The Cold Surgeon's Contract Bride novel Chapter 80

"Selena, you don't have to—"

Before Zoey could even finish her sentence, Ferris carelessly tossed the stack of files right into my hands.

My throat tightened painfully. I clutched the papers and quickly turned my back to them, terrified that if I didn't, the tears would finally spill over.

Even though I fought to hold it together, the moment the heavy hotel door clicked shut, a choked sob ripped from my throat.

I blamed it entirely on the fever.

But Selena Hayes was no coward. I had survived a brutal onslaught of academic nightmares in med school; I wasn't going to let a pathetic little stack of papers break me.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the tears back down, and carried the files over to my laptop.

I sat there and worked straight through until 3:00 AM.

To my surprise, within those seven or eight pages of Ferris's notes, he actually referenced a concept from my Master's thesis regarding 'the application of novel anesthetic protocols in geriatric patients.' In a weird way, reading through it completely clarified my own confusion on how the two disciplines overlapped.

Exhausted to the point of collapse, I hit save, dragged myself into bed, and instantly blacked out.

I had no idea how long I had been asleep, but in my hazy delirium, I heard my phone ringing. I peeled my eyes open and sure enough, there was an incoming call.

It was Vivian, my mother-in-law.

It was barely 7:00 AM.

Why on earth was she calling me this early? Was it an emergency?

I rubbed my gritty, swollen eyes and hesitated for a second before answering.

"Why did it take you so long to pick up?" Her scolding voice pierced through the speaker, heavy with displeasure. "Is Ferris with you right now?"

I had no idea why she was asking that. I told her the truth. "I'm on a business trip. The hospital sent me to a conference."

"Oh, so you do know it's a professional trip!" Vivian's voice suddenly spiked in volume as she launched into an attack. "What did I tell you from the very beginning? I told you not to work at Capital General, but you refused to listen! Fine, if you really want to work, we won't stop you. But look at the mess you're making! Do you think your behavior is acceptable?"

I was completely baffled. "What behavior? What did I do?"

But what the hell actually happened?

I immediately opened my contacts and dialed Ferris's number. It went straight to voicemail.

My mind was spinning. By pure reflex, my thumb swiped open my social media app. Right at the top of my feed was a brand new post from Zoey.

'The river view is okay, but with you, it's extraordinary.'

It was a grid of nine photos, and right in the dead center was a slightly blurry shot of a man's back.

Even though it was out of focus, I recognized the man instantly. There was absolutely no mistaking him. It was the legendary surgeon, my husband, Ferris Sterling.

And the timestamp on Zoey's post was 2:00 AM.

So, while I was practically working myself to death over their files in the middle of the night, Ferris had taken Zoey out to sightsee by the river?

Which meant that the woman the paparazzi had photographed ruining his 'professional reputation' was actually Zoey, and Vivian had completely mistaken her for me?