Chapter 242
Chapter 242:
Aiden’s expression stayed calm, his tone steady. “I appreciate your concern, but I know my body well enough to decide what and how much I should eat.”
Tess hesitated, momentarily stunned by his cool dismissal. Her attempt to engage him had fallen flat, leaving her feeling awkward and unnoticed.
“Maybe I was overstepping,” she said with a strained smile. Why wasn’t he taking the bait? She had acted convincingly—he shouldn’t have suspected anything.
Aiden’s gaze narrowed slightly. “Dr. Newman, how did you feel when you saved me back then? What was my condition?”
The question struck Tess like a lightning bolt, sending her into quiet panic. Why was he bringing up the past all of a sudden? Something about his tone made her uneasy, and her instincts warned her that saying too much could expose her.
Back then, the man she saved had been just an ordinary stranger. A simple car, a routine traffic accident—if Aiden probed for specifics, Tess feared her carefully crafted story might unravel.
“It’s been so long that I barely remember,” Tess said with a forced smile. “I was rushing to work, and it all happened so fast. Everything’s a blur.”
“No problem. If you’ve forgotten, I can help you remember,” Aiden replied, a charming smile tugging at his lips.
But to Tess, that smile was anything but comforting. It was unnerving. She fought to keep her composure, avoiding his piercing gaze, terrified he might see through her.
“Dr. Newman, that was the first time we met. Don’t you think revisiting such moments is meaningful?” Aiden’s tone was calm, almost hypnotic, but it tugged at Tess’s fragile composure.
Internally, Tess was on the brink of panic. As a surgeon, she prided herself on her mental toughness, but Aiden’s probing questions were shaking her resolve. For a moment, she thought about fabricating a story, but a voice of caution warned her to stay quiet.
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Reaching for a glass of red wine, she took a large sip, using the moment to mask her unease. Then, with a faint, disappointed smile, she said, “It seems you’ve got it wrong. Did you think I invited you to dinner to get closer to you?”
Aiden’s fingers tapped lightly on the table, the sound sharp and deliberate, cutting through her words. Tess’s eyes were drawn to his well-defined fingers. The simple, casual motion struck an odd chord within her, but the commanding presence of the man before her quickly erased any stray thoughts.
“Dr. Newman, have you truly forgotten? Or was the person you saved back then not actually me?”
Tess abruptly stood, her eyes fixed on Aiden in disbelief. “So, all this time, you’ve doubted that I was the one who saved you, haven’t you?”
Aiden held her gaze in silence, his expression unreadable.
“Fine, I’m leaving,” Tess said curtly, turning on her heel. Her voice turned icy. “Let’s just assume the person who saved you wasn’t me.”
This move—taking a step back to draw someone in—was a classic tactic straight out of romance novels.
But something about Aiden felt different. He wasn’t like the typical domineering CEOs Tess had read about. His composure was unnerving, and his gaze, steady from start to finish, held no trace of warmth. It was not the way he was looking at someone who had saved his life.
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.
.