more procedures lined up after this one. I could finally get some rest.

However, before I could even take a step, a chilling voice echoed from behind me. "Dr. Hayes, don't you think you owe everyone an apology?"