Chapter 163: Dr. Warren, You’re So Stubborn

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Dr. Warren, You’re So Stubborn

Lindsay Joyce put down the report, glancing impatiently at the sobbing Ian Rhodes.

"There, the one you’ve been waiting for is here. Stop buzzing in my ear."

Ian Rhodes swayed as he turned. His eyes were bloodshot, and he gazed at Claire Kendall with an aggrieved expression.

"Claire, you’re here."

Miles Warren shifted slightly, his shoulder blocking Claire Kendall.

She frowned and, after a few seconds of silence, stepped forward. "Let’s talk outside."

Miles Warren’s fingers clenched and unclenched at his side. He fought the urge to pull her back, watching as she pushed open the hospital room door and left with Ian Rhodes.

He only looked away once their figures had vanished around the corner.

"Dr. Warren, Claire didn’t reply to my messages last night. That was your doing, wasn’t it?"

She’d guessed as much when she saw Claire Kendall wearing a turtleneck.

Lindsay Joyce was blunt. "She’s not an object, and that’s not how you show jealousy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but if you keep this up, you’ll hurt her one day."

A sinister glint flashed in Miles Warren’s eyes. His voice was cold and distant.

"It’s none of your business."

"She is my wife. I won’t hurt her."

He pushed the door open and went out.

From around the corner of the fire escape stairwell came Ian Rhodes’s intermittent sobs, sounding utterly pathetic.

"Claire, I got the letter from OCHH’s legal department. Not only do I have to pay damages, but they’re also pressing criminal charges."

"I know I was wrong. I wasn’t thinking straight. It was Miles Warren’s nephew, Felix Warren, who told me this would make you come back to me."

Ian Rhodes’s voice grew quieter, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. He took two steps forward and suddenly grabbed Claire Kendall’s hand.

"Claire, back at Aethel University, you were the one who cared about me the most, who took the best care of me..."

Miles Warren leaned against the wall, not barging in. But his jaw was clenched tight, his teeth grinding together.

’My Claire is so kind. She’ll definitely give in, won’t she?’

’If Claire softens and forgives Ian Rhodes, that’s fine. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me for not finishing him off yesterday when I had the chance.’

SLAP!

An exceptionally crisp sound rang out.

Miles Warren froze. This time, he couldn’t hold back and instinctively rounded the corner.

Claire Kendall’s back was to him, her arm still poised from the slap she’d just delivered. Ian Rhodes’s face, opposite her, was already red and swollen.

"Ian Rhodes, do you really think you were wrong? You’re just scared! Scared that OCHH’s legal department will ruin your future!"

"The moment you showed my divorce papers to Miles Warren and tricked him into thinking I was in a collapsing building, you should have known this day would come."

"Your future is a future, but is Miles Warren’s life not a life? To me, your future is worthless compared to his safety."

"OCHH won’t be dropping the lawsuit. Don’t come looking for Lindsay anymore. If you have something to say, say it to the lawyers."

With that, Claire Kendall turned and saw the man standing just outside the stairwell.

"What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

Miles Warren didn’t answer. He walked over, took her hand, and blew on her reddened palm, rubbing it gently. "Does it hurt?"

Miles Warren looked down, his eyelashes trembling slightly in the light. His voice was low, tinged with a subtle, wounded tone.

"That day he showed me the divorce papers... I only fainted in the rain. And that time with the factory in the western suburbs, maybe he really thought you were inside. Ian Rhodes is your junior from all those years, after all..."

"Claire, don’t put yourself in a difficult position. I’m fine."

Seeing him like this, the irritation Claire Kendall had felt toward Ian Rhodes melted away into heartache.

"Miles Warren, I’m fine. My hand doesn’t hurt."

"As for him, I’ll never forgive him." Claire Kendall’s fingers tightened around his. "Let’s go."

Miles Warren followed her, but as they left, he glanced back over his shoulder. The pitiful act he’d put on for Claire Kendall was gone, replaced by a look of pure killing intent so cold it made Ian Rhodes shudder uncontrollably.

Ian Rhodes glared at him furiously!

’Yesterday at the entrance to Regency Gardens, he was clearly provoking me on purpose, showing off. So why is he playing the victim now? Fucking two-faced bastard!’

Miles Warren let Claire Kendall lead him by the hand, his thumb stroking idly over the wedding ring on her finger.

"Dr. Warren, I’m going to go finalize the spokesperson deal with Lindsay."

"Mm, and I need to handle my job handover."

Inside the hospital room, Claire Kendall and Lindsay Joyce settled on a male celebrity spokesperson.

"Okay, OCHH’s business team can handle the rest. I’m getting discharged soon, so things should get a little easier for you."

"Thanks for holding down the fort at OCHH all this time."

Claire Kendall shook her head. "Since when do we need to be so formal with each other?"

Lindsay Joyce’s gaze fell on the faint, suggestive marks peeking out from her collar, and her voice dropped.

"You and Miles Warren... have you fallen in love with him?"

Claire Kendall nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"He really does only have eyes for you," Lindsay Joyce analyzed with calm objectivity. "But you’ve always been so free and independent. Won’t you..."

"No," Claire Kendall said plainly. "I’ll teach him, bit by bit, how to love himself."

「Third-floor office.」

Claire Kendall pushed the door open and went in. Miles Warren was packing up the medical books on his shelves. Claire stood on her tiptoes to take them from him, helping him place them on the desk.

"I can do it."

"Then I’ll help you with the drawers." Claire Kendall pulled them open one by one. Each drawer was neat and clean, with items sorted and arranged by category.

It was a world away from her own desk, which was piled high with snacks and design drafts.

In the last drawer, she found a transparent folder containing a single sticky note.

She froze.

On it, in her handwriting, was a string of numbers—her phone number.

It was the note she had forced on Miles Warren when they first met at the hospital. But after she had left that day, she had peeked through the crack in the door and distinctly seen him throw it in the trash.

She turned to stare at Miles Warren, waving the folder in her hand. Her tone was teasing. "You threw it away? And then fished it back out?"

Miles Warren was silent for a moment, his voice unnaturally low. "Yeah."

"A diligent intern emptied my trash can. It had to be fished out of the dumpsters."

He had scared them half to death that day; they thought they’d lost some important file or data.

Claire Kendall walked around to face him, weighing the folder in her hand as she spoke seriously, "Dr. Warren, I’m realizing now that you really played hard to get back then."

She tilted her face up and leaned in closer. "Let me give you a kiss and see if you’re still playing hard now."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. As she pulled back, a hand seized her by the waist.

"Hard or soft?"

He took two steps, closing the distance.

"Ms. Kendall, you can’t tell anything by kissing that fast."

The folder was pulled from Claire Kendall’s hand. Her back was pressed against the edge of the desk, his hand trapping her there as his breath grew hotter.

"Don’t, this is the office..." Claire Kendall managed to push him away, already flushed and damp from the kiss.

’She really couldn’t handle this man!’