The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 69

The vicious slam of Ferris's car door echoed across the entire garage.

I couldn't tell if it was just my imagination, but he seemed absolutely furious as he sped off.

Exhausted and beaten down by the day's events, I didn't have the energy to dwell on it. I turned to leave, but Leon called out to stop me.

When I faced him, I immediately noticed the deep guilt swimming in his eyes.

"I heard about what happened from the Charge Nurse," Leon muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I wanted to pull Ferris aside and see if he could help, but... well, it didn't exactly go as planned."

Seeing Leon's helpless shrug, and remembering the lethal glare Ferris had just shot our way, it all suddenly clicked.

Leon had tried to ask Ferris to testify on my behalf. And as expected, Ferris had brutally shut him down, claiming he didn't have the 'free time.'

My chest tightened with guilt. I didn't want Leon getting dragged into the toxic mess between Ferris and me. I kept my voice polite but distant. "I appreciate the thought, Dr. Lennox, but I'll handle this myself. Please don't worry about it."

Before I even finished my sentence, the warmth in his face vanished, replaced by a flash of hurt. His voice dropped. "My apologies. I shouldn't have interfered in your personal business. I overstepped."

Seeing the dejection in Leon's eyes made my heart ache. A heavy, suffocating wave of guilt crashed over me.

I'm so sorry, I whispered in my mind.

An hour later, I dragged myself into the apartment. To my shock, Ferris was actually home again.

Only this time, he wasn't cooking. He was slumped against the living room sofa, his eyes squeezed shut, looking utterly exhausted.

I instinctively softened my footsteps, trying to sneak past him toward the bedroom. But the moment I moved, his deep, magnetic voice struck like a whip from behind. "You have the guts to play God in the OR, but when things blow up in your face, you suddenly lose your spine?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Facing his relentless mockery, I kept my voice perfectly level. "Don't worry, Dr. Sterling. I never planned on bothering you."

"You never planned on bothering me, so you called Leon first thing in the morning to fight your battles?" Ferris's voice spiked, dripping with absolute venom and ice. "You are really something, Selena."

Dropping that final sentence, I walked into the bedroom and shut the door.

I was physically and emotionally drained.

But once I laid down, sleep refused to come. I tossed and turned, my mind racing.

Landing a spot at Capital General had been incredibly hard. If I lost my rotation because of some crazy family's lies, what was I supposed to do with the rest of my life?

An hour passed, and I was still wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Knowing that sleep deprivation would ruin my performance on the night shift, I finally got up, grabbed the bottle of Melatonin I had bought a while ago, and swallowed a few pills.

The pills worked fast. Before long, I drifted into a heavy sleep.

But what I absolutely never expected was that the next time I opened my eyes, I would be strapped to a gurney inside an EMS ambulance.

With Lucille sitting next to me, sobbing hysterically.