?Chapter 523:


    He clumsily wrapped the ice pack in a towel, applying the coldpress under the nurse’s guidance.


    “Let the nurse handle it,” Ellie protested, reluctant for his touch. However, Kaiden seemed deaf to her request.


    Now dressed in a ck shirt, he gently cradled her delicate wrist in his hand. His fingers, long and veined, hinted at an underlying strength.


    The nurse discreetly looked away from the intimate scene.


    The cold mist escaped the towel as Kaiden diligently administered thepress, treating it with almost reverential care.


    Ellie’s grip on the bedsheet tightened.


    There was a time when such tenderness from him would have brought her joy, but now it only deepened her sorrow. She recognized his care was not born of love, but of obligation — she was merely the “perfect Mrs. Thorpe” to be showcased.


    Despite this realization, Ellie couldn’t help but find some sce in his attentiveness, though it wasn’t the love she yearned for.


    “I’m hungry,” she suddenly dered.


    “What would you like?” Kaiden asked, his patience evident.


    “There’s a porridge shop at the entrance of our school’s snack street. They sell mushroom chicken strip porridge.”


    Kaiden nodded. “I’ll have someone get it for you.”


    “No, I want you to go get it,” Ellie insisted, locking eyes with him.


    Their gaze met briefly, and Kaiden understood. She wanted him away. She couldn’t bear his presence.


    After a pause, Kaiden rose. “Just the mushroom chicken strip porridge? Anything else?”


    “That’s all,” Ellie replied, her voice firm.


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    She knew well that the shop no longer sold that dish. As Kaiden passed the ice pack to the nurse, he instructed her to continue applying the coldpress to Ellie’s hand.


    He wasn’t concerned about Ellie leaving the hospital without his knowledge. Her attempt at voluntary discharge would have been denied by this private hospital without his consent.


    “Your husband really cares for you,” the nurse whispered to Ellie after Kaiden’s departure. “He seems a bit cold, but his actions say otherwise.”


    “Really?” Ellie’s response was nomittal.


    The nurse nodded earnestly. “When he brought you here, he was so serious, yet he carried you so carefully, like you were something precious. It’s clear he’s deeply concerned about you.”


    The attending doctor initially suspected a severe illness, even considering ICU admission, but ultimately discovered it was merely a fever. Ellie found these details hard to believe because she was unconscious and unaware of what was happening when she was admitted. She listened, but her thoughts were elsewhere.


    “Your husband kept asking the doctor for details about your condition. He was very attentive, even though it was just a fever. Isn’t that funny?” the nurse continued.


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