The Man She Wouldn’t Touch Is Never Coming Back Chapter 03

Trembling all over, he turned to flee, but Silas’s sharp eyes found him.

“Mr. Voss?” Silas’s eyes went wide in surprise, his gentle voice grating against Kian’s ears. “What a coincidence. Never thought I’d run into you here. By the way, how are your injuries? I meant to visit you at the hospital, but lately I’ve just been…”

Before he could finish, his phone rang. Silas smiled apologetically and stepped aside to answer.

Iris’s face darkened instantly.

“You followed me again?” she said in a low voice, her gaze sharp as a knife. “I told you, Silas and I are just friends. Stop being so paranoid.”

Kian looked at the woman he’d loved for eight years, and suddenly laughed.

“Iris, listen to me. I don’t care what the two of you are.” His voice was soft, yet every word landed clearly. “You have your aversion to physical contact, and I have my own aversion to dishonesty. I have respected your boundaries all these years. All I ask is that you respect me enough to be honest.”

Iris frowned.”What exactly are you trying to say?”

Kian opened his mouth to reply, when a shrill fire alarm sliced through the air.

“Fire! Get out!”

The crowd erupted into chaos. Thick smoke rolled in from every direction.

Iris and Kian were torn apart by the stampeding crowd, separated by several yards in an instant.

Kian steadied himself to retreat, only to be shoved hard from behind.

He crashed to the marble floor, the back of his skull cracking against the cold stone, and black spots swam across his vision.

Agony flared along his back. Feet trampled over him, his ribs screaming as if they might splinter, his palms ground raw and bleeding.

He struggled to push himself upright, only to be knocked down again.

Through the haze, he watched Iris shove through the crowd.

For one heartbeat, he thought she was coming for him.

But then—

“Silas!”

Iris ran straight past him, toward Silas in the distance.

He watched her catch Silas, shielding him from the rushing crowd with her own body.

Kian lay on the cold floor, eyes burning, watching their backs vanish.

His ribs might be broken, and every breath tasted of iron. Still, the sensation of his heart being torn apart hurt far worse.

The smoke thickened, and flames painted the mall’s ceilings red.

Kian’s consciousness slipped, and he faded into darkness.

…

Pain burned across every inch of Kian’s skin when he woke.

“Mr. Voss, you have sustained extensive burns,” the doctor said gravely. “We need multiple surgeons operating at once, or you risk permanent disfigurement, even organ failure.”

He forced himself upright, his voice rough.”Reserve the entire surgical wing. Bring in every available medical resource.”

The medical team moved quickly. But as he was wheeled toward the operating room, an argument echoed from the far end of the corridor.

“The wing is fully reserved?”

That voice made Kian’s whole body lock.

Through the gap beside his gurney, he saw Iris supporting a dazed Silas, arguing with the hospital staff.

“That is right, Ms. Hale. The wing is dedicated to one critical patient today…”

“My boyfriend was in a car crash. He needs surgery now,” Iris said coldly. “It is illegal for a public hospital to be bought out, hoarding all resources for a single person.”

She flipped open her attorney badge, the metal glinting under the lights.”Either admit him immediately, or prepare for a lawsuit.”

The doctors exchanged uneasy glances. Everyone knew the reputation of Iris Hale, the unbeatable litigator.

Five minutes later, Kian’s surgery was canceled.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Voss.” The attending physician stood before him, heavy with guilt. “Ms. Hale threatened to expose the hospital if we refused care. We do not have enough surgeons for both of you. Your surgery will have to wait until Mr. Moore’s procedure finishes…”

Kian lay on the gurney. The burning of his wounds paled next to the raw, tearing agony in his chest.

He watched Iris pace anxiously outside Silas’s operating room door.

She checked her watch constantly, walked back and forth, and stopped every passing nurse to demand updates.

The untouchable idol could fall from her pedestal.

Only, the man for whom she would gladly fall was never him.