?Chapter 203:


    That made Coleugh. He pulled her onto hisp and kissed her fiercely, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist to hold her close.


    “Knock it off. We gotta do this surgery,” Elliana said, shoving at Cole. The moment her hands brushed against his bare skin, she jerked them back like she’d touched something burning.


    Cole didn’t seem to care one bit. He kissed her again, long and deep, holding on until he finally let her go.


    Elliana’s pout spoke volumes, her lips swollen and pink from his kisses. “You are seriously the worst…”


    She couldn’t believe how reckless he was. No sense of timing. No clue when to stop. She’d never in her life met a patient who would try to make out with their surgeon right before going under the knife.


    “Sit still!” Elliana’s voice snapped through the air as she pulled herself together. With a satisfied grin, Cole sank into the chair and did exactly what she told him.


    Elliana opened the medical kit and started setting everything up—tools, medicine, everything she’d need.


    Cole didn’t say a word. He just sat there watching her, eyes deep in thought.


    Back when she had saved Barbara using a Venacure pill, most people figured she had just gotten lucky. They assumed she knew a little bit about medicine, but nothing serious. He had believed that too. But everything looked different now.


    Her movements were steady and confident. And the way she carried herself, cool and in control, screamed pro surgeon.


    Cole was burning with curiosity. Rumors had it that Elliana had been ced in the Jones family’s shed since the age of five, practically raised like an animal. So, how had she ended up with skills like this? While his thoughts spun in every direction, Elliana finished cleaning her tools and started preparing the anesthesia.


    “No anesthesia,” Cole dered, his tone firm and final.


    Elliana gave him a quick look. “I’ve checked the wound. The bullet isn’t lodged deep, but taking it out will hurt. A local anesthetic is best.”


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    “I’m good without it,” Cole said, stone-cold serious. “I can handle it.” He had always hated the numbness that came with anesthesia. He would rather feel pain than feel numb.


    Seeing his firm resolve, Elliana sighed. “Fine. But don’t startining halfway through.” Without wasting any more time, Elliana started.


    Her hand moved steadily as she cut through the skin, zeroing in on the bullet buried in the muscle, and pulled it out without a hitch. She then stitched the wound, cleaned it thoroughly, and wrapped it tightly.


    In her hands, the surgical tools looked like they belonged there. Each motion was precise, graceful, and smooth, like a practiced rhythm.


    Cole couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This wasn’t just basic medical skill. Elliana moved like she had been born to do this. He had never witnessed anyone work with such speed and control. The way she handled him, he hardly even felt the pain. Or maybe she was so fast that the pain never got a chance to catch up.


    Elliana, oblivious to Cole’s thoughts, tied off the final bandage and lifted her eyes. What she saw made her freeze, her eyes going wide in surprise…


    Cole’s expression caught Elliana off guard. She knew her surgical skills were precise—meticulous enough to minimize pain, but pain was still inevitable. Yet, there he sat, unflinching, not a flicker of difort on his face. He watched her with unnerving calm, his gaze fixed and unreadable. No flinching. No grimacing. Not even a drop of sweat on his brow. Was he really human?


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