Chapter 237 Unusual Attentiveness

Chapter 237 Unusual Attentiveness

Susan stood there staring at the closed hospital room door, still uneasy.

She pulled out her phone, opened her chat with Sean, and sent another message.

[No tricks.]

He replied almost instantly with a single "okay" and a nodding emoji that was completely out of character for him.

Inside the room.

Perry was resting against the headboard with his eyes closed. He heard footsteps and opened his eyes, and when he saw it was Sean walking in, his brow immediately furrowed.

"Why are you here? Where's Susan?"

"She's upstairs with Liam." Sean set the insulated container on the bedside table and unscrewed the lid. The rich aroma of lotus root and spare rib soup filled the air.

He picked up the ceramic bowl nearby, ladled in a small amount, then blew on a spoonful to cool it. "She's been running back and forth every day and it's wearing her out. I'll take care of you from now on."

Perry's frown deepened, his eyes full of suspicion and confusion. "That's not necessary. This is a minor injury. I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself."

"You have an abdominal wound. Lifting your arms could tear it open, and then it'll heal slower and Susan will just worry more." Sean said this while already holding the spoon to Perry's lips. His tone was polite but his manner left no room for refusal. "She spent all morning making this soup. It'd be a waste not to drink it."

Perry looked at the spoon at his lips, then at Sean's expressionless face, and felt a strange discomfort he couldn't quite name.

In all his years, he'd never been fed by another man — let alone a rival. If word got out, people in their circle would be laughing about it for a year.

He also knew exactly what Sean was doing. Keeping Susan from coming to see him.

But he did feel for Susan too. She was already looking after Liam and somehow still finding time to make soup.

Perry swallowed his discomfort and opened his mouth.

The warm broth slid down his throat with Susan's familiar touch.

But with Sean holding the spoon, Perry felt completely off. Even the soup tasted a little flat.

Sean fed him carefully though, no spills, no burning him on purpose.

Susan had told him to take good care of Perry. If anything went wrong and she got upset, he'd have no one to blame but himself.

They barely spoke the whole time. Sean only occasionally asked, "Too hot?"

When the bowl was empty, Sean pulled a tissue from the box and held it out toward Perry's mouth.

Perry took it and wiped his own mouth. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Miller. No need to trouble yourself tomorrow."

"It's no trouble." Sean was packing up the container, not looking up. "Liam is alive because of you. Looking after you for a few days is the least I can do. Focus on getting better. No need to stand on ceremony with me."

If he didn't come, Susan would.

And if Perry used this debt to get closer to Susan, where would that leave him?

His reasoning was airtight. Perry couldn't find a way to argue against it, so he just watched Sean pick up the container and walk out.

True to his word, Sean showed up every day over the next few days, three meals a day, right on time, container in hand.

He never said much. He'd come in, set things down, feed Perry, clean up, and leave. No extra gestures, no small talk.

Perry went from feeling deeply uncomfortable at the start to gradually getting used to it, treating the whole thing like having a free caretaker.

What he didn't expect was that the whole arrangement slowly spread through the hospital's nursing staff, growing more outrageous with every retelling.

One day, right after Sean finished feeding Perry and walked out with the container, he rounded the corner near the nurses' station and caught two young nurses huddled together, whispering.

"Did you see? Mr. Miller comes to room 302 every single day to feed that Mr. Watson. And they're so close to each other. Who sits that close just to feed someone?"

"I know, three meals a day, never late, more attentive than family. Yesterday I went in to change the IV and caught him wiping the corner of Mr. Watson's mouth. So gentle. And the way he was looking at him — it was different."

"Oh my god, you don't think they're... you know? I used to think that Miss Johnson who comes by sometimes was one of their girlfriends, but now I'm starting to think we had it all wrong."

"I think so too! Think about it — Mr. Watson took two stab wounds to save Mr. Miller's child, and now Mr. Miller is here personally feeding him every day. Isn't that exactly the whole 'repaying a life debt with your heart' thing from romance novels?"

"Shh, he's coming this way!"

The words had barely left their mouths when they looked up and saw Sean standing not far away. Both of them went pale, dropped their heads, and scattered.

Sean stood there, his expression dark as a storm cloud, cold all the way to his fingertips.

He gripped the container so tight his knuckles went white.

"That kind of relationship"?

What were these nurses thinking about all day?

In all his thirty-something years, Sean had never been the subject of a rumor this absurd — and with Perry of all people?

His chest felt tight with irritation. He turned and walked back, pushed open the hospital room door, and met Perry's eyes.

Perry had heard the conversation from outside too. His expression wasn't much better.

He'd already thought it was strange enough having Sean come feed him every day. Now that people were talking like this, his stomach turned. The whole thing disgusted him.

"Mr. Miller, I'm sure you heard that too," Perry said. "For the sake of both our reputations, I'd rather you not come back."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "You think I enjoy making this trip every day?"

Perry turned his head away. "Good. You don't want to come, and I don't want you here."

Honestly, Sean had been over this arrangement from day one.

If it weren't for keeping Susan from exhausting herself, and keeping an eye on Perry to make sure he didn't try anything with her, he wouldn't have set foot in this room at all.

But he kept up the act, looking reluctant. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. What about Susan..."

"I'll talk to Susan." Perry cut him off. "The doctor says I'm recovering well."

"Alright then." Sean agreed immediately, like he was afraid Perry would change his mind. "If that's what you want, I'll stay away. Take care of yourself. If you need anything, have the nurses reach out to us."

He grabbed the container and left, walking noticeably faster than when he'd arrived. Even the sound of the door closing had a lightness to it he couldn't quite hide.

Perry stared at the closed door. He felt relieved, but also a little exasperated.

So this guy had never wanted to be here at all. He'd just been pushing through it all this time to look good in front of Susan.