Chapter 42 Chapter 42
Nicholas watched her large, frightened eyes and flushed face, and a slow, dangerous smile curved his lips.
“Well?” he murmured, his tone laden with charm and menace. “Will he examine you... or will I?”
With no choice, Caroline looked away, her heart pounding.
At Nicholas's request, Luan White performed a thorough examination, albeit reluctantly. When he finished, he let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.
“Other than a few scratches, there's nothing wrong with her,” he said, exhausted. He opened a bottle of iodine and another of ointment, and shot Nicholas a deadly look. “President Wolf, satisfied now?”
Nicholas ignored the sarcastic tone, took the bottles, and calmly read the instructions. Then he approached Caroline.
“It may sting a little,” he warned, dipping the cotton swab in the solution and holding her delicate arm. “Hang in there.”
“I can do it myself,” said Caroline, embarrassed, feeling Luan White's tired, almost murderous gaze beside her. “If it weren't for me, he'd be resting now...”
“Don't move,” Nicholas ordered in a low, authoritative voice.
He carefully cleaned the bruises, his touch firm but controlled. Still, Caroline grimaced when the iodine burned her skin.
He stopped immediately. “Does it hurt?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything, Luan White muttered:
“Miss, you should know that this is the first time Nicholas has ever done anything like this for anyone. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.” Not even Emma, who grew up with him, had that privilege.
The doctor had barely finished his sentence when he felt a chill run down his spine.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
He slowly looked up—and saw Nicholas staring at him, his eyes narrow and cold as blades.
Luan froze for a second, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Realizing his mistake, he quickly tried to correct himself:
“I mean... don't get me wrong, young lady. Nick and Emma are just friends, nothing more! If there was anything between them, it would have happened a long time ago.”
Caroline blinked, confused, not understanding why she needed so many explanations.
But Luan, nervous, continued to speak:
“Actually, they're like siblings. You can rest assured, you have nothing to worry about.”
Caroline looked at him, even more surprised. She hadn't said anything!
Meanwhile, Nicholas's face gradually darkened.
His gaze became colder and colder, the air around him seemed heavy — and Luan White finally realized that he had dug his own grave with his tongue.
Luan White realized too late the mistake he had made. Nicholas' expression grew increasingly gloomy, and the air in the room seemed to cool with every passing second.
He cursed himself internally—if he had kept quiet, nothing would have happened. But now, after trying to “explain,” he sounded even more suspicious.
It was as if he himself had confirmed that there was something between Nicholas and Emma.
Seeing his friend's cold and impatient gaze, Luan felt a chill run down his spine. Immediately, he grabbed his coat, forced an awkward smile, and said with a nervous giggle:
“Well, I've done what I had to do here. I don't want to disturb you two, hehe... let's have dinner another day, okay?”
And before either of them could respond, he literally ran out of the room — the exhaustion from hours of surgery apparently forgotten. His hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway until they disappeared, leaving a sudden and heavy silence in the office.
Now, only Caroline and Nicholas remained in the director's spacious office.
Nicholas continued what he was doing as if nothing had happened. He picked up the ointment and began applying it to her injuries again, his movements gentler and more precise than before.
When he finished treating the bruise on her arm, he bent down naturally in front of her. His large, firm hands held her delicate calf, and he applied the medicine with slow, almost reverent movements.
The warmth of his breath lightly brushed her knee and lap.
The sensation was warm, provocative, and made Caroline's body shiver involuntarily.
She watched him silently—his concentrated profile, his calm gaze, the almost careful way he touched her skin—and for some reason, her heart began to beat too fast.
Perhaps it was the fact that he had been a doctor; his gestures had the firmness of someone who knew what he was doing.
Or maybe it was just the man himself—so close, so engaging—that made any rational thought impossible.
When he was done, Nicholas ran his hand over her shoulder and made one last inspection, as if to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
“Although they are only minor bruises, you need to be careful,” he said softly, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Remember to apply the ointment at the right time.”
“Okay, I know,” Caroline replied, her voice low and obedient.
She hesitated for a moment before adding anxiously:
“Can I go back to school now?”
Nicholas nodded.
He glanced at his wristwatch and saw that it was almost lunchtime—he himself needed to return to the company.
The brief “medical emergency” had been, for him, a break in the middle of the day.
“Then let's go,” he finally said.
Caroline got up quickly. She had always been a dedicated student; she never missed class and was rarely late. She had theater class in the afternoon with her favorite teacher and didn't want to miss it.
But as she was about to leave, Nicholas held her by the shoulder.
“Wait.” His voice sounded low, hesitant, something rare.
Caroline blinked, confused.
“What is it?”
Nicholas frowned slightly, as if choosing his words. For a moment, his gaze seemed uncomfortable—something she had never seen in him before.
After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, with a slight sigh:
“I can explain what Luan said earlier.”
Caroline stared at him, astonished.
“Explain... what?” she asked, not understanding.
Her curious, innocent gaze made Nicholas press his lips together in a rare sign of embarrassment.
Nicholas kept his gaze fixed on her, his dark, deep eyes intense enough to make the air seem heavy. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke seriously: “The woman named Emma that Luan mentioned is called Sheila Emma Turner. She is the youngest daughter of the Turner family. I actually grew up with her,” he said slowly, as if measuring each word. "Her grandfather and my grandfather are longtime friends, so our families have always had a good relationship.
In the past, they even discussed a possible engagement between us, but neither Sheila nor I had any interest in that, so we gave up on the idea.
He paused, watching every reaction on her face.
“Carol, Sheila is two years younger than me,” he continued. “In my heart, she's like a sister. So... you don't need to worry about her presence.”
Caroline was silent.
She blinked, stunned.
Why was he explaining this so seriously?
She hadn't even thought about it.
She didn't care.
In fact, she had no reason to care.
Why did both he and Dr. Luan assume she would be jealous?
Their marriage had nothing to do with love.
It was just an exchange—a convenient arrangement for both of them.
She needed him to save Sara.
And he, in turn, chose her because she was the only woman who could be around him without triggering his allergic reaction.
It was simple.
Cold.
Objective.
If she didn't have that peculiar characteristic, he would never have chosen her.