Chapter 153 WHY DIDN'T YOU?

Chapter 153 WHY DIDN'T YOU?
FIVE HOURS LATER

GABRIELLA

No matter how ridiculous this was, I hadn't moved more than three feet away from his kitchen for the last twenty minutes. Twenty whole minutes.

The last few hours had been hectic but this was worse. Twenty minutes of standing in front of a pot of ginger tea wondering where exactly my life had taken a wrong turn. Because apparently driving your boss home while he burns up with a forty-degree fever wasn't enough. No. Now I was making him tea. Actual homemade ginger tea.

The kind I'd stopped to buy ingredients for on the way back from the hospital because there was no way a man who practically lived on coffee and arrogance had ginger, lemons, or anything remotely useful in his apartment.

And… Honestly, this was getting embarrassing. Because there was really absolutely no logical explanation for why I was going through this much stress for someone I couldn't stand.

Fine. Maybe not couldn't stand. But definitely someone who spent most of his free time frustrating me for sport. This had to be nurse instincts. That was the only explanation. Professional obligation and basic human decency. It could certainly not be concern. Definitely not it.

By the time the tea had simmered for almost fifteen minutes, I decided that was officially the limit of my patience. I reached for the cupboard above my head. And immediately regretted it.

My eyes narrowed. "Is this guy even human?"

There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing. No cups. No plates. Not even bowls. Nothing except enough empty shelf space to host a small family reunion.

How did someone live like this?

Actually, scratch that. How did someone survive like this?

I checked another cupboard, it was empty. Another one. Also empty. The lower cabinets finally saved me. Brand new ceramic mugs sat neatly inside as if they had been purchased specifically for decoration and never touched again.

I huffed a sigh, grabbed one and poured the tea carefully, filling it halfway before dropping in a slice of lemon I'd cut earlier. It needed honey.

Unfortunately, that would require Dr. Samil Ashford to own basic human groceries. A bold assumption on my part.

Cup in hand, I made my way back toward the sitting room where he'd been sleeping for the better part of five hours.

The second I stepped inside, I stopped. He was awake. Or at least partially awake. His head rested against the couch cushions, eyes still shut, one arm draped over his forehead. His tie was gone now. Two buttons of his shirt had come undone at some point and the sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms.

Even now, traces of sweat still glistened along his temple despite the cool air filling the apartment. For some reason… He looked smaller like this. Less like Dr. Samil Ashford. More like someone who was simply exhausted.

"You know," his rough voice suddenly cut through the silence, "you're not going to stand there all night, are you?"

I jumped so hard I nearly dropped the cup. My hand tightened instantly around it.

Great. Fantastic. Caught staring. Seriously?

Suddenly it hit me all over again. The whole grocery store trip. The tea. The medicine. The fact that I was currently standing inside his apartment holding homemade ginger tea like somebody's concerned wife in a television drama.

Heat rushed straight to my face. This was absolutely humiliating. And somehow that only made me more annoyed with him. Because this was entirely his fault.

“That's a nice thing to say to someone who's spent the last five hours looking after you.”

The words left my mouth before my brain could stop them. Looking after? Wonderful. Out of every possible phrase in the English language, I had picked that one. Because apparently saying care would've been too honest.

I immediately started mentally kicking myself. I wasn't taking care of him. I was monitoring a patient. A very annoying patient. There was a difference.

Samil pushed himself up slightly against the couch cushions, studying me as I placed the mug on the coffee table before dropping into the chair opposite him.

"You've been here all day?" he asked. He sounded genuinely surprised.

I scoffed. "I appreciate that you think I'm that nice but no." A small smile tugged at my mouth. "I had to go back to the hospital first and sort a few things out. Then there was April and..." I shrugged. "I think she was being nice about the whole helping-you-home thing." I pointed toward him. "So she gave me enough time to drop someone off at home before coming back."

"Someone?" he repeated slowly.

For the first time since I'd walked back into the apartment, his eyes properly met mine. "The little guy?" he asked quietly. He paused before adding, "That guy's kid?"

I knew exactly who he meant. Isaiah. And honestly? Out of everything I'd just said, the fact that that was the part he chose to focus on somehow irritated me more than it should have.

I ignored the question completely and gestured toward the cup instead. "You need to drink that before it gets cold."

To my surprise, he listened without arguing or any sarcastic remark or unnecessary comment. He simply lifted the cup and took another sip.

Maybe the fever really had broken his personality along with his immune system. After a moment, he lowered the cup carefully onto the table.

"Thank you, Gabriella." He said with a small nod.

The words caught me completely off guard. Not Nurse Gabriella. Not some sarcastic version of my name. Just… Gabriella.

Something strange tightened in my stomach. Something warm and uncomfortable and entirely unwelcome. I blinked at him, suddenly forgetting every smart response I'd ever learned.

So instead, I settled for a small nod too. He didn't seem surprised by my silence.

"My work here is done," I announced, pushing myself to my feet. "I should leave, sir."

He didn't answer immediately. And for some reason, that annoyed me. I wasn't expecting a medal or a parade in my honor, but after everything I'd done today, the least he could do was pretend to care that I was leaving.

Fine. Whatever. I took two steps toward the door.

"Gabriella."

My feet stopped before my brain agreed to it. I closed my eyes briefly before turning back around.

His expression was too serious now. "Why did you do it?"

My brows instantly pulled together. "Do what?"

His eyes stayed on mine. "Stay."

The single word landed harder than it should have.

"You could've handed me over to literally anyone at the hospital." His voice was quieter now. "You could've called someone." His lips pressed together. "You could've left hours ago."

I swallowed. Because annoyingly enough… He was right.

"So why didn't you?"

For the first time all night, I didn't have a sarcastic answer ready. And somehow… That scared me more than anything else had today.