After glancing at the message, Christian placed his phone aside instead of responding.

He lowered his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He'd been waiting for this day for far too long.

Early the next morning, Sean walked out of his office with a stormy look on his face.

His superior, Brandon Gates, was right behind him, still trying to advise him.

"Sean, it's not that we don't believe you, but the public pressure right now is just too much for us. The hospital really can't step in and clear things up for you.

"For now, just take some time off. Go home, rest, and try to reach an understanding with Ms. Steward. If possible, get her to clarify things on your behalf."

Sean stopped in his tracks, a deep frown creasing his forehead.

"I'm being suspended? What about my patients? Cecilia's condition is unstable. She needs constant monitoring."

Brandon's tone hardened as he patted 

Sean shot them a cold glare, his tone sharp as he spoke. "I'm her attending physician. My duty is to protect my patient from any harm. If all of you don't leave right now, I'm calling security."

The people around shivered under his icy stare. They exchanged uneasy glances before muttering curses as they slowly dispersed.

"He thinks he's so great."

"Seeing how protective he is, I bet the news is true. There's no smoke without fire, after all!"

The hallway was peaceful again at last.

Standing by the door, Sean listened to their voices fade into the distance, his face dark as night.

He pushed the door open, approached the bedside, and said in a soft voice, "Cecilia, it's okay now. Don't be afraid."

The covers were then slowly lifted.

Sean tenderly wiped away Cecilia's tears.

She looked up, her red eyes full of hurt.

She spoke in a trembling voice, "Sean, why did they say those thi

Suzanna exclaimed, "You've actually gone and registered your marriage already?"

The scream exploding through the other end of the line was so sharp Annie had to pull her phone away from her ear.

"Say that again, Annie? What did you two do? Didn't we agree for you to meet first? How did that turn into registering your marriage right away? Did you guys fall in love at first sight? Did cupid's arrow hit the both of you?" Suzanna's pitch went an octave higher out of shock.

Annie was amused by her exaggerated reaction. Resigned, she replied, "There was no love at first sight. We just figured having a marriage license would make everything easier. There won't be any complications later."

Suzanna clicked her tongue. "Unbelievable. My best friend suddenly turns into my uncle's wife! That's a change of role I was absolutely not ready for!"

Out of curiosity, she continued, "So what's next? Are you moving in with Uncle Chris?"

"No." Annie glanced out the window, voice calm when she replied, "He's living in a company-provided apartment right now. It'd be awkward for me to move in out of nowhere. Besides, we're just in a marriage of convenience. There's no need to live together."

"Company-provided?" Suzanna said, her tone full of disbelief.

As the CEO of Parker Group, Christian's net-worth is worth billions. There was no need for him to be living in a company-provided apartment when he owned several villas in Jynston.

Did he not tell Annie about his real identity?

Suzanna gave it some thought before finally understanding what was going on. She figured Christian probably didn't want to scare Annie off.

After all, there wouldn't be any difficulty for the eldest son of the Parker family to have any woman he wanted. Anyone would think he had an ulterior motive if he were to suggest getting married on a whim out of nowhere.

Suzanna quickly covered it up with a laugh. "A company-provided apartment is great! It's super convenient. There's no mortgage or maintenance required. Amazing choice!"

She then quickly changed the subject, her voice turning excited once again. "Forget that for now, Ann. Go check the trending topics! Hurry up! There's a huge scandal!"

"The trending topic?" Annie asked.

"That's right! Hurry up! It's number one on X—that jerk Sean is the hottest topic right now!" Suzanna was practically cackling in glee.

Annie immediately opened the app. Sure enough, sitting at the top of the trending topics was a hot topic—"Dr. Frost of Jynston General Hospital Caught in A Scandal: Flirting With Patient Behind Fiancee’s Back!"

She tapped in. The first post was the video she'd uploaded anonymously.

Its repost count was skyrocketing by the second, with outrage and mockery flooding the comments section.

"What the fuck? Someone like that is actually a doctor? I can't believe he did that while at work. Disgusting!"

"The woman in the video doesn't look like she's being forced to do anything. She's looking like she's enjoying it. Bet they've been hooking up for a while."

"Homewrecker meets jerk, what a perfect match! The hospital better step in to fire trash like this!"

"I feel bad for that jerk's fiancee.”

"Time to dox him! Someone with zero morals doesn't deserve to practice medicine!"

The comments came flooding in, each one landing like a loud slap across Sean's face.

Annie watched quietly, a faint sense of satisfaction rising in her eyes.

Suzanna was practically cheering over the call. "This is karma at its finest! He's done for. He might even lose his job this time. We'll see how he's going to keep pretending!"

Annie watched the scrolling barrage of condemnation before saying to Suzanna, "You're too naive, Suzie. The hospital probably won't fire him."

"What? How could they not after a scandal this big?" Suzanna exclaimed.

"Because he's Sean Frost." Annie's tone was laced with a slight hint of mockery. "Sure, his morals are trash. But his operating skill is the best in the entire hospital—maybe even in the entire country.

"Jynston General Hospital paid a fortune to bring him back from overseas. They'd handed him the entire department and even poured endless resources into him. There's no way they'll throw their golden goose away over a scandal that came from a questionable source."

She continued, "At most, they'll suspend him for a bit and let things cool off. He'll be right back on the operating table once the heat dies down."

Suzanna said, "Isn't that letting him off easy? A jerk like him deserves to be nailed to the wall of shame forever!"

Annie replied, "It's fine. For someone who values his reputation a lot, even without getting fired, getting dragged like this is already enough to ruin his week."

The two chatted for a little longer. After they hung up, Suzanna immediately pulled up Christian's chat window and fired off several exclamation points.

He replied a moment later with a single question mark.

Suzanna tapped her screen excitedly. "I certainly didn't see this coming from you, Uncle Chris. You're really efficient!"

After glancing at the message, Christian placed his phone aside instead of responding.

He lowered his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. He'd been waiting for this day for far too long.

Early the next morning, Sean walked out of his office with a stormy look on his face.

His superior, Brandon Gates, was right behind him, still trying to advise him.

"Sean, it's not that we don't believe you, but the public pressure right now is just too much for us. The hospital really can't step in and clear things up for you.

"For now, just take some time off. Go home, rest, and try to reach an understanding with Ms. Steward. If possible, get her to clarify things on your behalf."

Sean stopped in his tracks, a deep frown creasing his forehead.

"I'm being suspended? What about my patients? Cecilia's condition is unstable. She needs constant monitoring."

Brandon's tone hardened as he patted Sean on the shoulder. "A different doctor will be assigned to her. Right now, your priority should b

Chapter 8 Public Outcry