The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 63

"Rinse it, now!"

Snapping out of my shock, I grabbed Leon and dragged him toward the private restroom, my heart pounding wildly against my ribs.

If I saw correctly, the severe burns were concentrated on his forearm and wrist, with angry red splashes across the back of his hand.

Those were the hands of a surgeon.

As someone who had spent years grueling through medical school, I knew exactly how vital those hands were.

Hearing Lucille and Silas bickering in the background, a huge lump formed in my throat, and a suffocating wave of guilt crashed over me.

Sensing my distress, Leon spoke in a soothing tone. "You got scared, didn't you, Dr. Hayes? It's fine. Just a minor burn. It doesn't even hurt."

I stared at the angry, dark red blisters forming on his skin, feeling thoroughly sick to my stomach. "We need to get to the hospital right now."

"I'll drive," a cold voice suddenly cut in. Ferris had materialized at the bathroom door. He glanced coldly at Leon's injured arm and commanded, "Meet me at the restaurant entrance in five minutes."

He was as decisive as ever, turning on his heel the second the words left his mouth.

Frantically recalling emergency burn protocols, I barked orders at the server. "Get us two ice packs. Now!"

Five minutes later, Leon and I were sitting in the backseat of Ferris's Mercedes G-Wagon.

Lucille and Silas had stayed behind to deal with the restaurant.

As I gently pressed the ice packs against Leon's burns, I noticed his brow twitch. I immediately apologized, "I'm so sorry. Am I pressing too hard?"

The moment I spoke, I realized my voice was trembling, thick with unshed tears.

I felt absolutely terrible.

Thinking about the chaotic disaster that had just unfolded in the dining room, I was on the verge of breaking down.

"Don't panic, Selena. We're only ten minutes away from the nearest ER," Zoey, sitting in the passenger seat, chimed in with perfect, calculated sweetness. "Dr. Lennox will be just fine."

Leon forced a lighthearted chuckle. "Dr. Zeller is right. It's just a tiny burn. I'll live."

I knew he was just trying to make me feel better, which only made the guilt gnaw at me harder. The fact that this 'thank you' dinner had turned into such a humiliating catastrophe made me want to crawl into a hole and disappear.

And looking at Ferris driving in absolute, stony silence up front only made my heart turn to ice.

When Silas was losing his temper, all Ferris had to do was stand up and say one polite word to smooth things over. But he chose not to.

His eyes were only on his precious Zoey; he couldn't care less about anyone else's feelings.

Even though these people were my family. Even though he knew exactly who my uncle was. What did it matter? In Ferris's eyes, I was just a fake wife holding onto the Sterling name.

A woman tied to him by a mere contract wasn't worth a second of his effort.

As I stared blankly at the tips of my shoes, the man's icy voice pressed against my ear, dripping with poorly concealed fury.

I slowly lifted my eyelashes, letting my gaze lock onto Ferris's face. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Finally, I couldn't hold back my bitter retort. "It was just a thank-you dinner. Do you really have to assume the worst in everyone?"

After keeping my anger bottled up all night, my tone was sharp and unyielding.

"Does a simple thank-you dinner require such a grand spectacle?" His dark eyes bore into mine, his voice a perfect blend of mockery and frost. "Dining at the private restaurant I recommended, opening the vintage champagne from my personal collection... You really went all out for this dinner, didn't you?"

The restaurant *he* recommended?

I almost laughed out loud at the sheer absurdity. That restaurant was Lucille's favorite spot. Since when did it become his personal recommendation?

And the champagne? That was a complimentary bottle the winery had given us when we first got our marriage certificate. How did that magically become his prized private collection?

Fine. The Sterling family technically paid for that dinner, so I'd take the hit for that.

Without missing a beat, I pulled out my phone and said flatly, "How much was the champagne? I'll transfer you the money right now."

A mocking scoff escaped his lips. Ferris's voice rose, and the slight furrow in his brow deepened into a harsh glare. "What, you think you've found a new stepping stone, so you're trying to draw a line with me?"

A new stepping stone?

I chewed on those words, staring at him in sheer disbelief. He let out a low, dark chuckle, his tone dripping with venom and aristocratic disdain. "I suggest you give up while you're ahead. With the Hayes family's background and reputation, I doubt you'd even be allowed past the Lennox family's front gates."