The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 309

Sebastian wanted to scold Riley for not taking better care of her own body, but meeting her cautious, tentative gaze, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Finally, he spoke in a soft voice, "This might sting a bit. Bear with it."

Riley nodded. "Okay."

Sebastian started by using iodine to carefully clean the moisture from the raw abrasion on her lower back. As the cotton swab touched her skin, he could distinctly feel the muscles in her waist tense up.

Cleaning a wound like this was incredibly painful. Any other woman would have been screaming by now, but she didn't let out a single whimper. The only sign of her discomfort was how tightly her fingers gripped the hem of her shirt.

Her fierce resilience only made his heart ache more.

A person's character was deeply tied to the environment they grew up in.

He knew the Vance family had adopted her from an orphanage, and he knew her adoptive parents were heavily patriarchal and abusive. She had to have suffered immensely to be able to face her ex-husband's betrayal without breaking down, maintaining absolute composure. To suffer in silence, gritting her teeth without making a sound when she was injured.

She had endured such a horrific ordeal yesterday, rested for a single night, and went right back to work today as if nothing had happened.

But he knew the trauma had left a deep mark. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been trembling and pleading in her sleep on the plane.

She was simply too used to carrying the weight of the world on her own shoulders, swallowing all her pain in silence.

"You can cry out if it hurts."

Riley paused, a faint, self-deprecating smile touching her lips.

Crying out only mattered if there was someone there to care. If no one cared, voicing the pain was just a meaningless complaint.

"It doesn't hurt."

Sebastian's hand paused slightly. He didn't say anything else, but his movements grew even gentler.

He disinfected the area, applied an antibacterial ointment, and covered it with a sterile dressing.

The wound on her lower back was quickly bandaged.

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