Chapter 6

Samantha shuffled hesitantly to the edge of the bed. She was just about to sit down when Noah's phone rang out of nowhere. Startled, she jumped right back up like she'd been zapped.

Noah quickly grabbed his phone and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Let me take this call real quick."

It was from the hospital—an emergency situation, and they needed Noah to guide the rescue over the phone.

Samantha stood there listening as he calmly rattled off instructions one after another. She was slightly amazed—so doctors really can save lives just through a phone call?

It took about fifteen minutes before he hung up. From the relaxed look on his face, it seemed like things had stabilized. Samantha let out a quiet breath, feeling relieved, too.

He noticed she was still standing awkwardly at the edge of the bed, not moving an inch. With a faint smile, Noah got off the bed and walked over. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, guiding her to sit and then lie down.

"I'll give you time to adjust, and I'll always respect your boundaries. I won't force anything, so you can relax and sleep well tonight."

He carefully tucked the blanket around her like it was the most natural thing in the world, then walked around to the other side and lay down beside her.

She stole a glance in his direction—he lay on his back, hands loosely folded, eyes quietly shut. She wondered, is he always this perceptive? Like he just knows what she's thinking or feeling.

Turning slightly, she faced him, heart pounding but trying to steady herself. Oddly, now that she was lying next to him, some of that anxiety faded. She didn't feel as nervous as she did earlier... just looking at him felt kind of calming.

He was really good-looking.

Like, the kind of face you'd see in a comic book—instantly likeable and totally swoon-worthy.

Sure, plenty of handsome guys had that sharp brow-line and high nose bridge, but somehow, his face was... more. More memorable. Softer. Warmer.

He was probably one of those people who instantly stood out in a crowd. No wonder she'd been drawn to him during that blind date—they met in a park, and she spotted him right away.

His skin was quite fair for a guy—not surprising, considering he worked in a hospital and probably didn't get much sun. His complexion was so flawless it almost looked airbrushed. As a girl, even she felt a little jealous standing next to him. For a split second, she wanted to ask if he had any special skincare tricks up his sleeve.

And his hands.

Were all surgeons' hands this smooth and elegant? Even the best hand models might lose out to him.

There was something almost magical about his hands. As she watched them quietly, her heartbeat started to slow, her mind finally calming down. She didn't even realize how or when she drifted off.

It was the phone that woke her up.

Groggily sitting up, she blinked at the daylight streaming through the window. Noah was gone—probably already off to work.

On the other end of the line, a furious voice shouted, "Samantha! Get your butt downstairs! Your building security actually tried to stop me!"

Lila was clearly downstairs, and given her fiery personality, it was a miracle she hadn't shown up sooner.

Samantha quickly got herself up and headed down.

"Already up? Breakfast's ready."

From the open kitchen, Noah greeted her as he rolled up his sleeves, busy finishing up breakfast.

He'd toasted bread, fried some eggs, even cooked a pot of oatmeal, all paired with a glass of milk. Everything looked pretty Instagram-worthy, honestly.

She lifted her phone. "My friend's downstairs to see me. I'm gonna head down for a bit."

"Need a hand?" Noah took off his apron and strolled over.

"No, no, I've got it," Samantha replied as she swapped shoes and hurried downstairs.

Lila was stuck outside the complex. Seeing Samantha approach, she shouted, "What kind of lame place is this? I gave them your name and they still wouldn't let me in! Are you sure you even live here?"

"I just moved in myself," she said.

The moment she spoke, Lila grabbed her and started eyeing her from top to bottom. "Wait, seriously? You're actually living with him?"

Samantha nodded.

Lila's expression shifted in an instant. "You guys sleeping together?"

Samantha hesitated. Technically, yes?

She nodded again.

Lila nearly exploded. "You've got to be kidding me! You just met him! How are you already sleeping together?"

"Not like that," Samantha rushed to explain. "Just literally sleeping."

Lila crossed her arms and scoffed, "Yeah, right. Who just ‘sleeps' after a few days? You can't be that into him already."

"It's not like that," Samantha muttered, a bit embarrassed. "There's only one bed in his place, so..."

"You couldn't have made him crash on the couch or something? And here I thought you were just using him to spite my brother. Don't tell me you're planning a real future with this guy?"

A real future?

That felt way too far off to think about. But at least for now, she truly wanted to start over seriously.

Her silence made Lila calm down a bit. "Sam, what really made you leave my brother and the Smiths? Grandma said he must've done something wrong and told me not to give you a hard time. But what did he actually do?"

Samantha had guessed Lila would ask. Knowing Lila, if she found out Evan got involved with their best friend, her world would probably flip upside-down.

As she tangled with how to respond, Noah appeared out of nowhere.

"Got a guest? Why not come upstairs?" he said casually, stepping beside her.

He stood with quiet confidence, shoulder to shoulder with her—and while his tone wasn't overly warm, it wasn't cold either. Just calmly polite.

That was just how he was—cool and collected, never too close, but never pushy either. He kept this sort of graceful distance that made people curious but cautious.

Samantha glanced at him again and suddenly saw the subtle elegance about him. Funny how she used to think he was just some average guy resorting to park dates to find a wife.

Noah caught her looking and met her gaze briefly. A little flustered, Samantha quickly looked away.

Already exchanging looks? Lila was about to lose it. She huffed, "Fine, I'd love to come up and see what kind of guy my Sam ended up with."

"Perfect. I made breakfast. You should join us," Noah offered coolly.

Lila looked to Samantha, who nodded. "Let's go upstairs?"

"Alright, lead the way." Lila didn't bother being polite.

Noah handed Samantha the access card. "Make sure to take good care of Miss Smith. I've got rounds at the hospital."

Then he added with a nod at Lila, "Sam gets nervous easily. If you're curious about anything regarding our marriage, feel free to ask me. And if you're free sometime, maybe take her shopping or something.

"There's a shopping card here. You two just buy whatever you like—should be enough to cover it. If not, use the credit card. I told you the password yesterday." Noah handed the card directly into Samantha's hand, then added as he turned to leave, "Don't forget to treat your friend to a nice meal."

As he walked away, Lila was still staring at his tall, lean back with disbelief in her eyes. "Don't tell me you hired a fake husband to fool me. How can someone be this perfect? I'm seriously jealous."

"Seriously? One shopping card and you're already bought off? Weren't you just about to eat me alive two seconds ago?" Samantha said, carefully tucking the card away and teasing Lila.

Lila looped her arm through hers as they headed back to the apartment. "You're married already, even if I eat you up it's too late to stop it. But I still don't get it—why did you suddenly leave my brother? This feels straight out of a drama. The only logical plot is he's cheating, but aside from you and me, the only girl he's been close with is Monica."

Samantha suddenly stopped walking, making Lila freeze too. "Wait... it's Monica?"

She hadn't planned to share something that gross, but since Lila had guessed it, there was no point in covering for Evan anymore. Samantha gave a small nod without saying anything.

Just as Lila was about to explode, her phone buzzed—Evan was calling. She picked it up, then immediately shouted, "Evan, wait right there! I'm coming over to rip you apart—what?! Mom's in the hospital? Brain hemorrhage?"

She hung up, face going pale.

Samantha rushed with her to the hospital. All the Smiths except for Grace had already arrived.

The moment Evan spotted Samantha, he launched straight into passive-aggressive mode. "Mom got sick from all that stress. She stayed up all night just thinking how to explain to everyone why that ungrateful woman turned her back on the Smiths out of nowhere. And now? She's had a brain hemorrhage."

He was practically casting all blame on Samantha. She already felt a little guilty, but after hearing that, her face went even paler.

Lila couldn't take it anymore. "How is she being ungrateful? It's you who—"

Evan was quick to cut her off. "Lila, don't be like Grandma. Don't let some outsider fool you. She's got tricks, trust me."

"You already scammed her out of 600k. How about showing a little basic decency?" Lila snapped.

Evan sneered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Please. Like I'm dying for her chump change."

That icy, mocking laugh of his hit like a slap. Samantha had stayed quiet until now, but she finally spoke up, her voice steady and cold, "If it's such a joke to you, then give it back."

The moment money came up, Evan's face changed. He stuttered but didn't say a word.

Just then, the emergency room door opened. Arthur Smith rushed over. "Doctor, how's my wife?"

"She made it through for now, but the bleeding is severe and in a very delicate spot. We need to operate immediately. There's only one surgeon in this city qualified—and you'll have to get him here right away."

Evan jumped in confidently. "Just say the name. I've got connections with every top doctor in the city."

"You're in luck," the doctor said, almost smiling. "The one you need is Dr. Avery—our hospital's honorary director and the head of neurosurgery. But he only takes high-priority surgeries himself. Not to mention, money can't buy his time."

Even though the old doctor was well into his fifties, just saying Noah's name made his eyes shine with admiration, like a fan talking about their idol.

Evan's expression froze instantly.

Samantha froze too. It had never crossed her mind that Noah would be such a big deal. But she quickly pulled herself together and said to the senior doctor, "Please, send the patient to the OR right away. We can get Dr. Avery to do the surgery."

She immediately dialed Noah's number.

Lila let out a breath of relief, then turned to Evan and snapped, "After everything you did, and look at how Sam handled this. Do you even feel a little ashamed?"

"Oh, guess an ingrate's gotta try and look good, right?" Evan shot back, voice full of sarcasm.

Samantha didn't even bother responding. Evelyn Cooper's condition was the only thing on her mind. She kept calling, but no one answered. Thinking of Noah's earlier reminder, she looked helplessly at Lila. "Should we try finding him in person?"

"Ha, it only took him one night to start ignoring your calls. Just proves what I said—he's gonna toss you aside sooner or later," Evan sneered, voice getting nastier by the second.

Samantha frowned. "If he won't answer my calls, then since you're so well-connected, why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"Ask him? You actually think he's the only person in this whole hospital who can do a surgery? Don't flatter him too much." Evan gave a scornful laugh and grabbed his phone. After calling a few contacts and explaining Evelyn's situation, all the replies he got were the same—Noah had to be the one to operate. Color drained from his face.

How could a dull woman like Samantha end up with a specialist like that? He couldn't accept it. And neither could Monica, who stared at Samantha with a look full of jealousy and hate.

Arthur anxiously adjusted his thick-framed glasses. "Every minute you waste is putting your mom in more danger. Just go ask him already!"

But Evan couldn't bring himself to do it. That would be like admitting the random guy Samantha married totally outshines him.

He gritted his teeth and called the hospital director. No way would Noah dare ignore a direct order from the top.

But to his surprise, as soon as Noah's name came up, the director's tone turned polite. "Why don't you just go to him yourself?"

"I had some minor issues with him. Thought maybe you could issue a request on my behalf," Evan said carefully.

"I don't actually have that authority," the director replied candidly. "With the kind of impact he's made in the medical field, him choosing to work in our city is a real honor. Honestly, even local government officials show him a lot of respect."

Evan's pride took another hit. "Come on, you're exaggerating. No matter how skilled he is, I'm sure he'd still listen to you a bit. Can't you help me out here?"

"I'll give him a heads-up, but you'll have to talk to him in person," the director replied before hanging up.

Evan had reached out to all his contacts, yet still couldn't dodge having to go to Noah personally.

Even Samantha was shocked. Evan was a sales manager at Gemvia Pharma, and this hospital was one of his key accounts. It didn't make sense that even with all his connections—not even the hospital director could make a direct request to Noah. Just how important was this guy?

They checked the neurosurgery dept's office, but there was no sign of Noah. Evan turned to a staffer he knew. "Toby Carlson, is Noah around?"

"You want my supervisor to do your mom's surgery, huh? The director already gave me a call," Toby said casually.

He'd worked in neurosurgery for years and calling Noah his supervisor was a surprise to Evan. Scratching his head in frustration, he thought, I only haven't come by for a couple weeks... how did this Noah suddenly become such a big deal around here?