Chapter 23
Zane first pulled Lianne’s right sleeve down before carefully removing the sleeve on her left.
The down jacket and cardigan were the easy bit, but she would be naked if her thermal wear was removed. Zane looked into Lianne’s eyes. “I’m going to tear your sleeve apart.”
Lianne blinked. “Can you rip it apart, though?”
Zane held her injured arm steady before giving her sleeve a pull with his free hand, and the sleeve came apart from the seams. He was stronger than Lianne expected.
Her injury on her light-toned arm was a gruesome sight. The knuckle-sized wound looked pretty busted up as blood gushed out profusely.
A contrast to the grimace on Zane’s face, Lianne smiled as if the injury was not painful at all. “You’re strong, Mr. Atlas”
Without hesitation, Zane tore his white shirt and used the shredded fabric to wrap her wound.
Lianne gritted her teeth in pain, and her eyes welled up. However, there was not a single grunt from her.
Zane said, “You can scream out your pain. No one is going to laugh at you”
Despite the agony draining the color from her lips, Lianne forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I can put up with it.”
Lianne had always put on a smiling face since the day Zane met her. Her ability to keep her emotions to herself made her perfect for the role of his a**istant
Nevertheless, Zane found her smile a nuisance right now. “Why are you bearing the pain?”
Why must she bear the pain?
No one had ever asked Lianne that question. She recalled the neighborhood mocking her, calling her a jinx after her father died in a car crash. Since then, she would put on a brave face to get through life.
As her grandmother had another son living off her, it was a lot on her grandmother’s plate to raise Lianne too. Not wanting to add to her grandmother’s worries, Lianne learned to grin and bear through it.
Lianne grinned without answering his question.
Zane inquired, “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
He could not discern whether or not she had sustained any other injuries from her thick clothing.
Lianne shook her head. “No.”
Zane helped Lianne into her down jacket. “We should head back now. The doctor will properly a**ess you later.”
“Okay.” Lianne nodded. Zane then picked her up.
Towering at 1.88 meters, Zane had no problems carrying her 1.68-meter frame.
Zane was quick to scoop Lianne up to safety earlier, and by the time she realized it, he had put her down. Now, it seemed he intended to carry her back to the hotel.
Startled, Lianne struggled to get down. “Mr. Atlas, we’re both married people. It’s not proper. Please put me down.”
Zane tensed his facial muscles. “So you’re saying that male doctors should not examine female patients?
Lianne answered, “That’s different.”
Paying her no mind, Zane walked ahead with her in his arms.
Lianne said, “Mr. Atlas, reputation might not mean much to you, but it does to me. There’s a difference between men and women. It’s charming when a man does certain things. However, a woman would be called a si’t for doing the same things.”
Zane stopped in his tracks. He was focused on getting her to the hotel for medical attention, so he did not think too much about it.
He put her down on the ground. “Can you walk?”
Lianne smiled. “I injured my arm, not my feet. I’m fine walking.”
Zane put his hands out to support her from falling, but Lianne shied away from his touch. Out of all the times, she had to keep a distance from him.
He was frustrated. “Are you scared of me, Lianne?”
“I don’t fear you, Mr. Atlas. I’m concerned that my husband will be jealous.” Her husband came in handy during situations like this At least she did not have to rack her brain for an excuse.
Lianne’s main concern was gossip. The last thing she wanted was for someone to warn her against getting any ideas about him.
She did not see Zane more than her boss anyway. However, people would start to believe the rumors
when she was the common denominator in the gossip. Lianne would only be subjecting herself to name- calling again.
