Chapter 36 His Gaze Sparked Flames
"That's the boyfriend of Harmony Health Center's campus belle."
"You mean the director's daughter at Harmony Health Center? What makes her the campus belle? Isn't the real campus belle that woman whose birth mother cried on the media about abandoning her last time?"
"Yeah, Dr. Stewart's daughter... tsk tsk, I heard she's a total 'man-eater.' She uses her status as the director's daughter to have flings with who knows how many young male doctors."
...
At noon, Matilda was having lunch in the hospital cafeteria when she overheard Wanda and Tim gossiping about Adalyn.
"I heard Adalyn broke up again today."
"She's not dating Dr. Morris anymore?"
"Nope, it's over. Adalyn really can't make any relationship last more than three months. Yesterday someone in the lab was joking that it's almost been three months, how come Adalyn hasn't dumped Dr. Morris yet, and then today..."
Matilda couldn't help but smile as she listened to their conversation.
After smiling, she suddenly realized—hearing about Reuben now was like hearing someone else's story. She felt nothing.
Back when they first broke up, just hearing news about Reuben would make her heart ache, even make her angry.
But now, she had truly moved on.
Reuben was just a stranger to her now.
After finishing with Adalyn, Wanda brought up the celebration: "Matilda, are you planning to bring a plus-one?"
Matilda thought for a moment: "I'll ask my boyfriend when I get home. If he wants to come, I'll bring him. If not, no big deal."
Wanda smiled: "You're the hospital's hero now! Bring him along, he'll definitely be proud to see how amazing you are."
"Don't say that, I really didn't do much."
"You call that not much? Thanks to this equipment, our hospital's hardware is now on par with Serenity Health Center."
...
That evening, Matilda came home but didn't see Wentworth.
However, there were already ingredients prepared in the kitchen—ribs, spinach, and a fresh sea bass.
She thought that since Wentworth usually cooked, she might as well try cooking today.
Having lived alone since childhood, her cooking skills weren't great, but at least she could make edible meals.
She put on an apron, washed the broccoli, placed the sea bass on a baking tray, drizzled it with olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkled rosemary and black pepper on it, then put it in the oven.
For the ribs, she planned to make BBQ ribs—slow-roast them in the oven first, then brush them with smoky BBQ sauce.
The problem was, she was used to electric stoves, and Wentworth's kitchen had a gas grill. She was a bit afraid of open flames.
As soon as she turned on the grill, the flames suddenly shot up high. She turned pale with fear and dropped the tongs...
Just then, Wentworth came home. Seeing this scene, he immediately rushed over and pulled her into his arms.
"Matty, what's wrong?"
Matilda's voice trembled: "The fire, the fire..."
Wentworth quickly turned off the gas and pulled her to the living room.
She clutched his shirt tightly, her face pressed against his chest, asking urgently: "Is the fire off?"
He said softly to comfort her: "It's off, everything's fine."
She remained sitting on his lap, like a frightened child.
Wentworth gently patted her back, waiting for her emotions to slowly calm down.
After a while, she realized their position was quite intimate and tried to get up, but accidentally touched his wound, making him grunt.
She immediately stopped: "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
They both spoke at the same time: "Are you okay?" "Did I hurt you?"
They both froze.
"When I was a kid, I was home alone cooking and almost burned down the kitchen. Luckily a neighbor noticed in time, or I would've died. So I'm really afraid of open flames. I'm not used to your kitchen, and that flame..." Matilda explained.
Wentworth fell silent for a moment. The gas valve had been acting up lately, and he hadn't gotten around to fixing it. Hearing about her experience, his heart tightened—she was lucky to be alive.
He said softly: "Matty, what happened before is in the past. Surviving a disaster means good fortune ahead."
She asked again: "Does your leg still hurt? Should I take a look at it?"
He said firmly: "Yes, it hurt when I moved just now."
"Do you need medicine?"
"No need, just rest a bit."
They stayed embraced like that, their breathing gradually intertwining. She could smell the faint woody scent on him, and he looked at her eyes, her nose, and her soft lips—he really wanted to kiss her.
Matilda sensed his emotions. Her rational mind reminded her: although they were married, their emotional foundation was weak. Being intimate too soon might put her in a vulnerable position.
So she said softly: "Wentworth, my ribs aren't done yet."
Wentworth's arms tightened for a moment, as if restraining himself, then slowly loosened and let her down.
...
Meanwhile, Reuben appeared outside Adalyn's apartment.
Although he had his own place, it wasn't decorated yet, so he'd been staying at hers.
At the door, he saw his belongings—men's slippers, shampoo, towel, toothbrush—all stuffed into a big cardboard box by the door.
He let out a cold laugh. When women become heartless, they're even more ruthless than men.
Reuben picked up the box, put it in the trunk of his BMW, then drove aimlessly through the streets.
Before he knew it, he'd driven to an old apartment complex in the old part of town.
He froze—how did he end up downstairs at Matilda's place?