"Miles, snap out of it! She’s just using you!"
Miles Warren slowly raised his eyes.
"Are you done?"
His voice was calm, betraying no emotion.
Rosalind Linden froze. ’What does this reaction mean?’
"Dr. Linden," Miles Warren said, standing up. His tone was cold and distant. "This is my private affair. It doesn’t concern you."
"Miles, I’m doing this for your own good!"
"Then thank you for your concern." Miles Warren pulled the door open. "I’ll see you out."
Rosalind Linden’s face flushed crimson. She bit her lip hard and left, looking slightly disheveled.
The door closed, shutting out the noise from outside.
Miles Warren leaned his back against the door.
’Claire Kendall only got close to him for a kidney donor.’
’How could he not know that?’
’This was an arrangement with a price tag attached from the very beginning.’
’Even if she had an agenda, he accepted it.’
Miles Warren stood up, walked to the window, and took out his phone to dial a familiar number.
"Mr. Barrett, it’s me. The kidney donor I asked you to find before—please do whatever it takes to speed up the process."
"Spare no expense. Notify me immediately if there’s any progress..."
’Whatever she wanted, he would give her.’
’He would hand it over willingly, with both hands.’
When Miles Warren finished his work, he went to Claire Kendall’s hospital room.
She was leaning against the headboard, clumsily swiping at her phone with her uninjured left hand, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Miles Warren walked over and glanced at her screen. She was researching the fabric market.
"You’re done with work?" Claire Kendall looked up, her eyes brightening.
"Mhm, I’m here to take you to dinner."
In the hospital cafeteria, the end of the dinner rush was approaching. It wasn’t too crowded, with just a few doctors and nurses scattered about.
When Miles Warren walked in with Claire Kendall, they caused quite a stir.
The famously aloof Dr. Warren was personally escorting a girl.
"What do you want to eat?"
Claire Kendall’s eyes lit up as she scanned the serving windows.
"Those sweet and sour pork ribs look good, and the stir-fried seasonal vegetables. Hmm... I’ll have the steamed egg, too. The really soft kind."
"Okay," Miles Warren agreed to everything without a hint of impatience.
After finding a table, Miles Warren set down the tray.
Claire Kendall poked at the sweet and sour pork ribs in front of her with her chopsticks and complained softly.
"It’s just a little too fatty, too greasy..."
Hearing this, Miles Warren immediately put down his own chopsticks.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone around them, the man picked up the serving chopsticks, meticulously removed the fat and bone, and placed the lean meat from the rib back into her bowl.
"Better now," Miles Warren said calmly.
A small, triumphant smile touched Claire Kendall’s lips.
Not far away, Rosalind Linden watched this scene from a distance, nearly consumed by jealousy.
She steadied her crumbling expression, picked up her tray, and walked straight toward them.
"Miles, Ms. Kendall. What a coincidence."
Rosalind Linden wore an impeccable smile.
"Ms. Kendall is a patient. Wouldn’t it be more convenient for you to eat in your room?"
"The cafeteria is crowded, and this is the staff dining area. Outsiders shouldn’t linger, so as not to disturb my colleagues."
Claire Kendall’s hand, holding a spoon, paused. She looked up at Rosalind Linden.
The undisguised hostility and deliberately provocative attitude in the other woman’s eyes made her blood boil.
But before she could retort, Miles Warren spoke.
"If Dr. Linden feels disturbed, she is free to move to another table."
"PFFT—"
A young intern at a nearby table couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, then quickly buried his face in his food tray.
Claire Kendall’s anger instantly vanished.
She blinked, adopting a soft, timid tone.
"Dr. Linden, please don’t be angry. Dr. Warren is just like this, so responsible toward his patients, especially a disobedient one like me..."
She lowered her head, looking remorseful and helpless.
"It’s all my fault. My hand is injured and it’s inconvenient, so I keep having to trouble Dr. Warren to take care of me. Dr. Linden, you’re so understanding, I’m sure you wouldn’t hold it against a mere patient like me, right?"
Every word was dripping with feigned innocence, each one a dagger to Rosalind Linden’s heart.
She was furious, nearly grinding her teeth to dust. She maintained a polite smile, but inwardly, she had already cursed Claire Kendall a thousand times over.
’This damn green tea bitch is on another level!’
Claire Kendall put down her chopsticks with satisfaction. "Dr. Warren, I’m full."
Miles Warren looked at the food left on her plate. "Not to your liking?"
She glanced at Rosalind Linden, her meaning clear. "I just suddenly lost my appetite."
"I see." Miles Warren stood up, picked up her jacket, and draped it over her shoulders.
"Go wait for me in the small garden. I’ll clean up here and then take you out to eat something else."
「In the hospital’s tree-lined grove.」
The evening breeze carried a slight chill as Claire Kendall stood under a sycamore tree.
Thinking about how Miles Warren had defended her, and the memory of Rosalind Linden’s face twisted with anger, she couldn’t help but smile.
’Looks like my grand plan to win over the unattainable doctor is well within reach.’
A short, stocky little figure suddenly darted out from a bend in the path.
Like a little rocket, he slammed into her leg with a THUD!
The impact made Claire Kendall stagger. Looking down, she saw a little boy about four or five years old, wearing denim overalls.
He was rubbing his forehead, his big, dark eyes glistening with tears, a sight that could soften anyone’s heart.
"Hey there, little one. That was a fast run. Did you get hurt?"
Claire Kendall crouched down, her voice softening instinctively. She raised her left hand and gently rubbed his forehead.
The little boy sniffled. He was very polite, his voice soft and sweet.
"I’m sorry, miss. I bumped into you. I was running too fast."
"I’m looking for my daddy. He works at the hospital and told me to wait for him downstairs, but I’ve been waiting for so long..." His little lip trembled, looking terribly wronged.
"He works at the hospital?" Claire Kendall asked patiently. "What’s your daddy’s name? Maybe I can help you find him?"
The little boy immediately puffed out his chest, his face full of pride.
"My daddy’s name is Miles Warren! He’s the bestest doctor ever!"
’Miles Warren?!’
Claire Kendall felt like she’d been struck by lightning, instantly petrified.
’This big kid in front of her was Miles Warren’s son?’
Her mind went completely blank.
’No wonder he hasn’t dated in all these years. He already has a son.’
’Is he secretly married? Or divorced?’
Nervously, she asked cautiously, "So... does your daddy have a wife?"
The little guy tilted his head, thought seriously for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nope. I’ve never seen Daddy’s wife."
He was a single-parent kid. Claire Kendall breathed a sigh of relief, which was quickly followed by a surge of sympathy.
’Such a little kid... ’
’If she could win over this little guy, wouldn’t that mean she was one big step closer to conquering that iceberg, Miles Warren?’
’This might even be an unexpected shortcut.’
’Getting a cute, handsome son this big without any of the work? She had really hit the jackpot, hadn’t she?!’